Ad Pods consist of two spots that are served back-to-back either before or during a video. YouTube says it is testing these to help avoid or cut down disruptions while watching videos. Through research, YouTube have said “we learned that fewer interruptions is correlated with better user metrics, including less abandonment of content and higher rates of ad viewing.” These are currently being tested for desktops only, soon to roll out on mobile and on TV. This new ad format is supposed to feel more like ‘TV’.

The ad pods will come in different formats such as two skippable ads, a skippable ad followed by a six-second spot that you can’t skip (bumper ad), or a bumper ad and a skippable ad, or two Bumpers consecutively. YouTube says that advertisers are also seeing a greater reach (8-11%) and frequency (5-10%) with ads shown in pod. This is still early research and will take some more testing to see the potential of the ad pods. Ultimately, many of us will see 10 seconds of ads and click skip twice.

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