If you’ve been watching YouTube on your TV lately and something felt off about the ads, you’re not imagining it. Users on Reddit are reporting that the YouTube TV app is now serving 90-second unskippable ads, and there’s no way around them.
The problem is that according to YouTube’s own rules, this shouldn’t be happening. The platform’s official ad format guidelines cap YouTube unskippable ads on connected TVs at 30 seconds. The 90-second spots showing up now are triple that limit, and YouTube has yet to explain the gap.
What’s Actually Happening
Right now, it’s not entirely clear whether this is an intentional test or something that slipped through. The reports point specifically to the YouTube TV app on smart TVs and streaming devices, with no similar complaints coming from mobile users. Google hasn’t responded publicly, so there’s no confirmation either way on whether this is a deliberate rollout or a bug.
What makes this particularly frustrating is the timing. YouTube officially rolled out 30-second unskippable ads on connected TVs at the start of March. That replaced the previous format of two back-to-back 15-second spots. That was already a jump. Going from 30 seconds to 90 in a matter of weeks is a much bigger leap, especially with zero heads-up from the platform.
It’s not the first time ads have gone off-script here. Earlier this year, some users reported running into hour-long unskippable ads, though Google blamed those extreme cases on ad blocker interference. The 90-second ads showing up now seem to affect users without any blockers involved.
YouTube’s ad-free escape hatch is YouTube Premium at $13.99 a month. For users who’d rather not go all in, the cheaper YouTube Premium Lite tier launched in the US recently at $7.99 a month and strips ads from non-music videos. It’s not a perfect fix, but it’s something.
Given how hard YouTube has been leaning into new ad formats over the past year, 90-second spots may not be an accident at all. We’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update if we hear back.