You would agree with me if I say that the rate at which YouTube displays ads these days is quite frustrating. You can’t scroll down a bit without seeing an ad, talk more about those ads that are visible at the top part of the software. Well, in a bid to lessen this experience, Overlay ads on YouTube will be removed by April 26, 2023.
Removal of Overlay ads on YouTube
“Overlay ads” are pop-up banner advertising that frequently interrupts or conceal already playing video on YouTube for desktop or browser. The business confirmed the decision in a YouTube Help Forum post, stating that the “legacy ad structure” was considered to be “disruptive for viewers.” It’s worth noting that the option has long been missing on the mobile platform in favor of skippable pre-, mid-, and post-roll ad formats.
“Starting on April 6th, 2023, the “Overlay ads” ad format will no longer appear on YouTube to help improve the viewer experience and shift engagement to higher performing ad formats on desktop and mobile devices. Overlay ads are a legacy ad format that is only served on desktops and are disruptive for viewers. We expect to see a limited impact for most Creators as engagement shifts to other ad formats.”
The elimination of the overlay advertisements option will also have a “minimal impact” on YouTube Creators, according to the video platform. To offset this, there would be a shift toward “alternative ad forms,” although no information on what these will be provided. Since “Overlay ads” is only displayed on desktop platforms, this may account for a reduced fraction of adverts displayed on qualifying sponsored content.
You will no longer be able to enable or add “Overlay ads” from within YouTube Studio when accessing monetization options after April 6, 2023. It’s unclear what Google intends to replace these pop-up advertisements with, although “other ad formats” might include the recently introduced “Product Tagging” function, which allows producers to identify things used or featured in videos.
This adjustment will undoubtedly help desktop viewers because obtrusive components will no longer conceal or clash with video content. Some ad-blocking plugins may already block such content, and it remains to be seen how this will be replaced.
