Does it matter if I skip sponsored ad segments in YouTube videos?

I won't sit through a non-organic product placement. If I'm watching a guy weld up a body panel and he tells me how great a welder is, it doesn't bother me. If I'm watching and he starts telling me about his VPN or a phone game, that shit's getting skipped.

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You know how I like to prepare for replacing a carburetor? PLAYING RAID: SHADOW LEGENDS!

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- At this point I'm wondering if any one has ever actually played this game or if it even really exists. Everyone hates that shit and it's so over the top. They don't let the people they sponsor put any kind of a spin on it either it's just this completely alien and obnoxiously long diatribe where you can just about see the creator blinking in Morse code.
  
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Product placement has got to the point where if a YouTuber genuinely wants to recommend a product he's got to be like "seriously guys I didn't get paid for this and I even paid my own money for this welder, this is not a sponsorship, I just think it's really good and you should check it out"

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- I watch several channels where people just mow lawns or do other landscaping work (it's my version of ASMR; doing yard work was a nostalgic childhood memory of mine).
  
  One of the guys I watch bragged about how amazing his riding mower was. He swore up and down he wasn't a shill for the company, and he even painted over their logo so he wasn't inadvertently advertising their brand on his channel. But he said it was the best mower he's used in decades of work.
  
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I really like when they drink the green goo and pretend it's the best.

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It seems like a lot of businesses have a turnkey affiliate/referral rewards program. Like how anyone can go set up Amazon affiliate links.

But the creator presents it as a sponsorship. “Today’s video is sponsored by SquareSpace!”

No it’s not, you’re just posting your affiliate link.

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Not really. Content creators get an upfront amount to run the ad then either a fee per click on the sponsored link or when their code is used at checkout.

So by watching the ad and not using the promotion is the same as not watching the ad.

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Also, your "view" still counts towards the content creator's metrics (assuming you watch enough of the video). So the creator can use your view to sell more ads, whether you watch them or not.

It's likely that more savvy advertisers are using video heat maps to see which types of videos get people to actually watch the ad, but the metrics on that are probably not as informative as just view count.

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I recommend sponsorblock browser extension. Skips sponsored segments automatically.

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How’s it detect them?

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- People who watch the video early mark where the ad is.
  
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- Crowd sourced from other viewers
  
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- Crowd sourced.
  
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Immediately, no. The advert payments don't pay attention to you skipping the advert.
Over time, as people skip the ads, the value that advertisers put on the ads will diminish, as they realise that people won't see them.
The best solution would be to make the advert relevant to the video, or making them actually interesting (Like TomSka's over the top SurfShark ads), but that's me overthinking things again.

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I'd 100% say that I'm less likely to skip an in-video sponsor segment if the creator has tried to make it a bit more entertaining than just an ad copy read with logos and stock footage of people walking on a beach.

I'd say map men and boyinaband are two that jump out to me as having several I've not skipped, there's obviously others.

If advertisers aren't already on to this, those are the spots they want to be paying for, and I'd hope that means the creators doing them are getting paid a lot for them

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InternetHistorians ads are worth watching on their own

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How do the advertisers know how frequently in-video ads have been skipped? Do they ask for historical data on this from the YouTuber before brokering the sponsorship for an individual video?

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- They don't, they see how many people use the special link (Join now at www.superaids.com/yewtewber for 10% off your first order!) and if they find that fewer people are responding to the ads, the ads are simply worth less. If you skip ads without thinking, or worse with a plugin, then you won't ever see the ads that might actually interest you, and the use of those links will decrease.
  
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Woodworking for Mere Mortals had some great Microjig ads for a while until he ended the partnership

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No, the creator has been paid for the sponsorship beforehand. If you were never going to get the products that are sponsored then there's no difference between skipping it or letting it play and ignoring it.

I mean yeah, youtube does track the times in videos people do watch and are engaged in, but by skimming through almost any video you can see many people skip around and don't actually watch the full videos.

Sponsorblock just saves me from manually skipping past the sponsorships. I was never going to buy a shilled product to begin with anyway. I buy things based on my own research, not what a youtuber says I should buy.

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Sponsorblock is truly a gift from the gods

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Some sponsors will pay additional money based on how many people use a provided promo link or promo code, but if you never click/use those anyway, you're not costing the channel anything.

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I am paying $15 (or is it $18 already) for YouTube each month not to watch the adds. I am skipping those angrily on principle.

