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YouTube will kill unskippable 30-second ads next year

YouTube will kill unskippable 30-second ads next year

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But don’t celebrate just yet...

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Google has announced that in 2018, it will end non-skippable 30-second ads that appear before a YouTube video. In a statement first given to Campaign then confirmed by The Verge, a Google spokesperson said the company will focus on commercial formats that are more engaging for both advertisers and viewers.

We’re committed to providing a better ads experience for users online. As part of that, we’ve decided to stop supporting 30-second unskippable ads as of 2018 and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers,” Google said.

While this is good news, it doesn’t mean all unskippable ads are eventually going away. Formats that include 15- and 20-second ads will stick around; you’ll likely see more of the six-second “bumper ads” rather than ones that you can move past after five seconds. And again, the change is not expected to take place until at least 2018 so we still have many months to go.

Now if only it’ll also kill unskippable ads that appear in the middle of long videos. Sure, I’ll wait.