YouTube's hour-long ads that can't be skipped: can ad blockers even help?!
Ads that are 60, or even 120 minutes long on YouTube: and the best part is that they can't be skipped. I guess we've reached the lower circles of hell now.
Joking aside, YouTube's ads are getting more and more meddling, to the point where they're impossible to ignore: but what if you don't want to pay for YouTube Premium. Well, then you're stuck with getting those YouTube ads, or… you go for some kind of ad blocker, I suppose. Google (the owner of YouTube) has declared a war on ad blockers, though:
They want you to see those ads. After all, companies and advertisers have paid good money for their short clips to be displayed. Sometimes, it's not short clips that we have to endure, though. You've probably come across some ads that are over 10, or even 20 minutes long.
That's nothing. How about a 60-minutes long ad? And such that can't be skipped? Reports come up that point in that direction.
One notable example came from a Reddit user who shared their experience of encountering an unskippable ad that lasted nearly 58 minutes. This sparked a wave of similar complaints, with others claiming to have seen ads as long as 10 hours or even 90 hours.
While these extreme claims lack verification, another user, Standard-Slip6572, said a two-hour and 52-minute ad that played before a video lasting just 49 minutes. This is called Theatre of the Absurd, if you ask me.
Some users speculated that YouTube could be detecting ad blockers and responding by serving unusually long, unskippable ads as a deterrent. Others suggested that the ad blockers themselves might be malfunctioning, blocking the "Skip" button while failing to prevent the ads from playing.
However, even users without ad blockers have reported encountering extended unskippable ads, such as one lasting one minute and 28 seconds – far longer than the typical ad experience.
When asked for comment, Google emphasized the role of ads in supporting creators and maintaining the platform. YouTube clarified that unskippable ads are typically capped at 15 seconds on mobile and up to 60 seconds on TV, denying any intentional serving of excessively long ads. The company suggested that such issues might arise from ad blocker interference, which can distort playback and lead to abnormal ad experiences.
It's going to be a tough ride ahead.
Joking aside, YouTube's ads are getting more and more meddling, to the point where they're impossible to ignore: but what if you don't want to pay for YouTube Premium. Well, then you're stuck with getting those YouTube ads, or… you go for some kind of ad blocker, I suppose. Google (the owner of YouTube) has declared a war on ad blockers, though:
They want you to see those ads. After all, companies and advertisers have paid good money for their short clips to be displayed. Sometimes, it's not short clips that we have to endure, though. You've probably come across some ads that are over 10, or even 20 minutes long.
That's nothing. How about a 60-minutes long ad? And such that can't be skipped? Reports come up that point in that direction.
However, it's probably not YouTube that makes them unskippable: it's probably the ad blockers that are failing to block the advertisement while simultaneously hide the Skip button.
One notable example came from a Reddit user who shared their experience of encountering an unskippable ad that lasted nearly 58 minutes. This sparked a wave of similar complaints, with others claiming to have seen ads as long as 10 hours or even 90 hours.
While these extreme claims lack verification, another user, Standard-Slip6572, said a two-hour and 52-minute ad that played before a video lasting just 49 minutes. This is called Theatre of the Absurd, if you ask me.
Some users speculated that YouTube could be detecting ad blockers and responding by serving unusually long, unskippable ads as a deterrent. Others suggested that the ad blockers themselves might be malfunctioning, blocking the "Skip" button while failing to prevent the ads from playing.
However, even users without ad blockers have reported encountering extended unskippable ads, such as one lasting one minute and 28 seconds – far longer than the typical ad experience.
It's going to be a tough ride ahead.
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Things that are NOT allowed: