If you aren't subscribed to YouTube Premium, you'll most likely see ads on every video you watch on the platform. These ads won't bother you much if you have even slight patience, as they are just a few seconds long. However, you might feel compelled to become a premium subscriber soon, as YouTube is reportedly testing 90-second unskippable ads.
Why does YouTube even show ads?
Before I get into the details of the latest news, it's important to understand why YouTube shows ads. The direct answer is that it generates revenue to support all the YouTube creators and the platform itself.
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But when you become a YouTube Premium subscriber, you're charged a monthly fee instead of being dependent on different advertisers to pay for views. This lets you watch videos without interruptions like ads.
YouTube is testing 90-second ads
90 seconds ads on YouTube TV app. | Image by Redditor Ok_Neat1652
For a long time, YouTube displayed two back-to-back 15-second unskippable ads on the YouTube TV app on smart TVs. The company changed this approach at the start of this month by introducing a single 30-second unskippable ad.
While everyone was still adjusting to this jump, the platform has apparently introduced 90-second-long ads. That's basically a direct jump of three times, and that too within a matter of just a few days.
A Redditor named OK_Neat1652 posted about it on Reddit. The post currently has more than 1.8k upvotes, with many users expressing their frustration with the change in the comments. One user commented that it's better to watch regular TV than YouTube at this point, considering the amount and length of ads on the video streaming platform.
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However, it's worth noting that this has been spotted on the YouTube TV app. I wasn't able to find any reports of it on the mobile app.
YouTube is breaking its own rules
The most surprising thing is that YouTube is breaking its own rule by introducing 90-second-long ads. As it turns out, the platform has an ad format rule stating that the length of unskippable ads on the YouTube TV app can't exceed 30 seconds.
On smartphones, the length is limited to 15 seconds. Interestingly, this isn't the first time the video streaming platform has been reported to violate its own ads policy.
At the start of this year, many users complained about seeing almost 60-minute-long, non-skippable ads. Google later clarified that this mainly happened due to interference from ad blockers. However, 90-second-long ads are reportedly appearing on devices without any ad blockers.
Are you going to subscribe to YouTube Premium because of this change?
Subscribing to the premium plan seems to be the only option left
With many users claiming to see such long ads on the YouTube TV app, it looks like the tech giant is either testing longer ads or has already started slowly rolling them out to non-premium users. Honestly, because of the overexposure to short-form content like Instagram Reels, I've lost the patience to watch 90-second-long ads. I can't believe how I used to easily watch 5- to 10-minute-long ads back in the day when smartphones were just becoming mainstream and cable TV was the main source of entertainment.
Anyway, the best thing you can do in this situation is to subscribe to YouTube Premium. The monthly plan starts at $13.99 and offers plenty of perks, which include an ad-free watching experience, background play, and more. If you're tight on budget, you can also opt for the recently introduced YouTube Premium Lite plan, which costs $7.99 per month.
However, it's worth noting that the Lite plan doesn't completely eliminate ads from videos. You might still see them occasionally in Shorts and music videos. Furthermore, you won't get YouTube Music Premium, which is available as an add-on with the standard premium plan.
Aman Kumar is a tech news writer with a long-standing passion for smartphones. Aman specializes in everything smartphones, from AI features like Pixel’s Camera Coach to understanding ideal hardware combinations. He loves breaking down complex features in a simple, clear way and hopes manufacturers bring back bold designs like the Nokia N-Gage. When he’s not writing, he’s either gaming on PUBG or talking fitness as a dedicated gym enthusiast.
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