More ads are coming to YouTube, and users are outraged.
The Google-owned company confirmed Thursday that it will present users with ads on the side of their screen whenever they pause a video. YouTube said in a statement to the Verge that it had “widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers,” starting this week after testing them since last year.
The new ad experience is meant to keep the video viewing experience as uninterrupted as possible, a Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
“This is seamless for viewers and allows them to learn more about a brand. It’s been a beneficial update for the entire YouTube ecosystem and one of the elements of the modern [connected TV] ads experience,” the spokesperson said.
Google did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
Yet some users online questioned why they have to sit through yet another stream of promotions on the platform. Others questioned the logic of the new ad placement, arguing that when someone pauses a video it’s usually because they’re doing something else.
There's a legit reason why we pause videos @YouTube @TeamYouTube Like talking to people if you're gonna make ads unstoppable and unskippable you're going to be asking for trouble. A.k.a. fed up people that are gonna find a better platform. https://t.co/09uB2Svrwz
— Trav 🦝 (@NewfieTanuki) September 19, 2024
I’m a YouTuber so bear that in mind when you hear my opinion:
— Westie (@MrProWestie) September 20, 2024
This is fine. If you’ve paused the video… you’re not watching. So the advert sitting there whilst you wander off and do something, then come back and click play again… isn’t really intruding on the experience. https://t.co/Qwmi9Ky7zW
The move comes after years of YouTube shaking up its ad experience. The company first introduced ads during videos in the early 2000s and later introduced the pre-roll ads that have been a mainstay of the platform since.
In 2018, YouTube scrapped its 30-second unskippable ads at the beginning of videos because it wanted to “focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers,” the BBC reported at the time. But last year, it said it would bring back the 30-second unskippable format on TVs.
Philipp Schindler, the chief business officer at Google, said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in April that it “saw strong traction” from advertisers for pause ads on connected TVs while YouTube piloted the experience in 2023.
YouTube brought in $31.5 billion in revenue from advertisements in 2023, an increase of 8% year over year.
