YouTube Trials Pre-Roll Ads Against Premium U.K. Content

YouTube has begun testing pre-roll ads against content from its premium U.K. partners. Broadcaster Channel 4 is the first to test the new formats, alongside partners BBC Worldwide, National Geographic, Discovery Networks and ITN in the coming weeks.

Under the trial, content owners are free to dictate which content, and how much of it, will be opened up to advertisers. Ads will be sold on a CPM-basis by YouTube’s sales staff, and revenue shared between both parties. Time caps ensure that ads are suitably spaced, rather than appearing before each and every piece of content.

Match.com, Activision, Renault and Nissan are the first advertisers to experiment with the new formats, and 15-second ads for Warner Brothers’ movie The Hangover, brokered by media agency PHD, are already appearing before short-form content from Channel 4. YouTube says it will impose a limit of 30 seconds per ad.

In a statement, Suveer Kothari, Head of YouTube in the U.K., said the tests were intended to help the site balance the demands of users, content owners and advertisers more effectively. “By providing premium partners with greater scope to monetise their content, we hope it will encourage them to place more of their content on YouTube,” he said.

Commenting on Channel 4’s involvement with the trials, Errol Baran, the company’s head of future and digital media advertising, said it was important for the broadcaster to follow user and advertiser demand, and that “Audience appetite for VOD continues to demonstrate shifting patterns of video consumption.”

In the U.S., the video site has placed increased emphasis on professionally produced and long-form content, and has begun to redesign the site to reflect that shift. In March, Youtube redesigned some elements of the site to highlight shows from partners such as MGM and Lionsgate, many of which are monetized with pre-roll or in-stream ads.

In separate news, BBC Worldwide and YouTube also announced the renewal of their partnership today, which will result in the continuing availability of programming such as Top Gear and Eastenders to a global audience. BBC Worldwide is the broadcaster’s commercial arm, meaning it is free to monetize BBC content to audiences outside of the U.K. as it sees fit.