YouTube to Get ‘Pause Ads’ – Unskippable Ads That Will Play When You Pause a Video

• On Thursday, Google announced a new feature called Pause Ads. These are unskippable ads that will run when you pause a video.
• The feature has already been tested on TV users and Google seems to be happy with the results.
• There's no official announcement on if and when we can expect the feature to roll out on mobile devices.

Google's YouTube will soon be showing you ads when you pause a video you're watching. In its earnings call on Thursday (April 25), the company talked about adding this new feature called Pause Ads' on YouTube.

These ads will be unskippable and play when you hit the pause button. The feature has already been rolled out on the YouTube TV app for testing purposes, and the company said it's happy with the results.

Successful testing means that Pause Ads may soon be launched worldwide for all users. However, there hasn't been any official announcement from the company about whether the feature will make its way to smaller screens (like phones and laptops).

Initial results show that Pause ads are driving strong Brand Lift results and are commanding premium pricing from advertisers.' - Philipp Schindler, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer at Google

It's worth noting that this new initiative was announced in 2023 in the company's Upfront Post where it promised that the feature will benefit brands while keeping the viewing experience seamless for users.

Why Is Google Trying to Embed More Ads?

The motive behind this move is pretty simple. Advertising is Google's biggest source of revenue-meaning the more ads it can place the more money it can earn.

On top of that, perhaps it's an unapologetic attempt to get people tired and frustrated of seeing an endless number of ads. This way, they will be more likely to pay for YouTube Premium, which is the company's paid ad-free version. Either way, Google's revenue will go up.

Not to forget, YouTube is already the most-watched streaming platform in the US, so it's undoubtedly in a pole position to leverage its popularity and give its revenue a massive pump.

To safeguard its profit share, Google is also cracking down on ad blockers. The company said it doesn't allow third-party ad blockers since they prevent creators from getting compensated for their hard work.

Some users have reported that when they use ad-blockers, YouTube starts showing popups to either remove the ad-blocker or pay for YouTube Premium just after three videos.

In most cases, YouTube will only request the user to disable the ad blocker. However, in certain extreme cases, it may disable playback on that account.

In other YouTube news:

• YouTube has also been taking measures to ensure the smooth and harmless introduction of AI to the platform. For instance, it has introduced new tools to help creators label parts of the video generated by AI.
• Google has also introduced YouTube Extension for Bard which will help users quickly find specific videos they're looking for, enhancing the overall experience.

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