Many users of Youtube have had one major issue with this massive video streaming service: The inclusion of 30-second advertisements that could not be skipped. The distaste for these Youtube ads has been caused by the gradual incrementing the duration of these advertisements and slowly making these ads unable to be skipped. To many, Youtube has become hungry for more money. In response to these very long advertisements, people have installed AdBlocker, an internet browser plugin that allows the user to filter out advertisements from selected content from the user. Not only does this cut the advertisements providing money to Youtube, it displays the discontent many users have when using Youtube through the total number of downloads of the AdBlocker.
Youtube has recently announced that it will “quit supporting 30-seccond unskippable ads as of 2018, and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers.” The formats Youtube refers to are the various types of advertisements that may change the duration and “skip-ability” of the ad. One of the principle models that Youtube wishes to carry on to its future plans is the six-second unskippable bumper ad. Along with this format, it has been rumored that it will also include the 20-second unskippable ad, which may still generate a wave of disappointment and opposition.
From the perspective of the advertiser, the ten extra seconds are extremely vital and can make a major difference in the interest of a consumer. To others, the extra ten seconds completely take away from the relaxing experience of watching a video. This difference in opinion on advertisements is pushing Youtube to create a balanced format in which both the consumer and the advertiser can be happy with the end result of the advertisement.
A positive aspect of Youtube’s announcement is that it has finally admitted to change the 30 second, unskippable advertisements and replace them with much better versions of the ads if there are any at all. Many people still believe that Youtube would benefit from changing the general format of advertisements on the website. Ultimately, other streaming services may follow Youtube’s path to redeveloping the structure of advertisements during videos.
But, a majority of Youtube users will choose to skip an advertisement indefinitely if given the chance. MediaPost had reported that over 66% of a tested population of Youtube users will skip a Youtube advertisement no matter what it is about and what the length is. Being forced to watch an unskippable advertisement is incredibly annoying. It becomes irritating to the point where the user loses interest in the original video they were going to watch and reduce the relaxing aspect of Youtube.
Many users agree that the six-second versions fit better with the length of the shorter Youtube videos, which make a majority of content on the massive website. Users usually use Youtube to see rather small videos that could lighten the mood of their day or provide entertainment for when bored. When they are being forced to watch an advertisement that may end up being longer than the actual video, it becomes very difficult for Youtube to keep the community happy while still generating revenue.
But at the same time, allowing advertisements to be skipped show that these very same advertisements are pointless in the first place. Any potential fixes to this issue that Google has released are rather weak and ultimately worsen the problem. For help, Youtube has been looking to Facebook for guidance and ideas for how to successfully manage monetization and overall user happiness. Youtube has been pushing for a new solution to the issue of advertisement.
Featured Image via Pixabay
