YouTube TV app's 90-second unskippable ads caused by a bug

YouTube has confirmed that the reports regarding YouTube TV app users seeing 90-second-long unskippable ads were caused by a bug. The company added that the 90-second unskippable ads were not being tested, and a fix is being rolled out for users. YouTube’s current policies are limited to a 30-second unskippable ad format. With the platform now rolling out a fix, it stands clear that it was indeed a bug and the company was not testing a longer ad format for its TV app.

A YouTube spokesperson told a media outlet, “We’ve determined this was a result of a bug, which resulted in higher inaccurate timers being shown for shorter ads. We’re rolling out a fix now. As we’ve said, we don’t have a 90-second non-skippable ad format, and this was not a test.”

Earlier last week, several YouTube TV app users reported unusually long ad interruptions, with some saying ad breaks extended up to 90 seconds while watching videos on televisions. This appeared to build on the earlier rollout of 30-second non-skippable ads last year.

According to a report by 9To5Google, users shared similar experiences online, including screenshots showing a skip option only after “90+ seconds.”

YouTube, on its part while responding to this, said that the platform did not offer a 90-second non-skippable ad format and was not testing one. The company added that it was looking into the issue.