Unskippable 30-second video ads will fade to black for good on YouTube in 2018. YouTube has officially announced the end of this hated format.
“We’re committed to providing a better ads experience for users online. As part of that, we’ve decided to stop supporting 30-second unskippable ads as of 2018 and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers,” according to a statement from a YouTube spokesperson.
It would be hard to find too many YouTube users outside of the marketing industry who will mourn the loss of the unskippable 30-second ad. Everyone wants to watch the free content they came to see quickly and without interruption. Quite a few people who have been “forced” to watch the 30 seconds ad have decided to say “screw it” and leave.
If given a skip button, you know the great majority of YouTube viewers would hit it. In fact, people have become trained to skip skippable ads, according to 76 percent of consumers who were surveyed by IPG Mediabrands.
Most (if not all) users find those unskippable YouTube ads frustrating and annoying. It truly does create a bad experience for viewers.
Another type of non-skippable ad unit introduced last April, called Bumper ads, will continue to appear on YouTube. These shorter video ads last for just six seconds.
YouTube advertisers will also still be able to run campaigns with 20-second non-skippable video ads. Or advertisers can opt for skippable ads, where advertisers are only charged whenever someone watches the entire video ad.
The news was first reported by Campaign.
Image Credit: Depositphotos
