Youtube clarifies 90-second unskippable ad reports as a technical bug

YouTube clarified that reports of 90-second unskippable ads on TVs were unintentional, caused by a technical bug. Earlier this week, some users reported long ad breaks on smart TVs, with timers exceeding 90 seconds before a skip appeared. 

YouTube emphasized that it does not use or test a 90-second unskippable ad format and explained that the issue involved a bug that displayed inflated timers for shorter ads. The company initially said they were investigating before officially confirming the glitch on April 10.

The reports, which included nearly identical screenshots from multiple viewers across platforms like Reddit and X, raised significant concerns that the platform was experimenting with much longer ad formats for connected TVs.

These reports specifically showed the user interface promising the ability to skip only after “90+ seconds,” which is triple the current 30-second limit for non-skippable ads on TV apps.

The platform has denied these claims of a new format, reiterating that this was not a deliberate test. YouTube has since begun rolling out a fix to resolve the timer inaccuracy.

Users who experienced these extended ad breaks on their televisions should notice the experience returning to normal as the update reaches all devices.