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YouTube premium, as far as I’m aware, still shares some of your monthly membership fee to the creators you watch to offset not seeing ads. I also am a premium member and feel no guilt at all about skipping sponsorship sections because of this.

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If you are on Android, you really should download ReVanced. You can add adblock and sponsorblock, and you will barely ever see ads again.

I actually refused to watch YT on mobile because it was too annoying an experience, but 'vanced makes it much more like the good old days of no ads everywhere.

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- Vanced is advanced with 'ad' removed btw.
  
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- Does it support chromecasting? That is the only think keeping to the official yt app on mobile.
  
  Otherwise I am using FF with an adblocker.
  
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- I found it a bit tedious having to build a new version whenever it broke. It's a bit less convenient but now I just click stare then Newpipe sponsorblock.
  
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While still funding meta. Great protest!

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Damn paying $15 for YouTube when ublock origin and sponsorblock are browser extensions, and YouTube Revanced does everything YouTube plus gives you entirely for free on android.

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- Damn paying $15 for a service that is almost the sole source of my daily entertainment, crazy
  
  It's not difficult. I like thing. I pay for thing so thing sticks around.
  
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- Yep, but I have Samsung TV, and this is where I watch it.
  
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I go out of my way to skip any and all advertisements in my life. I never consented to being bombarded constantly with capitalism and commercialism.

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I use ublock origin and sponsorblock, I'm not sitting through ads or product shillings.

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Don’t worry about channel creators losing money. It may seem like a dick move, but it’s the right thing to do. When channels see that they aren’t making money on Youtube ad revenue, they’ll be forced to either find another source of income (merch, patreon, alternate site, etc), or quit.

That’s better for you, them, and society as a whole since it reduces the power of a monopoly owned by an evil company.

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Technically no, has other people been saying. But long-term yes. Creatives need to have a revenue stream, so if everyone starts skipping all the sponsored segments, the revenue from sponsored segments will go down. Or it will change the nature of it so instead of a 30-second pitch, it will be incorporated into the main video constantly.

If you're talking about a small creator, who's not doing it full-time, consider donating to them directly. Most usually have the Patreon or something.

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If you mean the ads that are actually part of video where the YouTuber is just reading the ad themselves, I don't think it makes a big difference. It might impact their metrics a little since you're fast forwarding part of the video but that's it

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The custom-made "sponsors" sections that are baked into the video are not paid per view. You can freely skip them without harming the content creator. iirc they get paid per video upload, not per view. it's only the "live" separate ads that appear prior to the video, mid-roll, etc. that they get paid per view (and would be missing if you block them).

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I release music via distributor to all music streaming platforms including YouTube. When playing my music, youtube puts ads before and sometimes after the video. Does that mean I'm getting a share of that ad revenue by default? Or is it for specific content creators that have a minimum number of subscribers only?

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- music is different. youtube has a deal with your label which states they pay $0.0000x dollars per stream, and your label gives you a part of that.
  
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- Youtube content creators get paid via a few different methods:
  
  Pre-roll and mid-roll ads. This is youtube's actual and intended monetization method. These are ads that play that are separate from the video and are personalized per-user. They often have a "skip" button you can click after a few seconds. Youtube pays creators per view for these ads. You should check youtube's monetization section on the channel settings to set this all up.
  
  Sponsors. These are baked into the video where the content creator usually goes something like "Yeah I enjoy my switch, but do you know what I like more? raid shadow legends!" These are one-time payments made prior to the video's release, and are not paid per view. The view count on the video and whether or not people are actually watching the sponsored section is irrelevant.
  
  Patreon and other patreon-like services. These are entirely unrelated to viewcount or ads, and are just people paying monthly on some other site (typically patreon or locals) to help fund the channel.
  
  For music, I'm not sure at all how the youtube music platform works. But afaik youtube music is just youtube videos in a different format, so you'd be going with method #1 with the pre-roll ads.
  
  Typically youtube's monetization model requires that you actually set things up, and in order to do so you need to meet particular criteria (particular subscriber counts, view counts, etc). I know musicians work with music labels, so that may work differently depending on what's going on for you. But if you're specifically managing a youtube channel where you upload videos, then #1 applies and just check the monetization section. I don't think it's "by default".
  
