If you use a YouTube ad blocker, prepare to be left blank for 6-30 seconds.
Multiple YouTube user now report upon Social media If you are using an ad blocker extension, you may notice that YouTube serves a blank ad or black screen before the video. The black screen appears for the length of the usual YouTube pre-roll or ad insertion before the actual content of the video that the viewer wants to watch appears.
In recent months, YouTube has made changes to prevent users from skipping ads using third-party ad blocker extensions. Third-party ad blocker extensions typically allow users to skip ads and go directly to the video content on YouTube. But now, it appears that ad blocker users must wait for the content, regardless of whether they actually see the ad, which partially defeats the purpose of ad blockers.
YouTube goes premium, kills ad blockers for good
YouTube obviously didn’t like ad blockers because ads on the platform are a big source of revenue for the company and its creators, but now YouTube is getting really interested in them. Crackdown Last year, the company began tracking ad blocker usage by messaging users urging them to upgrade to YouTube Premium, another source of revenue for the company.
Mashable Lightspeed
For $13.99 per month, YouTube viewers can enjoy an ad-free viewing experience through official channels, and in return, YouTube and its creators earn revenue from users who can legally skip ads.
YouTube Premium has been a success, with the number of paid subscribers surpassing 100 million earlier this year. However, many YouTube viewers still use ad blocker extensions. Last month, YouTube announced the following policy. The company: Server-Side Ad Insertion Making ad blockers even more obsolete.
YouTube Premium could let you automatically jump to the most interesting parts of a video
What does this mean? Previously, YouTube offered video ads as a separate media component. The platform essentially showed ads before videos and directed viewers to the content once the ads were over. Ad blockers simply blocked the ad videos, directing users straight to the YouTube video they wanted to watch.
With server-side ad insertion, YouTube inserts ads directly into the main YouTube video feed. Essentially, ad blockers no longer see the two separate pieces of media and view them as one video stream. At the time, some ad blockers acknowledged that there was still a way, although it would be harder to block ads. But judging by what ad blocker users are seeing now, it seems like they only achieved half of their original goal: ads are blocked, but not skippable.
If ad blockers aren’t experiencing black screens yet, it’s likely because YouTube hasn’t fully rolled out server-side ad insertion across its platform. With YouTube’s new ads, it looks like the only way to experience an ad-free YouTube will be with YouTube Premium, at least until ad blockers find a new workaround.
