YouTube Announces Unskippable Ads for TVs, NFL Partnership, and More

At its Brandcast 2023 upfront event in New York this week, YouTube announced 30-second unskippable ads in top-performing YouTube content on TVs.

The company aims to emulate the effectiveness of commercials seen on broadcast and cable networks over the years.

YouTube also plans to test new “Pause Experiences” for YouTube on TVs, displaying ads when viewers pause a video, similar to the pause ads seen on Hulu.

According to Nielsen estimates, over 150 million unique viewers in the United States watched YouTube and YouTube TV on televisions in December 2022.

Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, emphasized the changing landscape of video consumption, stating that an increasing number of viewers are turning to YouTube on the largest screen in their homes.

The presentation also highlighted YouTube’s exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package, set to commence during the 2023 football season.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, alongside popular YouTuber Deestroying, appeared on stage to endorse this partnership.

Goodell disclosed that the collaboration would involve MrBeast, the top individual creator on YouTube with a whopping subscriber count of 153 million. MrBeast will create behind-the-scenes football content, leveraging the millions of football fans on YouTube.

The newly introduced 30-second unskippable ads will be accessible through YouTube Select, a curated collection of the top 5% most-viewed and most-engaging content on the platform.

Initially, the new ad unit will be available in the United States, with plans to expand internationally later this year.