Need to pause a YouTube video? Don't be surprised if an ad pops up
It could frustrate your YouTube experience if you're a non-paying subscriber.
The next time you hit pause on a YouTube video, you might notice something unexpected—an ad appearing on your screen.
No, it’s not your video resuming, but rather a new feature YouTube has quietly introduced: pause ads. These static advertisements show up when you pause a video, offering a slice of your idle attention to advertisers.
And yes, this is becoming a reality for all viewers as YouTube confirmed the widespread rollout of pause ads, which were initially tested back in 2023.
Users will now see ads occupying a small window on the right half of their TV screens, occupying the description and comments section, while the paused video shrinks to the left. On mobile devices, the ads appear from the bottom of the display.
The ad contents are static images, with no video, or music. They are labelled “Sponsored,” with buttons that allow users to dismiss the ad or find more information.
This ad format is currently limited to TVs and mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and is not available on web browsers, but there are no promises that this won't change.
If truth be told, YouTube experimenting with ads is nothing new.
Over the past year, non-paying subscribers have seen various ad types tested on their screens, including longer 30-second unskippable ads, advertiser-branded QR codes, and picture-in-picture (PIP) ads for live videos.
Even worse is the fact that YouTube is working on Server-side ad injection (SSAI) to prevent third-party ad blockers, effectively forcing viewers to endure these interruptions.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
For YouTube, this calculated move is just one part of its broader ad strategy. Of its 2.5 billion global users, only about 100 million are Premium subscribers and YouTube wants to get that number up. Whether it's through forced advertising or paid subscriptions, YouTube ensures it profits either way.
If you're a premium subscriber, YouTube's $13.99 per month plan seems to be worth it to avoid the annoying ads on the platform, let alone the new pause ads. But, for many non-paying subscribers, these new ad placements would frustrate their YouTube experience.
Ultimately, the platform has the power to add as many ads as it likes, as long as it gives users the option to pay for their removal, but essentially forcing people to pay for Premium by making the standard experience more annoying isn't a good look.
Whether these new ad formats will drive more people toward Premium remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: YouTube’s monetization strategies are evolving, and ads are here to stay.
