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Google tests a solution for YouTube live stream ads that could also work with regular videos

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Aug 06, 2024, 1:29 PM

Google tests a solution for YouTube live stream ads that could also work with regular videos

Have you ever found yourself engrossed in a live stream you're watching on YouTube when all of a sudden the content that has you mesmerized is interrupted by a full-screen ad? How frustrating is that! Google announced on Monday that it is testing a way around this issue so that users get to continue to view the content that they were watching while Google gets to bill the advertisers for showing their ad. It's a win-win situation.

The change being tested by Google would have the ads run alongside the live stream which would be reduced to a picture-in-picture format. This way, the live stream can still be viewed even while YouTube shows an ad at the same time. YouTube content creators will be able to select this format from their monetization settings and they will be able to set this format as the default for any future live streams.

"YouTube is experimenting with Picture in Picture for live mid-rolls. Some viewers on select devices will begin to see the new ad format in the coming months, allowing creators to run ads without disrupting the live stream!"-Google

This is all about ads that are called mid-rolls. These are ads that run while the live stream is taking place. The interesting thing here is that by offering this alternative format, Google realizes just how annoying its ads can be to someone viewing a live stream. But there is even more going on behind the scenes. Since the start of the year, Google has been stepping up its battle against YouTube users running an ad-blocker. In April, it even prevented these users from watching videos.

While a live stream interrupted by an ad could prevent viewers from seeing something important that can't be replayed, on a regular video long enough to warrant a second block of ads, the viewer isn't missing anything since the video stops and restarts after the ads play. Still, in an effort to reduce the use of ad blockers on YouTube, we could see Google offer YouTube users the option to have ads run at certain times during a video as they do now, or choose to see the video reduced to a PiP size while an ad runs alongside it at the same time.

This sounds like a great solution not only to the live stream ads problem, but to the big ad blocker issue that YouTube and its users are facing.

The live stream PiP test will be seen in the coming months by certain YouTube live stream users viewing on select devices.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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