YouTube to introduce ad breaks at natural pause points
What's the story
YouTube has announced plans to tweak its mid-roll ad strategy, in a bid to improve user experience and possibly boost creators' earnings. Starting May 12, the platform will reduce ads that interrupt viewers at critical moments like mid-sentence or action sequences. Instead, more mid-roll ads will be shown at natural breaks in videos like pauses and transitions.
Ad placement
Updating older videos with new ad strategy
YouTube intends to refresh older videos, uploaded before February 24, by automatically adding ad slots at natural breaks. However, the creators can opt out of this feature in YouTube Studio if they want to manage ads manually. The platform has warned that videos with interruptive ads may generate less revenue after May 12.
Ad guidance
New feature to guide creators on ad placement
YouTube is introducing a new facility that will warn creators if their mid-roll ads are better placed at a moment with a natural break, instead of at disruptive times. The platform is also urging creators with manual mid-roll ads to consider letting its systems automatically detect other appropriate places for ad display. This way, the platform can ensure a balanced ad experience for viewers.
Revenue impact
Mixed ad strategy boosts revenue
According to YouTube's data, creators who employed a mix of both auto mid-roll ads and manual mid-rolls saw an average increase of over 5% in YouTube ad revenue, as opposed to those who only used manually placed slots. The platform stresses that these changes are aimed at giving creators more information and new options, while keeping their control over mid-roll ad display in their videos.