YouTube Test Allows Users to Choose Between Ads

In a posting on YouTube's corporate blog, Monday, product manager, Phil Farhi, announced that the company has begun a "small test" that will give users of its service more control over how they watch advertising. On a "small percentage" of videos in which YouTube serves pre-, mid- and post-roll ads (note: these in-stream ads are typically found in the professionally produced long-form content that YouTube is now offering in increasing quantities alongside its core user-generated/short-form video line-up), Farhi wrote, users will now be offered a choice between a) watching a "promoted video" before watching the video they want to see or b) watching "a few" (up to four) in-stream ads placed in commercial breaks throughout that video. Users who choose the "promoted video" option will have a choice of two commercial spots to watch--and their choices will presumably provide YouTube and participating advertisers with more insight into which types of commercials are most effective with which types of content. "We are constantly testing a wide range of options to find the right advertising format for the right content on YouTube, and we think giving users a say in the process helps our efforts," Farhi's posting concluded.