YouTube to get rid of un-skippable 30-second ads in 2018
Google-owned video giant YouTube has announced it will be including a "skip" button with its 30-second pre-roll ad format from next year. The move comes as the site is making efforts to create a more user-friendly experience and stave off competition from rivals such as Facebook. However, YouTube will continue to show 15 and 20-second ads without a bypass option. Surveys suggest up to 90% of users skip pre-roll video ads when given the choice.
Starting next year, you'll no longer have to sit through a half-minute of advertising to watch a YouTube video.

On Friday, the Google-owned video giant announced that it will no longer offer its 30-second pre-roll ad format without a "skip" button in 2018, Campaign(opens in a new tab) first reported. It will, however, continue to show 15- and 20-second ads without the option to bypass them.

SEE ALSO: This new feature will change your YouTube life

"We’ve decided to ... focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The change is part of Google's mission to create a more user-friendly ad experience for the platform as it faces growing competition from Facebook and others.

To that end, the company rolled out an ultra-compact, six-second "bumper ad(opens in a new tab)" unit last spring.

But the move will likely also drastically devalue its remaining 30-second offering, considering that surveys(opens in a new tab) unsurprisingly show that 90 percent of people skip ads if given the choice.

In the meantime, there are always ad blockers.