What you need to know
- YouTube confirmed that ads for paused videos have arrived.
- Users noticed the new ad placement ahead of YouTube's official statement as they appeared on smart TVs and mobile devices.
- YouTube detailed an experiment with picture-in-picture ads in August for mid-roll ads, but that same idea has seemingly struck paused content.
YouTube's pause button is now a portal to ads.
In a statement to The Verge, YouTube confirmed that ads for paused videos are a new reality for viewers. The platform's communications manager, Oluwa Falodun, stated: "As we’ve seen both strong advertiser and strong viewer response, we’ve since widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers."
Users noticed these new ads on the pause screen last week, as a report by Tech-Issues Today noted (via 9to5Google). Several threads appeared on YouTube's subreddit with users showcasing ads after they paused their videos. The ad appeared on the right half of their display and seemingly shrunk paused videos to the left.
The issue even appeared on a mobile device as the advertisement rose from the bottom of their display.
The publication adds that this was a long time coming as YouTube kicked off a limited test of this new ad variant last year. During Alphabet's Q1 2024 earnings call, Google's Philipp Schindler told The Verge: "Advertisers unsurprisingly love them!" Moreover, the idea of ads on paused videos is "commanding premium pricing from advertisers."
Regarding the current situation, YouTube says ads for paused videos were designed to be "less disruptive."
Seriously @YouTube? You're putting up ads when you pause a video now?I am about to install a computer in place of the fire stick so I can have an ad blocker... Your ads are getting ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/OT4JMduGTUSeptember 6, 2024
We've heard the idea of "less disruptive" ads on YouTube before, but that involved mid-roll ads, not adding ones when paused.
In August, the platform was spotted experimenting with picture-in-picture (PIP) mid-roll ads. The test explained that the ads would shrink a viewer's video to advertise it. Users wouldn't miss out on their viewing experience, and YouTube would still get the point across.
It's similar to a football broadcast not taking you away from the game during a thirty-second timeout. However, what we're seeing now, at least for smart TVs, are the echoes of that PIP experiment from August.
Let's also not forget YouTube's current war against ad blockers, which might force it to introduce server-side ads into videos.
