YouTube Brings Pre-Roll Ads to Android Mobile App

Google-owned video site YouTube will begin serving pre-roll ads before some content consumed through its YouTube for Android mobile application. At present ads will not be extended to Apple devices, however.

In a blog post, Andrey Doronichev, YouTube Mobile Product Manager, described the rollout as the site’s “largest step in mobile monetization to date,” and revealed the number of streams to mobile devices tripled during 2010. “YouTube now exceeds 200 million views a day on mobile,” she wrote.

At launch much of the inventory will be placed alongside Vevo content, which has just been made available to stream via the app. At present Vevo is responsible for selling that inventory, but YouTube says the opportunity will also extend to its other content partners.

The YouTube ad rollout also coincides with the launch of the Vevo for Android application which was released yesterday. As with the firm’s existing apps available on the iPhone and the iPad, content consumed through it is supported by pre-roll video ads.

At present Vevo advertisers cannot choose to target ads specifically to mobile devices, a spokesperson for the company said. It intends to eventually add that capability as well as expanding its ad unit offerings to include formats such as overlays, however.