Unskippable YouTube Ads Just Got A Long Longer On Smart TVs

If, like so many others, you tend to watch YouTube on a smart TV, you could be about to find that the time you have to wait before you can skip an ad has gotten much longer.

While YouTube has yet to officially announce the change in unskippable ad duration, plenty of users are already feeling the effects, after having to wait up to 90 seconds before they can click the ‘skip ad‘ button and return to the video they were watching.

It is worth noting that the longer non-skippable ads are currently only in use on smart TVs. So those using mobile devices to watch YouTube won’t have to worry about longer unskippable ads – yet.

What’s interesting, and potentially concerning, is the speed in which the duration of unskippable ads has increased recently.

It was only a matter of weeks ago that YouTube announced the launch of 30-second CTV-only non-skippable ad formats. And, in spite of being just over a month ago, the company appears to have already upped that upper limit from 30 seconds to 90 seconds.

Considering YouTube has yet to make this change official, it does seem likely that the change is only one that’s being tested at the moment.

And assuming YouTube listens to user feedback, then it is possible that the ultra-long unskippable ads could be removed in the future. Especially considering how disliked they seem to be in Reddit threads like this one.

Of course, for those that do find ads on YouTube to be too unbearable in general, the company now offers the option to subscribe to YouTube Premium Lite.

Priced at $8 a month in the US, a YouTube Premium Lite subscription not only removes most ads, but also unlocks access to background playback, and the ability to download non-music content.