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YouTube, the world's leading video streaming platform, has introduced a drastic new method to combat ad blockers. The move is aimed at protecting ad revenue, which makes up a significant portion of the company's income. Users who block ads on YouTube will now see a countdown in the upper right corner of the screen, covering a period of 30 to 60 seconds. Within that window, users have a choice: they can either deactivate their ad blocker or subscribe to YouTube Premium to continue accessing all videos and content.
The new measure follows a previous warning introduced about a month and a half ago. That warning told users with ad blockers that the video player would be disabled after watching three videos. At the time, there was an option to whitelist YouTube from the ad blocker, turn off the extension, or subscribe to YouTube Premium. The current strategy represents a tightening of those policies and illustrates YouTube's determination to crack down on ad blockers.
This new measure has been well received by some users, who argue that revenue from advertising is essential to maintaining platform operations and supporting content producers. Still, there are also concerns about usability and potentially raising barriers to accessing content.
Google, YouTube's parent company, stresses the need for advertising revenue to run the platform and compensate content creators. Since its launch more than five years ago, the monthly fee for YouTube Premium has been 11.99 euros. However, there is speculation that an upcoming price increase to 13.99 euros is being considered to reflect rising operating costs.
The response from users will be crucial in determining how successful this new strategy from YouTube will be. The debate between those who see ad funding as essential and those who see the increasing complexity and restrictions as problematic will show how well YouTube will fare against ad blockers.