Watching YouTube on Smart TV? Wait for New Ads when Pausing a Video
The most popular video-sharing service is introducing a new ad format for smart TVs, which implies showing banners when you hit the pause button. Google first announced the possibility of integrating pause screen advertisements in May 2023, although they did not share the timeline for testing and rolling out such a format. A year later, YouTube is finally starting to dish out new ads for its TV app users, as it becomes clear from a number of X and Reddit posts.
As soon as the pause button is hit, the UI places the video in a smaller block, while the ad pops up on the right side of the screen and remains static. There is also a ‘Sponsored’ tag on the top of the banner, as well as the ‘Info’ and ‘Dismiss’ buttons below. The layout is quite similar to that we have seen in the vertical ads on Twitch, which pop up when watching live streams without blocking content.
Although pause screen advertisements are shown only on smart TVs, YouTube owners also experiment with other devices. So far, you will hardly encounter such banners if you do not watch content on TV, and even the most renowned gambling platforms, like GGBET, offer live streams of sports and esports matches via YouTube for free with no ads.
Why YouTube Plays Ads on Pause Screen
According to Philipp Schindler, senior vice president of Google, their decision to roll out pause ads is driven by the intent to command premium prices from advertisers. “This allows users to get more information about a brand, while it’s also seamless for viewers,” a Google spokesperson said.
YouTube claims that the new pause ads are designed to be less interruptive, but there is no information on whether the normal ads will pop up less frequently as a result. They are also working on longer non-skips, as well as advertiser-branded QR codes to be placed on the pause screen banners.
YouTube has several premium plans for watching videos with no ads, and they will probably extend to pause screen advertisements too:
- Individual plan – $13.99/month
- Family plan – $22.99/month
- Student plan – $7.99/month
The streaming industry leans more heavily on ads to boost revenue. For example, Netflix presented an ad-supported plan far back in 2022, whereas Amazon Prime Video started to show advertisements in its basic subscription tier earlier this year.
As NYU Professor Paul Hardart said, “In the entire ecosystem of modern content, there are only two ways to pay: with your cash by subscribing to the service, or with your attention. Platforms are eventually moving to a world which has both.”
Impact on User Experience
Even though users are unhappy with new advertisements, for companies, the benefits of such a solution overweight the costs. According to Michael Smith from Carnegie Mellon University, no one is going to stop watching YouTube because of this. Paul Hardart also added that the viewers will adjust rather quickly to the appearance of pause ads. “It hurts our experience since it’s something different from what we are used to, but we will adapt,” he said.
