YouTube is making ads harder to skip yet again

Unless you pay for YouTube Premium (or Premium Lite), your experience on the app will be flooded with ads. That's a compromise that most people are willing to make in return for the ability to watch content from their favorite creators. At the same time, YouTube continues to find ways to show more ads to free users, while simultaneously making them harder to skip.

We're encountering a familiar concern yet again, with a user stumbling upon an updated ad format that makes skipping ads close to impossible. The issue stems from a large banner/card containing the ad itself, which is conveniently placed directly over the Skip button (via PiunikaWeb).

If you've never seen this ad format before, you'd be justified in thinking the Skip button has moved somewhere else. However, as the user notes in the same thread, this card can be flicked down to reveal the button.

It is also pointed out that viewing the ad in landscape mode makes the Skip button appear again. A similar complaint was raised on Reddit nearly three weeks ago, backed by screenshots, confirming that this issue isn't isolated.

Unskippable ads on TVs might be getting longer

Separately, users of the YouTube app on TVs are reporting longer unskippable ads. While unskippable in-stream ads on TVs are capped at 30 seconds, a recent change appears to have increased the limit to 90 seconds (via Android Authority).

A quick look at the comments of these Reddit threads indicates that 90-second unskippable ads aren't live globally. This means YouTube is likely testing these longer ads in some regions before rolling them out elsewhere.

The Google Ads Help page still mentions a 30-second limit for unskippable ads on TVs, suggesting this switch to longer ads may not be finalized yet. All we can do now is wait for Google or YouTube to address these specific concerns raised by the users.

Related

YouTube just paywalled another basic feature, but I've already found a better alternative

Another desperate attempt to force us into Premium

Posts 4
By  Jon Gilbert

While YouTube's crusade against ad blockers is well documented, it has also taken a more aggressive approach toward unskippable ads over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, we've also seen YouTube reduce the barrier to entry for its ad-free experience by introducing the $8/month Premium Lite plan last year, which has since seen a couple of handy feature inclusions.

However, Premium Lite doesn't completely remove ads. Instead, it's marketed as a tier that shows fewer ads than the free version. On its support page, YouTube says Premium Lite users won't see ads "for gaming, fashion, beauty, news, and more," though ads may appear when you use search, browse, play music, or watch Shorts.