from Hacker News

YouTube's new ads will ruin the best part of a video on purpose

by namanyayg on 5/18/25, 9:31 PM with 56 comments

  • by rolph on 5/18/25, 9:39 PM

    "If you’re an advertiser, this might sound like a brilliant move. For viewers, it’s pretty much the worst possible timing"

    associating your product with a negative experience is not a brilliant move.

  • by DecentShoes on 5/18/25, 10:10 PM

    They want to make it unusable without Premium. This will just get worse and worse until everyone gives in.

  • by conartist6 on 5/18/25, 10:29 PM

    If consumers don't own the tech they rely on, they should expect it to be weaponized to control them

  • by x3n0ph3n3 on 5/18/25, 11:26 PM

    Firefox and uBlock continue to be a must for navigating the web.

  • by roskelld on 5/18/25, 10:51 PM

    I've noticed on iPhone Youtube Premium I've had overlay ad widgets appear. I think they're for a creator's own merchandise, but I'm guessing that there's some sort of revenue mechanism for Youtube being happy to include these. To me it's still an ad and it's what I pay for to avoid seeing it.

    I wonder how long we'll go for before we start to see ad-lite Premium, and something like Premium+ to view ad free.

  • by AStonesThrow on 5/18/25, 11:01 PM

    Oh good Lord. In fact I have noticed that lately YouTube was tracking the "most-watched" periods in every video with a little bar graph below it, so that was inevitable.

    I am a satisfied & loyal customer of YouTube Premium Family edition [my "family" consists of 5 separate Google accounts I operate.] However, I still see more ads encroaching from every direction. The latest method is merch -- a lot of influencers will have customized keepsakes on offer, and YouTube will display the wares in the dooblydoo as you're watching each video. Each will link out to the storefront where you can purchase it. You know, tee shirts, mugs, plushies -- the kind of swag that says "I spend my disposable income to line the pockets of obscure entertainers."

    The other ads I've got are for show tickets. Any group or troupe or entertainer who tours live will be hooked into YouTube's algorithm to find tickets for their shows. YouTube once told me that the closest venue for my favorite act was next week in Finland. It often leads to consternation because I hate live shows at this point, for many reasons, and sometimes I will price out a single ticket to my most-hated live show to see if it's $300 or $500. Sometimes in guilt for coveting that live ticket, I will donate the same amount to my favorite charity. That is how much I hate live shows and advertising.

  • by NoPicklez on 5/19/25, 1:09 AM

    Dumb move, I don't mind ads during normal viewing but if they happen at the crescendo it will piss people off

  • by immibis on 5/18/25, 10:21 PM

    I remember when everyone was wishing they could just pay their own ad revenue in money and not have to see any ads.

  • by burnt-resistor on 5/19/25, 1:36 AM

    Monetization of misery for the almighty $$$. Airlines to streaming tier plans.