It’s still better than watching a real advertisement, thankfully.
The content available on YouTube TV is very similar to what you’ll find on cable. But there’s one distinct difference—the commercial break. Not only does YouTube TV rely on targeted ads, but it tries to show these ads from beginning to end. And, oddly, users have the option to skip some ads.
Because of these unusual factors, it isn’t always possible for YouTube TV to fill out a commercial break. So, the service needs to show something during these breaks. And this “something” is called Zen Mode, a scenic video with calming music.
Unfortunately, Zen Mode is on track for monetization. Users on Reddit found that YouTube TV now shows a sponsor during Zen Mode. Going forward, you may see a phrase like “this break is brought to you by Progressive” when waiting for a commercial break to end.
The good news is that this sponsorship is just a piece of text. It isn’t a fully-fledged advertisement, and if you close your eyes, you won’t even know the difference. I should also note that this kind of thing was inevitable—Google is an advertising company, and dead air is the perfect opportunity for an ad.
From what we can tell, Google is still testing this sponsored version of Zen Mode. Only some users see the sponsorship message. The feature hasn’t been formally announced by Google yet. (And I suspect that Zen Mode won’t always show a sponsor, although I could be wrong.)
This is pretty harmless advertising, but it’s a reminder that Google is trying to make money. And it’s just one of several money-making changes that YouTube TV has implemented since it scored the NFL Sunday Ticket distribution contract. That said, other live TV services (which often have dead air) will probably copy Google’s sponsorship idea.
Source: Reddit via 9to5Google
