Having a YouTube TV subscription might feel like a cable TV subscription soon.
YouTube executives recently announced that YouTube TV would have 30-second unskippable ads and pause menu ads to select videos as it tests new "Pause Experiences."
YouTube TV previously featured skippable ads exclusively with it having two skippable ads rather than a long one, per 9to5Google.
New YouTube TV Ads Details
YouTube executives announced at the YouTube Brandcast event that YouTube TV would feature 30-second unskippable ads on YouTube Select content, which the company deemed as the top videos on the platform for TV, per Variety.
The executives mentioned that these longer albeit unskippable ads allow marketers to "use existing assets in front of the most-streamed content." However, this move might make subscribers feel that they have a cable TV subscription instead.
They also revealed that YouTube TV would begin testing new "Pause Experiences" in the form of pause screen ads that would play when people pause a video. Should this pause screen ad pop up, the content being watched would shrink and minimize while the advertisement will appear next to that window, much like what happens when regular YouTube play ads on a device (minus the shrinking).
Unfortunately, these pause menu ads took a page from the new 30-second unskippable ads, as they are also unskippable in nature. While a "Dismiss" button will appear during such ads, it would presumably return to the normal fullscreen pause screen.
These moves to add unskippable ads on YouTube TV might be YoutTube's way of capitalizing on its success as a streaming platform for TVs. YouTube executives reported that more than 150 million unique viewers in the US watches YouTube and YouTube TV on television in Dec. 2022, citing Nielsen estimates as they go.
A report from SVB MoffettNathanson senior analyst Craig Moffett confirms YouTbe TV's reach within the US. The report mentioned that YouTube TV managed to acquire a net addition of 300,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2023, bringing its total user base to about 6.3 million, per Android Police.
Would Subscribers Be Happy About Unskippable Ads?
This increase in subscribers means higher revenue for the company, though it may not be enough for the rising star in the cord-cutting movement. However, it may have a negative impact on its current subscriber count if not implemented properly.
YouTube previously enacted a price increase for YouTube TV in March, upping the subscription price for the TV streaming service from $65 to $73 a month. As you may recall, price increases and the addition of ads (or the addition of unskippable ads) were one of the main reasons why Netflix began to lose more subscribers in 2022.
Whether the addition of such ads would affect YouTube TV's subscriber count remains to be seen. What is confirmed with their addition is that YoTube will get more ad revenue in the foreseeable future.
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