YouTube announced it’s making changes to mid-roll ads to improve the viewing experience for users while also helping creators potentially earn more revenue.
Starting May 12, the Google-owned platform is going to show fewer ads during moments that feel interruptive or may cause viewers to abandon the video — like in the middle of a sentence or action sequence. Instead, it will display more mid-roll ads at natural break points in videos, like pauses and transitions.
YouTube will be updating older videos uploaded before February 24 to automatically include ad slots at natural break points. Creators can opt out of this in YouTube Studio if they prefer to manage their ads manually. However, videos with interruptive ad slots may earn less revenue after May 12, YouTube says.
The company notes that creators who manually place mid-roll ads should consider if their ads are considered interruptive to viewers. To help with this, YouTube is introducing a new feature that will show creators if their mid-roll ads would be better placed at a moment with a natural break instead of at a disruptive time.
In addition, YouTube is encouraging creators who have manual mid-roll ads to consider letting its systems automatically identify other places to show ads to allow for a balanced ad experience.
YouTube found that creators who had a mix of both auto mid-roll ads and manual mid-rolls saw an average of over 5% increase in YouTube ad revenue compared to those with only manually placed slots.
“Our goal with these features is to provide you with more information and new options,” YouTube said on a help page speaking to creators. “You still control whether to show mid-roll ads in your videos and where you would like those ads to be shown.”
YouTube notes that reducing interruptive ads will help creators keep more viewers on their videos.