It’s nice that Google has figured out a way for YouTube to become profitable over the last couple of years. The problem for viewers is that this monetization often involves annoying advertising distractions. At first, YouTubers figured out that by immediately refreshing the video, they would be able to skip these 15-second video ads that precede even short videos (a much worse ad-to-content ratio than even cable television).
But that trick no longer works. And viewers are getting mad. And online advertisers enjoy being positive interruptions, not negative ones. So, YouTube is rethinking their current strategy with YouTube TrueView, a Hulu mimic that allows users to both choose their preferred video and to skip them outright.
For advertisers looking solely for total views, in terms of a sheer imaging campaign, this will be worse. But, now online advertisers get a more engaged audience – one who has either chosen to watch their ad, or has not chosen to skip it. Win. Win. Win.