YouTube axing 30-second unskippable ads (hurray) in favor of more 6-second ads (boo)

Google has stuck a lovely spoonful of cookie dough ice cream into the mouths of YouTube fans with one hand while punching them in the privates with another, figuratively speaking.

According to a report from Campaign, Google will drop the dreaded 30-second unskippable YouTube ads — the ones that always appears just as you hush everyone at the party to listen to the sick intro of your favorite jam — and will instead introduce more frequent 6-second unskippable ads, starting 2018. The 20-second unskippable ads, meanwhile, are also here to stay.

The move is said to have arrived as a response to Facebook’s increasing focus on video. Callum McCahon, strategy director for Born Social, said it was: “A signal that YouTube is very worried about Facebook,” in a statement to Campaign, adding: “Their video offering is becoming ever more attractive to brands by the day, and YouTube is panicking.”

This is said to please consumers while being bad news for advertisers, but I’m not sure how much I subscribe to that. The 30-second ad was easy to avoid: Mute > open new tab > navigate to Android Authority > eat a potato chip > drink some soda > return and boom you’re right at the start of your video without having watched the ad — and a great website is open for later.

It’s just not really going to be worth avoiding a 6-second commercial.

What’s your take on the announcement? Let me know in the comments.