YouTube TV app's 90-second unskippable ads caused by a bug, fix released

YouTube has confirmed that reports of 90-second unskippable ads on its TV app were due to a bug, not a new format, and a fix is now rolling out to affected users

YouTube has confirmed to 9To5Google that the reports regarding YouTube TV app users seeing 90-second-long unskippable ads were caused by a bug. The company added that the 90-second unskippable ads were not being tested, and a fix is being rolled out for users. As per the report, YouTube’s current policies are limited to a 30-second unskippable ad format.

 

A YouTube spokesperson told 9To5Google, “We’ve determined this was a result of a bug, which resulted in higher inaccurate timers being shown for shorter ads. We’re rolling out a fix now. As we’ve said, we don’t have a 90-second non-skippable ad format, and this was not a test.”

 

What happened

Earlier last week, several YouTube TV app users reported unusually long ad interruptions, with some saying ad breaks extended up to 90 seconds while watching videos on televisions. This appeared to build on the earlier rollout of 30-second non-skippable ads last year. According to a report by 9To5Google, users shared similar experiences online, including screenshots showing a skip option only after “90+ seconds.”

 

An X user named Dexerto posted about this while saying that YouTube has begun rolling out a 90-second unskippable ad format to their TV app. YouTube, while responding to this, said that the platform did not offer a 90-second non-skippable ad format and was not testing one. The company added that it was looking into the issue. The same statement was reiterated to 9To5Google.

YouTube not providing a clear response to what had happened led to confusion among users at that time. With the platform now rolling out a fix, it stands clear that it was indeed a bug and the company was not testing a longer ad format for its TV app.