For context I’m in the US. The last time I used YouTube without an ad blocker, there were 2 ads back to back, and way too frequently. I tried watching on my PlayStation tonight, and not only are they more frequent, they’ve increased in quantity by 150%. It’s also very common for the last ad to last 2 minutes to over an hour long. What the actual fuck, why would anyone watch YouTube without an ad blocker at this point? It’s literally unwatchable

Edit: the amount of unsolicited advice in the comments is unreal. I don’t get ads on my phone or on desktop, I’m very aware of how to block them. I simply won’t watch YouTube on my PlayStation anymore. I’m not looking for suggestions, please stop with the recommendations.

  • redcalcium@lemmy.institute
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    6 months ago

    Geez, so many entitled people in this thread. If Google didn’t get their yearly revenue growth, their poor execs wouldn’t be able to afford their 3rd yacht! Stop being selfish and subscribe to premium already! /s

      • Victor@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Wasn’t that something Paris Hilton said? 😆 “Have they, like, tried not being poor?” I may have added the “like”. But it’s very plausible it was there!

    • echo64@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      What about the content creators? I don’t care about Google, but I want the people who make the things I enjoy to get paid.

      Sure, you can subscribe to patreons, but you can’t subscribe to everyone’s, and frankly, 99% of people don’t subscribe to any.

      I guess we can all just say ha doesn’t matter I got mine and try to not think about it. I guess that is the plan.

      • namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev
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        6 months ago

        It’s not your responsibility to make up for Google’s shortcomings. They’re a ~5 trillion dollar company now. They could easily change their payment structure if they wanted to, but they don’t because their shareholders are more important. If a company with >10^8 times more net worth than you isn’t going to bother, then don’t make it your responsibility.

        It’s sad, but unfortunately, the creators made a deal with the devil, and it’s not regular people’s responsibility to get them out.

        And don’t forget, there was a time when nobody made any money for posting things on youtube - it was just a site for sharing things people found novel and interesting, with no expectation of remuneration whatsoever. I would even argue that it was a much better time to be there than it is now - back before they had recommendation algorithms pushing people to all kinds of deplorable content and pushing the biddings of far-right dictators. Rewarding Google for this kind of behavior only makes it worse.

      • redcalcium@lemmy.institute
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        6 months ago

        The majority of people that uploaded their video on youtube never see those ads money because they don’t meet the criteria to receive ad revenue, and those that do, get so little and earn most of their income from other sources (endorsements, paid review, etc). Those minority who blocked ads don’t really affect content creator’s bottom line in a meaningful way. Subscription is another matter though because it pays higher rates, though still pretty low compared to other income stream.

      • Voyajer@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        If you truly care about a creator you can buy their some of their merch. The profit from that will out-value watching every one of their videos with ads for the foreseeable future.

  • dingus@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    OP, I know exactly what you’re talking about.

    I was visiting relatives this Christmas and wanted to watch some of my YouTube videos on their SmartTV. I have watched YouThe with ads on occasion throughout the years…usually when watching some video on a relative’s device or school or work computer or something. They are annoying, but mostly fairly manageable. So I started up a 20 minute vid from a youtuber I like.

    I shit you not…within the first 5 fucking minutes of the video, there were 5 separate ad breaks. And each ad was going to play for minutes on end if I never hit the skip button.

    Yep, you read that right. One ad per minute. I am NOT exaggerating. I counted them and watched the video timestamps.

    I almost could not believe what I was seeing. My mind was fucking blown. Never have I ever experienced that egregious level of ads. It made the content I was trying to view literally unwatchable and I switched off the video.


    To OP, I’d highly recommend getting an Android tv device like a modern Chromecast (not the old models…needs to run android). They are relatively inexpensive and make viewing content on TVs a sane experience. I think I maybe got mine for $40 or something. Install SmartTube Next and you’ll have no ads. Works fantastic. You set it up once and never worry about it again.

      • /home/pineapplelover@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        I don’t even use my tv for a tv. I just hook up my laptop to play games. If I wanna watch movies, shows, or videos I got my jellyfin client and youtube is ad free with ubo and firefox

    • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Zero ads and all the YouTubes for me so long as that isn’t possible anymore.

    • Sprokes@jlai.lu
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      6 months ago

      The same here. I know ublock Origin still works with the update but I just stopped and I am streaming my own content.

  • Tuxman@kbin.social
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    6 months ago

    This should go in “VeryInfuriating”. I agree YouTube has become unwatchable without any kind of ad-block or cheap Premium

  • Crow@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    iOS: Video Lite Android: Vanced Android TV: Smart Tube

    Stop watching YouTube ads. Use a third party player.

        • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          That takes actual money away from the actual creators though (instead of just the exec’s fat bank accounts), so use with some consideration. Don’t drain money from youtubers you enjoy.

