YouTube is finally getting rid of a “legacy” feature that has likely been bugging users for a long time.
according to Official YouTube Forum Post and by technical artYouTube will finally retire overlay ads starting April 6, 2023. Overlay ads, or the “legacy ad format” the post refers to, “will no longer appear in YouTube videos, nor will they appear as an ad format available when you open an ad in YouTube Studio.”
The post details that the banner ads are only available in desktop mode and that they are “disruptive to viewers.” YouTube believes the removal will have limited impact on most creators as “engagement shifts to other ad formats.” This makes sense, since creators only earn money when viewers click on the overlay, and it’s likely that only a small percentage of those actually do.
why is this a good thing
This is a big move for YouTube, not only because the ads are actually disruptive because they block part of the screen, but because it marks the first time YouTube has actually removed an ad.
It shows the media giant is willing to pay attention to the needs of its audience and act pre-emptively. This allows YouTube to re-evaluate other ad types and even ad length, and decide whether to pull those ads as well. For example, it can analyze the type of ad for which viewers tend to click the “skip” button — an important metric because creators won’t pay for their video ad if the viewer skips the video — and cancel that ad type.
Regardless, aggressive anti-consumer features should always be phased out. It would be nice if they weren’t introduced in the first place, but that might be too much to ask of a company.
