Frustrated YouTube audience search reason for hour-long unskippable advertisements (Updated: Clarification)

Update: January 27, 2025 (10:14 PM ET): We’ve heard again from Google, and the corporate gives the next observation:

Ads are an important lifeline for our creators that is helping them run and develop their companies. That’s why using advert blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service. We’ve introduced an international effort to induce audience with advert blockers enabled to permit advertisements on YouTube or check out YouTube Premium for an advert loose revel in.

The YouTube proprietor explains that normal non-skippable in-stream ads are restricted to only 15 seconds in duration. The corporate additional recognizes its efforts to come across customers making an attempt to dam advertisements, and its passion in discouraging them from the follow. If that also continues, Google reserves the correct to disable playback. It emphasizes that it is a last-ditch reaction to probably the most incalcitrant advert blockers, but when that’s what it involves, Google’s keen to chop them off.

The corporate additional defined that some advert blockers can distort the playback revel in, which is most likely why some audience are experiencing extraordinarily lengthy unskippable advertisements. It pointed us in opposition to YouTube’s ad format rules, which obviously state that in-stream unskippable advertisements on cell are restricted to fifteen seconds in duration and the ones on TV are restricted to a most of 60 seconds. YouTube maintains that it does no longer deliberately serve unskippable advertisements which might be mins lengthy, let by myself an hour.

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Original article, January 24, 2025 (10:31 AM ET): Most folks hate YouTube advertisements at this level. What began off as minimum intrusion into the viewer revel in has step by step transform longer and extra intrusive, to the purpose the place many people want simply paying for YouTube Premium and not seeing any other advert once more. For some customers, that isn’t a possible choice, so they’ve to make their peace with staring at advertisements to give a boost to their favourite creators and the YouTube platform. Lately, alternatively, customers were getting in reality lengthy, unskippable advertisements, lengthy sufficient to query whether or not the video after the advert is even value it.

Reddit person Lin1ex has complained a couple of lengthy unskippable advert, with a period of with regards to 58 mins.

Many customers within the feedback discussed in addition they get advertisements which might be as disturbingly lengthy. One person claimed with out evidence that they’d gotten a 10-hour-long advert, whilst any other one-upped this declare with another unsubstantiated claim of a 90-hour advert.

Looking for evidence, Reddit person Standard-Slip6572 has shared a picture of a two-hour and 52-minute advert for a 49-minute video!

If you take a look at the picture intently, you’ll understand a ‘skipping advertisements’ button at the backside left, which supplies us clues about what may well be going down. While none of those customers have disclosed whether or not they’re the usage of an advert blocker, the second one symbol obviously displays one within the works.

It’s conceivable that in case you are the usage of an advert blocker, YouTube is in a position to come across it and provide you with an absurdly lengthy, unskippable advert. There’s additionally a chance that the advert blocker itself is glitching out the advert and its period. Some feedback have discussed that the advert blocker will have blocked the ‘Skip’ button from appearing up and therefore failed to dam the lengthy advert, worsening the advert state of affairs.

While those absurdly lengthy and unskippable advertisements may well be brought about through advert blockers, different customers are getting extra not-unbelievably-long-but-still-too-long unskippable advertisements. An older thread from Reddit person MeGlugsBigJugs showcases a 1-minute 28-second advert, and different customers have additionally claimed the similar revel in.

YouTube has lengthy been inching in opposition to longer and extra advertisements without cost customers. At the similar time, the provider in reality hates advert blockers, too (for excellent explanation why, as they harm their final analysis and what they are able to pay creators). Users have one transparent choice: to pay for YouTube Premium and keep away from the advertisements. But occasionally that doesn’t paintings both, so the following most suitable option is to make peace with the advertisements or spend your time somewhere else.

We’ve contacted Google to inquire in regards to the present higher prohibit for advert periods on YouTube and to be told extra about this factor. We’ll stay you up to date once we be told extra.

What’s the longest unskippable advert you’ve gotten noticed on YouTube? Were you the usage of an advert blocker on the time? What platform did you get the advert on? What did you do subsequent? Vote beneath and tell us extra within the feedback beneath!