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If sponsors cared they can look at the,( I don't know the name) bar that shows how far the video in a long. On you there is a chart that says where people will skip to ( on computer). On almost every sponsored video there is a huge spike right at the end of the sponsorship. It takes a few days for this to show up but it always shows the same spike

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As far as I know sponsors have no access to data on how many people watch their segments as opposed to whole-video viewership, unless they force the creator to disclose it which I doubt happens basically at all. Creator gets paid upfront and a kickback for using their link, not for you watching an in-video ad itself.

5

I do pay for YouTube premium. This means the creator of the video gets payed by watchtime. Why should I pay for watching an in-video ad?

For normal users it doesn't matter, as the creator is payed by view, not watchtime. And from what I know, sponsor deals are either fixed value or fixed value per X views. So it doesn't impact them if people are skipping.

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I guess in theory yes, because sponsors would eventually notice a drop in people spending money through the creator.

Personally, I haven't and won't ever use a product just because my favourite entertainer was paid to say its good. Before SponsorBlock I just manually skipped or tuned them out anyway, so I never counted in the first place.

4

That implies that the person skipping the ad would have purchased in the first place.

Ads are like Nigerian Prince schemes. They are targeted at the people who are willing to engage. Skipping them is no different than ignoring them.

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Permanently Deleted

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The day I start a "garbage bin" channel, I will happily decline all sponsorship offers I get. Sure, it makes me money, but I don't wanna endorse a company I actually don't like, and then end up wasting my viewers' time while also lying to them (cough cough Raycon). So how else will I get money? I'll tell my viewers to Buy Me a Coffee (those 4 words are actually a real website).

So when is the "garbage bin" happening? I think a decade from now at most.

2

You won't be able to skip them soon anyway, I thought?

1

They're referring to "Let me stop talking about the topic of this video to tell you about Shadow Shark, thr VPN Game" type sponsorships. Is YouTube planning on disabling the scrub bar now or what?

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- Don't give them ideas.
  
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- Theoretically no, they want people to ignore those built-in sponsorships, so the advertisers go straight to Google's ad service
  
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Not as long as you have bought one of everything from their merchandise shop.

1

Nah they wouldn't lose out on any money unless you're one of the people who try the products that sponsor them. They get some sort of upfront payment then a small percent of any purchase from their link.

1

I wonder if clicking on their link (but not signing up or buying anything) helps the creator, either in terms of a direct kickback or in terms of how much ad slot money they get next time. Anyone know?

1
- Those particular links would likely rely on sales commission, not just clickthrough (with some rare exceptions)
  
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The question is does it matter to you? If you skip the ads, the creator loses out on some money. If you watch it, the creator make some money while YouTube and the advertiser makes significantly more money.

Majority of users watch on mobile devices, some of which are not taking advantage of workarounds that block ads. The creator will get their payout from the majority.

If there is a creator you really enjoy and find great value from, and if you feel you need to support them, buy something from their merch store or buy them a coffee. See what options they have for you to help contribute to them directly.

Rant Incoming:

Personally I’ve settled with blocking all ads regardless. It’s not that the ads are so frequent and invasive, I can understand why. It’s that ads have now become personalized and insidious. It was never like that, but now advertising companies (notably Google and Amazon) will follow you around both the internet and the real world, without your consent, and their devices commit micro-violations in privacy where you are virtually unable to opt out without taking massive steps to get out of their platforms. I now have no qualms about blocking all ads. Years ago when I learned about Bluetooth beacons in retail stores that track you, regardless of your participation, and monitor where you walk, where you stand, how long you’re in front of a product, and monitor the relative height of your smartphone to track whether you are browsing deals by looking up and down shelves… that’s when I decided I had enough. I hate ads and tracking, and I will do everything possible to opt out of the predatory and insidious systems that treats us like data cattle.

In case you have no familiarity with predatory Bluetooth beacons, here’s a lovely article that promotes how easy it is for a retailer to get started… with no care about privacy and user participation. https://www.shopify.com/retail/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-beacon-technology-for-retail-stores

Want to check if your local retail store has them? Simply download a Bluetooth scanner from your App Store and find out for yourself.

Everything has to be “smart” these days. Cars, mops, speakers, televisions, washing machines, tea kettles, dishwashers, computers. I’m so tired of all the ads and the tracking, and I disable all of them. If ads and tracking eliminate telemetry and personalization (they won’t, because MONEY), I’ll disable my ads blockers. We need dumb devices again.

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The only YouTube videos I watch with any regularity that has sponsored ad segments is Some More News and their ads are almost always as funny as the show, so I don't skip them.

Plus, I love seeing Cody chug that nasty green liquid I would never put near my mouth.

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