YouTube restricts advertisement format selection for content creators
What's the story
YouTube is set to make significant changes to advertisement controls for creators, limiting their ability to choose specific ad formats for new videos.
Starting in November, YouTube will only allow creators to select whether ads appear before or after a video, while the platform will decide which ad types to display "when appropriate."
This change could impact creators' revenue and disappoint those seeking finer control over their content's monetization.
Details
YouTube downplays the impact on creators
According to a YouTube support document, the upcoming change won't be a major issue for most creators, as they already have most of these ad formats enabled by default.
However, these changes could particularly affect creators who rely on specific ad formats or have an audience that responds better to certain types of ads.
The limited ad control may lead to dissatisfaction among the creator community.
Steps
What are the proposed changes by YouTube?
Starting in November, creators can turn ads on or off. However, pre/post-skippable/non-skippable ads will be decided by the system.
If ads are on, midrolls can be turned on. They can be manual or automatic or a mix of both.
When it comes to live ads, there will be live midrolls where you set the interval.
There will be a 60-second countdown for ads. Also, skip, delay for 10 minutes, and manual insert ad buttons will be there.
Insights
The platform has been experimenting with ad formats recently
Besides the changes for creators, YouTube has done several experiments with ads recently.
These include longer but less frequent advertisement breaks and 30-second unskippable ads when watching YouTube on connected TVs.
The platform is also planning to disable videos for those who use ad blockers.
All of these seem like an attempt by the company to please its advertisers.