Something’s About to Change with YouTube Videos

February 23, 2017 Alan Cross 0 Comments

Everyone hates those pre-roll ads we see before YouTube serves up whatever video we want to see. It takes about a nanosecond for us to hit the “skip ad” button when the countdown expires. We’re busy people. Get us to that latest cat video, dammit!

But sometimes we don’t have that option. YouTube makes us watch the whole damn ad, some of which can run 30 seconds or longer.

I have some good news and some bad news. First of all, Google has announced it’s phasing out all 30-second unskippable ads. They’ll all be gone by the end of next year. The bad news is that they will be replaced by 6-, 15- and 20- second ads that will be unskippable.

Hey, 10 seconds less ad time is something, right?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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