          • Herbal Gamer@sh.itjust.works
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            6 months ago

            No it doesn’t; the creators have already been paid for their sponsorship. Sponsorblock just skips it the same as you would.

            • DanForever@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              Actually that’s not quite how it works from my understanding. Youtube is able to provide detailed metrics that can provide information like “how many people actually watched the sponsor segment?” and base the payouts on that. The payout will either be based on estimated views in advance (meaning if it’s lower than expected they’ll pay less next time) or they’ll pay after the video has been live for some period of time.

                • DanForever@lemmy.world
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                  6 months ago

                  You…don’t believe it works like that? Ultimately a sponsor isn’t going to pay much if no one watches the spot. Advertising has always involved getting as much data as possible on how your ads are doing.

                  I don’t have any one definitive link that will tell you “this is how it works”, but I’ve picked up a few things from the various discussions I’ve seen some youtubers have.

    • namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev
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      6 months ago

      Also, if you watch a video you like, do yourself a favor and download it. Save it. Archive it. It’s only a matter of time before they either take it down or derank it because they want to push you to some other more profitable video stream. Bonus points because it doesn’t give them analytics information on it when you go back to watch it again, or watch a specific part again.

      I’ve started doing this for all kinds of content - technical videos, music, funny clips, games, etc.

      • Victor@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        why would anyone watch YouTube without an ad blocker at this point

        You answered your own question in the actual post I think? Or what is your question? Do you have a question? There’s a question mark in your title. Do you want tips or to just rant?

  • harry_balzac@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I read your edit and thought “how bad could it be?”

    I started reading the comments and it was way worse than I thought.

    The most upvoted comments all display a great deal of “I only read 2 words of your original post” energy.

    I didn’t bother with an adblocker until recently myself because I was okay with a couple of ads or mentioning sponsors.

    Then, one day, the ads just multiplied on every video. It was that sudden for me. After a couple of days, I downloaded apps for my phone and TV and it’s been wonderful.

    I’ll watch YT in all its horribleness on my consoles if I’m looking for something game-related and I don’t want to get up and grab my phone.,

      • Waluigis_Talking_Buttplug@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Vanced got shut down, thats why there’s Revanced.

        Of course Google is going to do everything in their power to hit it. They’re well within their rights to disable accounts associated with these apps, too, btw, they just haven’t yet. It’s always an option if they feel like it though.

  • SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip
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    6 months ago

    I have a theory that they want you to get so annoyed that you suck it up and pay for premium.

    Instead, I decreased my YouTube consumption, turned on my adblocker for low-quality content, or content from an unmonetized creator, or content showing something technically illegal (game OSTs or a motorcycle review involving going 2x the speed limit), and donated to some patreons and purchased a year of Nebula.

  • Ben@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I think YouTube is dying.

    Already, I see many of my favourite channels being restricted (one Ukrainian blogger) whilst the completely moronic, yet dangerous conspiracy theory/Flat-Earthers flourish.

    Meanwhile, the most common thing we see is the push to sign up and pay them - yet with all the censorship (not simply censored for non-paying customers to allow the advertisements) it is not a viable option.

    Thankfully I still use a Desktop - with Firefox and decent extras the actual ads are still not affecting me at all, but YouTube’s policies really are.

    They are completely above the law - they don’t need to respect their own TOS (the reasons many people are blocked is more related to some secret narrative, and it goes against their own stated terms).

    There is no way to appeal outside YouTube, and good luck with any idea of taking them to court for removing your income stream, or censoring a very useful source of information whilst spamming you with algorithms that treat you like Spongebob, and expect you to watch completely moronic content.

    I suggest YouTube is a conspiracy to destroy the world, starting with the world population’s ability to think.

    Convince me I’m wrong ;)

    • Kbobabob@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      the reasons many people are blocked is more related to some secret narrative

      Source?

      • Ben@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        There seem to be many ‘sources’. Youtube have a policy where you can show explosions, you can show guns shooting as long as you can’t see the targets - it’s clearly written. Yet several people are demonetised for showing clips related to Ukraine for a start - and YouTube doesn’t respond to requests to explain, it’s a secretive policy that doesn’t follow the written policy.

        It’s also very easy to find other videos which would more clearly break the actual rules as they are written. Basically, they do have an agenda - it applies to many similar channels - and they keep very quiet about real reasons for doing so, instead quoting some bullshit rule which isn’t true, and doesn’t apply, both at the same time.

  • _pete_@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Quick PSA: they don’t currently block VPNs, so you can sign up for an account in a cheap country (I picked Nigeria) and use a foreign currency debit card (I use Revolut) to get Premium for like £1.50 a month for my entire family.

    If they close that loophole then I think I’ll be done with it, the ads make it basically unusable these days.

  • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
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    6 months ago

    Won’t someone think of the trickle down economics?? How will creators get paid!!