YouTube can now force users to watch as many as 10 ads in a row

There are few things that can grind a user’s gears as much as an endless barrage of ads. Unfortunately, many free services rely on ad revenue and, by extension, bombard their users in order to make profits. YouTube even more so, with its controversial model of monetisation.

But where do we draw the line? When are ads too much? Apparently, YouTube thinks a stream (pun intended) of 10 ads in a row is an acceptable number.

Some users have reported being forced to watch as many as 10 unskippable ads, before a video even starts. The length of the ads themselves also appears to be longer. It should be noted that if the video is longer, odds are it will be interrupted midway with even more ads.

This information was first brought forward via Reddit and was subsequently covered by Sammobile in a dedicated article. Admittedly, the issue has had an impact on a limited number of users, but the trend itself is concerning.

Apparently, the phenomenon is due to YouTube’s new “bumper ads”. The particular ad type can expose the viewer to numerous ads in quick succession, without a “skip” option. This clarification was given by the TeamYoutTube Twitter account. The only saving grace is that the ads tend to be below 6 seconds long.

Nevertheless, a simple round of arithmetics can give you an estimate of 60 seconds of unskippable ad time. Just how unreasonable this figure is, largely depends on what type of content you are watching.

At any rate, YouTube is already treading on thin ice. There is only so many ads viewers can stomach, before deciding that watching the video in the first place is simply not worth it.

Of course, impatient users always have the option to subscribe to YouTube Premium. But, at this point, the ad policy seems tilted towards the prospect of rendering mundane Youtube unwatchable.