In-Video Ads Hit YouTube

Shortly after rolling out its first series of revenue sharing ad arrangements, YouTube recently introduced in-video ads to user-generated content, reports TechCrunch. The video ads are neither pre- nor post-roll spots. Instead, text appears at the bottom of the video being watched. When viewers click on that text, a video ad appears across the top of the player. There does not appear to be any contextual targeting in place that links advertisers to the video upon which their ads are featured. The optional ad-viewing feature is generating interest in the ad penetration results to follow. Google has been striving to find a middle ground between maintaining user interest and monetizing YouTube, for which it paid $1.5 billion in acquisition costs.