Google-owned YouTube, the world’s largest and most popular video-sharing platform, is reportedly developing a new advertising strategy that will soon show ads on paused videos.
For those unaware, at YouTube’s Brandcast event last year, the company revealed a new pause experience for videos on smart TVs — “Pause ads” on YouTube’s TV app in select regions, which were already under pilot testing.
At the time, the company said that when a video is paused while mid-stream, the video you are watching will shrink, and an ad will be displayed alongside it. You can either dismiss the ad and return to the pause screen or resume watching the video by tapping the play button.
During Google’s recent earnings call, Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler underscored the success of the pause ads pilot testing.
He stated, “In Q1, we saw strong traction from the introduction of a pause ads pilot on connected TVs, a new non-interruptive ad format that appears when users pause their organic content. Initial results show that Pause ads are driving strong Brand Lift results and are commanding premium pricing from advertisers.”
YouTube’s primary source of revenue is advertising. With the upcoming introduction of pause ads, the company is not only aiming to boost its revenue streams but also to provide advertisers with a promising new avenue to connect with their target audiences.
Currently, there is no timeline for when pause ads will start appearing for everyone on YouTube. Given the positive results of initial tests of pause ads on YouTube, it is likely that Google will roll out the feature more widely very soon.
