14 DAY TRIAL // Unskippable ads are perhaps the most annoying thing on the Internet today, right next to pop-ups. Well, YouTube has finally decided to remove those unskippable 30-second ads plaguing the platform.
Google says that it wants to focus on formats that work well for both users and advertisers, and since the users were rather unpleased with them, we can see why they decided to quit them.
These long adverts that were unskippable have been particularly annoying to users, especially since many of them use the service as a music player in the background.
On top of the users who were clearly unhappy for being interrupted for so long, it looks like media agencies weren't that interested in the long ads anymore either. That's because, as one media agency chief told the BBC, they're legacies from TV times and they're not the most effective way to advertise, especially online.
With everyone rejoicing at the news, we should probably mention that the 30-second unskippable ads won't actually go away instantly. According to a Google spokesperson who spoke to Campaign, the format will go away as of 2018, when the focus will be put on other formats.
Other formats to take over
YouTube features multiple types of ads on its platform. For instance, last year alone it introduced the six-second unskippable ad format, which may end up being more intensely used next year once the 30-second format goes away.
Even those may see some changes since people simply don't like unskippable ads in their videos. Regardless, 6 seconds is far less than 30, and those ads are understandably less annoying. On the other hand, people still hope that even this type of unskippable ads will go away from the mobile platform. That's unlikely to happen, however, given how much its mobile app is used.