Commentary: In-Stream Ads—The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The real genius of this is the fact you have to click to continue after an ad. Because I'm in a lean-forward mindset I don't mind having to click a button to continue, especially since in instances where the ad is slow loading it means I can click my way out of an ad before it finishes.

What's really clever about it, though, is that it opens the opportunity for me to spend an open-ended amount of time with an ad. I have to admit, when I see one of those interactive in-stream ads I sometimes take the time to go through the whole thing, which often takes longer than the 30-second ad break. But I don't mind as I've made the decision that I want to spend more time because I'm engaged with learning more about the ad.

Talk about a win, win, win! I win as the viewer, because I must be enjoying the ad if I'm watching it longer than need be, plus I feel like I'm in control and not being force fed. The advertiser wins because I'm spending more time engaged in the branded world of their ad, likely increasing the chances I'll remember what the ad was about later on when making purchasing decisions. And in the end the content owner wins, as both the viewer and advertiser are happy with the experience they enabled.

So long story short, as the Watchman I'm all for in-stream ads. I'd much rather watch a few ads online than a ton of ads on TV, and ad countdowns are a very compelling way to hold my attention. But at the same time, there's nothing more detrimental to a positive viewing experience than wonky in-stream ads. And so far, this is a problem that's rampant across not just small sites but major ones as well. All of the complaints listed above were witnessed at the sites of major broadcast networks, so if they're struggling they must not be alone.

The key to all this is to never forget to put the quality of the viewing experience first. Otherwise, if an ad plays and no one's watching, does it really make a sound?