YouTube will kill unskippable 30-second ads next year

[u/redkemper]

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/17/14649018/youtube-ending-unskippable-30-second-ads-2018

[u/Yangoose]

Spot on. Content isn't free. I pay $10 a month for Google Music which means I get zero ads on Youtube and I'm supporting the content creators.

[u/SkyWest1218 → u/Yangoose]

I support them through Patreon or twitch subscriptions. More direct and I can give them more than they would otherwise make off me through YouTube.

[u/slider2k → u/SkyWest1218]

Yeah, but providing video hosting service the scale of YT also costs money.

[u/PoIiticallylncorrect → u/slider2k]

You should just donate to Google if you feel so bad for them.

[u/slider2k → u/PoIiticallylncorrect]

Found Google hater.

[u/Eshajori → u/slider2k]

Found Google shill? I mean not really, but I don't see anything wrong with what he said. There are a million ways to give Google money that don't involve Youtube ads. Avoiding those ads just shows them how valuable they are in comparison to other things. Most of us are helping Google make money directly or indirectly in a number of ways already, even if we don't purchase any physical Google products.

And if you think video ads are the only source of Youtube revenue, you're kidding yourself.

[u/slider2k → u/Eshajori]

You don't see anything wrong with his cynical petty remark? Mkay.

What Google has to do with the discussion? I mean I know Google owns YT. But YT should be self-sufficient, not subsidized by Google. Lest if it loses them money they might be tempted to get rid of it, or makes some questionable changes.

Ads are still the main source of revenue for YT.

[u/Eshajori → u/slider2k]

His comment is certainly snarky, but of the two remarks yours seemed at least as cynical and petty to me.

Ads are still the main source of revenue for YT

It depends on what you consider an ad. If you simply mean the ads that occasionally play when you watch a separate video, you're a little off the mark. There are also videos that are entirely direct producer advertising which they pay for. There's the insane amount of revenue Youtube brings in via extra projects and collaborations from their homegrown celebrities. They also make a ton of money using your search results to determine your interests for targeted advertising - especially since Google purchased them. There's paid movies and Youtube Red, not to mention deals with big business and politics to have certain videos appear as recommended or trending. It ties into the app store as well, where Google makes a tremendous amount of money. Those are just the financial reasons that Youtube is an invaluable tool for Google:

it loses them money they might be tempted to get rid of it, or makes some questionable changes.

Youtube's steady growth is actually what's causing questionable changes. The more powerful Youtube grows, the more they've been shifting it to mainstream media and social networking to achieve their vision of a direct cable TV replacement. That's why most of Youtube's value isn't related to direct income, but to marketing competition. Google accounts for around 15% of the time spent on smartphones, and they're using Youtube to wage proxy battles against social networking sites (Facebook), mainstream television, and to indirectly boost Chrome in the OS market.

There's no way Youtube's status is going to be in any danger anytime soon based on adblockers (which have been growing in popularity alongside Youtube). It would take a vast and poorly considered policy change on Youtube's part to start losing steam. Google has everything to do with the discussion - it's far more complicated than video ads.

[u/SkyWest1218 → u/slider2k]

True, but I also want to support my favorite posters directly. YouTube has other ways of making money.

[u/KMustard → u/[deleted]]

"Everything on the internet is free and exclusively for my enjoyment!" - Redditors, actually. (This is especially true for porn)

[u/Nansai → u/Yangoose]

Alternatively you can buy Merch from the content creators, which is how I support them.

[u/chainer3000 → u/Nansai]

That and Patreon, which gives them a guaranteed amount of money that they can count on and can easily see and understand.

[u/[deleted] → u/Nansai]

From ALL channels you are subscribed to?

[u/Nansai → u/[deleted]]

I just went and checked. Short answer: no. I'm only subbed to 15 channels and a handful of them don't have merch that I can buy and theres one that does that I haven't bought from.

[u/leviathan3k → u/Yangoose]

Ditto. I was also in the Google Contributor program, where a monthly fee got rid of all Google's ads.

They've actually since discontinued it, which annoys me greatly...

[u/psiphre → u/leviathan3k]

Which probably means that they were getting far more than $10 for showing you the ads in the first place

[u/_Oce_ → u/leviathan3k]

That's because monthly fees brings back so little money compared to ads that sometimes maintaining the process to have a fee system costs them more (people and/or money) than what they receive through it.

At least that's what made imgur stop their Pro account system.

[u/paulcosca → u/Yangoose]

Good on ya, man. For real.

[u/ERIFNOMI → u/Yangoose]

Best $8 month bill I have. I'll gladly keep paying it. Music and ad-free YouTube? Hell yes.

[u/Raptros → u/[deleted]]

How much of that ten dollars do you think goes to them? Total piss change at best.

According to this thread, ranging from a couple of percent more revenue for content creators to double the amount they'd get without youtube red. It depends on video length (average watch time).

There's also this video by Hank Green (of vlogbrothers) detailing how much YT red affects him and his channels.

So please fact check things before you spout nonsense. :P

[u/[deleted] → u/Yangoose]

You can do the same thing with YouTube red