A recent thread on the YouTube TV subreddit perfectly captured a sentiment many of us have been feeling: “New product idea — a paid tier with no political ads.” Take my money. (And never mind that I’m actually running for office.)
“Dear YouTubeTV Product Management,” the post begins, “Please please, pretty please create a subscription tier with no political ads. We are months away from the election and I have already seen way too many awful political ads.” Amen, sister. Or, erm, DarkLordofData.
While each and every one of YouTube TV’s more than 8 million subscribers is subjected to political ads right now, I happen to live in a very specific Circle of Hell in which I’m subjected not only to Alabama political ads but Northwest Florida’s, too. And so, in an election year like this — and especially in a year like this — I might pay as much as double to never see a political advertisement, even if it’s someone I’d actually vote for. (And especially if it’s someone whose box I’ll never tick.)
This, of course, will never happen. As the top comment notes, “ads are between whatever channel and purchaser of ad space. YouTube TV has nothing to do with that.” And that’s very true. Take whatever ABC broadcast channel you have. If a candidate buys ad time in a national program, everyone will see it. If a candidate buys ad time during a local news broadcast, only that local region will see it. YouTube TV is just streaming the feed, not controlling the content.
But that’s not the full story. YouTube TV is part of a little ad company called Google. And, yes, you can buy ads directly into YouTube and YouTube TV. If you see an advertisement on YouTube TV with a YouTube-like skip or more info button, that’s what you’re seeing — an ad purchased through the Google Ad Manager.
In the early days of live streaming (ESPN+ was especially bad about this), if you ever saw a 30-second block of “Hang on, we’ll be right back,” that meant that it was ad space that hadn’t been sold. All the streaming services pretty quickly rectified that, and YouTube TV has done so in some fairly inventive ways, including in a deal with Calm. As someone who on occasion buys ad time on the various platforms, it’s a great option. (My neighbor kids next door were super surprised to see Mr. Phil on the screen one day in the middle of whatever YouTube channel they were watching. I am the coolest.)
But as someone who’s subjected to some of the worst political ads in recent memory, November 6 can’t come soon enough.
