Key Takeaways
- YouTube is testing pause screen ads on the YouTube app for smart TVs.
- Ads appear next to the paused video, with an option to dismiss or gain more information about the ad.
- As of right now, only ads from Dunkin’ Donuts have appeared and been reported.
The ad experience on YouTube isn’t a pleasant one. If you’re not shelling out money on a Premium subscription on YouTube or using an ad-blocker (which YouTube is counter-blocking), you’re often greeted with unskippable ads — two of them, in many instances. Seeking forward by a few seconds? BOOM, ad. Refreshing the web page because it feels laggy? Ad. The video is longer than 10 minutes? You guessed it, multiple ads.
Just when we thought rampant ads on the platform couldn’t get any worse, Google threw Shopify into the mix with a new YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
Now, it looks like the platform is testing pause ad segments, at least on YouTube for Smart TVs.
In a report highlighted by 9to5Google, YouTube’s pause-screen ads, which it first announced back in May, have started rolling out for a few users. The new ad format, which appears to be limited to the YouTube app for TVs, has left users on Reddit and X (Twitter) asking whether YouTube didn’t “have enough ads already???”
The new format displays ads in a column placed on the right of the paused video, with an option to dismiss the ad or find more information about it. The ads also have a clear “Sponsored” tag right above it.
More advertisers to follow
As of right now, only ads from Dunkin’ Donuts have appeared and been reported, though it is likely that other brands will soon join the mix. I’ve tried to replicate the ad on my TV to no avail, indicating that pause ads might still be rolling out, or they might be part of a very limited test.
The tech giant already makes bank on ads on YouTube, and pause screen ads will only attract more advertisers to the platform. According to Google’s Q2, 2024 earnings report, out of $64.6 billion in ad revenue, $8.6 billion (13.31 percent) was generated by YouTube, indicating that the streaming platform makes roughly $34.4 billion in just ad revenue per year.
Apart from pause screen ads, the streaming platform is also experimenting with unblockable ads.
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