Youtube Automatic Mid Roll Ads

By shaving off 2 minutes from a video's mid-roll ad eligibility, will YouTube change how creators make and viewers watch content on the platform?

A few minutes ago, I opened my inbox to an email that started with.

"You're receiving this email because we are making some changes to mid-roll ads that will impact your channel."

My first thoughts? Here we go again. Many creators have already felt hard pressed by the COPPA ruling that makes it harder for many creators to generate revenue on content specifically created toward children.

However, the email continued with:

These changes will make more videos eligible for mid-roll ads to increase your monetization potential.

YouTube was created to share short-form video content, but we've seen the average video length increase for the past decade until it came to rest somewhere around the ten-minute mark a few years ago. You might think many creators produce lengthier content because their audience calls for it, but a lot of the time videos end just after that 10-minute mark because of the elusive mid-roll ad. So what's the big change? As of late July, all videos longer than 8 minutes will be eligible for mid-roll ads.

AdSense, Google's ad serving platform, is the primary way that creators generate income. While all partners can turn on pre-roll adverts along with banner ads and sponsored cards, YouTubers could only turn on mid-roll ads if their video was over 10 minutes in length. Given that mid-roll ads present the creator the opportunity to earn more from a video, you can see why so many videos extend to the ten-minute mark — even if the information could have been reduced into a shorter video.

Types of ads on YouTube

Types of ads available to YouTube creators.

This doesn't go unnoticed to the YouTube viewing audience. It's often noted in the comments that the ten-minute goal can also make for bland and bloated content. If you have the perfect video, but it's 9 minutes in length, devising an extra 60 seconds of content can indeed be a tedious task. That is set to change with the new 8-minute standard.

While some users have already taken to Twitter to voice their concerns that this is YouTube's ploy for YouTube to encourage more sign-ups to its ad-less YouTube Premium service, for creators, this is a big win.However, it could also disrupt the content audiences are accustomed to viewing.

For years it has felt like YouTube is moving away from the people who initially made the platform what it is — the homegrown creator. However, the reduction in mid-roll eligible video length is a welcome change. It presents the opportunity for creators to generate more revenue while creating shorter content. In this current climate of financial insecurity, I won't look this gift horse in the mouth.

There is something important to note. From YouTube's official communication, these paragraphs stand out:

"As part of this change, we will turn on mid-roll ads for all eligible videos. This means that videos where you may have opted out of mid-roll ads will now be opted in. Videos that already have mid-roll ads will not be impacted. Future uploads from monetizing channels will also have mid-roll ads turned on by default.

Turning on auto mid-roll ads saves creators extra work while helping increase the monetization potential for new and existing content. We use machine learning to automatically find the most natural breaks in your videos in order to increase monetization potential while balancing user experience."

While many creators will welcome the opportunity for extra income, some may find this automatic change disruptive to their content. A number of creators are happy to forgo the additional ad revenue to supply a streamlined and uninterrupted viewing experience, especially with videos that present a more serious discussion. However, after July 27th, creators will have to go into their video dashboard and individually turn off videos that have been affected.

If you don't want mid-roll ads to appear in your content, you can request their removal in the selection field found in your creator dashboard, pictured below.

Change mid-roll ad preference on YouTube