YouTube is changing up how it shows ads in videos. The video-sharing app will now group ads together for longer ad breaks, instead of multiple short ad breaks during your video. In addition, viewers will see a countdown of how much time is left in the ad break instead of the number of ads they’ll see before the can skip.
After testing earlier this year, the Google-owned platform is rolling out the changes to users.
The launch comes as YouTube has been cracking down on ad-blockers — which eat into the service’s ad revenue — and more aggressively promoting its ad-free premium membership tier.
When YouTube announced the test, the video-sharing app said 79% of viewers preferred “video ads that are grouped together instead of distributed throughout a video.” During early trials, YouTube said connected TV viewers experienced 29% longer viewing sessions before an ad break.
YouTube said the changes are meant to create a “more seamless viewing experience” for users.
The service has tested a number of changes this year like smaller “Skip Ads” button as part of the redesign plans it announced last October and 30-second ads that viewers wouldn’t be able to skip.
If you want YouTube without ads, the service’s premium tier costs $13.99 a month for individual users ($139.99 anually), $22.99 a month for families, or $7.99 for students after a one-month free trial.