YouTube has previously shown that it is not keen on adblockers. Now it is clear that it wants to go pretty far in fighting them. It really wants to force you to watch advertisements, as adblockers will now even be shown an expiring timer.
Adblockers on YouTube
On Reddit, people are talking about YouTube’s anti-adblocker method, which apparently reared its head Friday for the first YouTube viewers. Only people who use an adblocker get to see it: a yellow clock showing how long you have left to do something about it. Then an ad automatically plays. And that ad is no mean feat: it lasts from half a minute to a minute.
Furthermore, more and more adblocker users are also seeing the check: a number of dots with behind them that ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube. After all, it is because of ads that the service can remain free. If you really don’t want to see those ads, then you can subscribe to YouTube Premium to no longer be bothered by them.
More advertising
YouTube has significantly increased the number and duration of its advertisements in recent years, so it’s not surprising that people find it annoying to watch advertisements before a video and in between videos. However, YouTube is pushing for even more revenue by having the ads “bought off” with YouTube Premium, versus the adblockers that YouTube previously lost revenue from.
YouTube Premium costs 6.99 euros in the Netherlands for a Lite subscription and 11.99 euros for a full subscription. The advantage of Premium is that it also allows you to download videos for offline viewing and continues to play videos when you move to another app.
What do you think: do you think YouTube indeed needs the many ads, or do you see another revenue model that would benefit more people?