Users Claim YouTube Shows Unskippable Ads As Long As Movies!

Ads are a part of life now, and they permeate our internet experience. This is especially true for people who use YouTube for free. Users are subject to the obligatory 15-second unskippable ads, but how about an ad as long as The Lord Of The Ring: Fellowship Of The Ring? Some users report that YouTube is showing unskippable ads that are hours long.

At this point, it’s tough to guess who the culprit is in this scenario. There are also some reports that come without proof, so you’ll want to take it cautiously. We’re sure that we haven’t heard the last of this story.

Is YouTube showing unskippable ads that are hours long?

Several users on Reddit have reported seeing YouTube videos with some insanely long ads and no Skip button in sight. Many would view it as a bug, but it’s been popping up all over. Users like u/Lin1ex showed a picture of a 57-minute 57-second ad. As you can see, there’s no option to skip.

Another user posted a picture with a whopping 2-hour 52-minute ad. To put that in perspective, The Lord Of The Ring: Fellowship Of The Ring is 2 hours 58 minutes. However, this image does give us a clue as to what’s happening here.

Look at the image closely; do you notice something off? At the bottom left corner of the screen we see a Skipping ads button. This points to the user using an ad blocker on their computer.

After that, all of the pieces seem to fall into place. By the looks of it, it seems like a tactic by YouTube to stave off ad blockers. We can’t say that for sure, but we know that YouTube has been fighting off ad blockers fiercely over the past couple of years. Hitting users with a two-hour ad for using ad blockers seems to be a proper way of discouraging ad blocker usage.

Google response

Google ushered a response to the story, and it doesn’t do so much to deny the allegation.

“Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses. That’s why the use of ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service. We’ve launched a global effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience.”

That’s not exactly denying what we’re all thinking. Google stamped its heels into the mud and doubled down in its stance against ad blockers. We can’t fault the company for doing so; however, YouTube Premium’s prices have been going up steadily.