> Users are forced to watch at least 5 seconds of ads before watching any content.
Not all users. I pay Google in order to not have to watch those ads, and they aren't served to me.
Not all users. I pay Google in order to not have to watch those ads, and they aren't served to me.
I only pay $9-10 per month, whereas there are some companies who would pay way more for me (eng leadership/founder) to learn about their product. It would be very expensive CAC (cust. acquisition cost) but maybe worth it for a some niche products.
Maybe Google needs a way to "recommend" reviews for products in the video recommendations so that businesses can pay for placement (like Google Ads).
I would say "please don't give them any ideas", but I already ignore YouTube recommendations anyway, so that wouldn't actually bother me.
However, if YouTube found a sneaky way to get ads in front of me regardless of my premium membership, that would eliminate the entire value of the premium membership. And, for me, it would reduce the value of YouTube enough to get me to finally ditch YouTube once and for all.
Which might not be a bad thing, really.