A spokesperson from Google has recently confirmed that 30-second preroll ads, those that appear before you actually start watching the video, will be removed from the platform next year. Google is a company known for experimentation. The spokesperson said they are looking for ad types that are more effective for both the user and the advertiser.

They will continue to show other types of unskippable ads of other lengths, including the 6-second bumper ads.

The change, when it happens, should be unnoticeable and effective across all their services. Since each YouTube app sends an HTTP request for ads, at one point the server will stop responding with certain types of ads. The announcement seems very far in advance for us viewers, but it should give advertisers enough time to re-evaluate their advertising strategy and plan accordingly.

I imagine for the moment 30-second ads will still appear and can still be created. However, as the deprecation process continues, advertisers will receive emails notifying them that ads will stop being served. Then, the ad manager will stop letting new 30-seconds ads be created without affecting current ones. The timeline for removing this feature is intentionally long and full of small changes that will slowly push companies away from that specific ad type.

Featured image from a 6-second bumper ad featuring Ed Sheeran