Google has refuted claims that it is providing some YouTube viewers with ad blockers with unskippable advertisements that run for minutes or even hours. Instead, Google blames ad-block for any “sub-optimal viewing experience.” Unskippable YouTube advertisements that last anywhere from a few minutes to many hours have been reported by users.
Android Authority thus made the decision to survey users regarding the longest unskippable advertisements they had ever seen on the site. The findings, which show that most users are watching unskippable commercials that last more than two minutes — far longer than YouTube’s publicly declared maximum of 60 seconds — raise new questions about the platform’s advertising policies.
Oluwa Falodun, the manager of YouTube communications, informs us that “YouTube does not serve minutes-long, non-skippable ads,” referring to Google’s stated policy about non-skippable in-stream advertisements. While 30- and 60-second versions are available on YouTube TV, these are often restricted to 15 seconds or fewer. On the other hand, YouTube’s skippable advertisements have no length constraints.
Reddit users have complained about the long advertisements on several occasions, according to Android Authority. An hour-long advertisement with no way to stop it was reported by one user last week, while earlier this month, another user sent a picture of an advertisement that was nearly three hours long. There are concerns that YouTube is punishing viewers who attempt to opt out of watching advertisements since this image seems to have an ad blocker installed.
Falodun refers to advertising as “a vital lifeline for our creators,” and using ad blockers is against YouTube’s terms of service. She goes on to say that when ad blockers are identified, the user receives “repeated notifications” urging them to either accept advertisements or upgrade to ad-free YouTube Premium. According to Falodun, the corporation has the authority to completely stop playing, but only “after viewers ignore repeated requests to allow ads on YouTube.”
There is another reason if YouTube isn’t purposefully serving these long, non-skippable advertisements. Ad blockers themselves could be the cause, according to one Reddit user, as they keep the skip button from showing up while not blocking the advertisement. Refreshing the page is said to resolve the issue.
Of course, YouTube is glad to shift the responsibility elsewhere. According to Falodun, “some ad blockers distort the YouTube playback experience, so viewers with ad blockers may have a suboptimal viewing experience.”
After viewers complained that they were not seeing the standard countdown timer for the skip option, YouTube denied attempting to conceal the skip button on advertisements in October of last year. By switching the countdown timer to a progress bar at the bottom of the player, the business claimed to be “reducing elements on the ads player.”
Google has the power to disable video playing for customers who persist in blocking advertisements. Google is willing to disable video access if necessary, although it stresses that this is only a last measure for the most obstinate ad blockers.
You may either pay $13.99 a month for YouTube Premium or endure the presence of both skippable and unskippable advertisements before and during YouTube videos if you don’t use an ad blocker. Of course, you wouldn’t be the only one who finds it intolerable.
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