YouTube tripled ad sales following app release in App Store

[Shawn Knight]

Mobile advertising is big business and if you need any evidence to support that claim, look no further than YouTube. That’s because the company has tripled their mobile ad sales in the last six months which could be worth as much at $350 million.

That’s impressive growth but naturally there’s a bit of back story behind how it all happened. According to Phil Farhi, director of product management at YouTube, the growth wasn’t based on a decision they made but rather one from Apple.

You see, last summer Cupertino revealed that their license to include a YouTube app with iOS had ended. As such, iOS users were invited to either watch YouTube in the Safari browser or wait until Google released a YouTube app in the App Store.

That’s exactly what Google did, releasing a free ad-support YouTube app for iOS devices. The app, along with similar versions that come loaded on Android devices, shows advertising in the form of commercials before some clips play. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In hindsight, it would seem that Google made a wise decision in going with an ad-supported version of the YouTube app. That’s especially true when you consider a recent ComScore report showed Apple still holds a 39.2 percent share of the US smartphone market. Data from Nielsen Holdings revealed that at least 70 million people in the US used the app in March which is an increase of 42 percent year over year.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52829-youtube-tripled-ad-sales-following-app-release-in-app-store.html

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

It must drive Apple nuts that at the same time they are trying to move into the business of selling ads, their biggest competitor is making a lot of money selling ads on Apple's device.

 

[Teko03]

YouTube has gotten ridiculous with the ads. Before it wasn't so bad, but now its next to impossible to watch a video with an ad. And some fo these ads don't have the skip option.

 

[Teko03]

*WITHOUT an ad

 

[cliffordcooley]

It must drive Apple nuts that at the same time they are trying to move into the business of selling ads, their biggest competitor is making a lot of money selling ads on Apple's device.

After reading your comment, I'm wondering if Apple thinks there may be grounds for a lawsuit.

 

[Guest]

Does apple get a small cut of it?

 

[VitalyT]

Read it "YouTube tripled the annoyance". So many times I'd want to watch a video and then close the browser before the video starts because the intrusive AD annoys the bejesus out of me...

 

[Guest]

Tell me about it... and am I the only one that has issues with YouTube videos not loading right? I swear videos don't fully load if I pause the video, it only happens on YouTube as other video sites seem to work correctly...

 

[lipe123]

What I don't get is that people actually click on those ads and buy things!

Who are these ID10t's(seriously thats a censored word now?!) thats actually falling for that crap and giving it a reason to exist!?
Everyone always say they hate the ads so how the heck did they end up making sales.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Everyone always say they hate the ads so how the heck did they end up making sales.

I'm thinking they don't actually make sales from the ads. Its more likely ad clicks that they falsely tie to unrelated sales, promoting the purchase of ad space.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Everyone always say they hate the ads so how the heck did they end up making sales.

I'm thinking they don't actually make sales from the ads. Its more likely ad clicks that they falsely tie to unrelated sales, promoting the purchase of ad space.

There's probably some small correlation between sales and online ads even though they're annoying. Look at what's probably the most annoying type of ad you'll ever see.. the negative political ad around election time. Everyone hates those, but they're still used all the time because research shows they work. We don't know who they work on, but they work.

 

[cliffordcooley]

We don't know who they work on, but they work.

You may be right about that. I can say one thing though. They don't work on me, in fact the use of an ad most often has a negative effect on my enthusiasm for the product.

 

[highlander84]

The AD's are insane...over the top ridiculously annoying and intrusive. Which is why I installed a little APP in my Chrome browser that simply removes them. Now I enjoy YouTube add free

 

[Guest]

When advertisement is forced upon you what choice have you got?

 

[Jad Chaar]

Too bad the app sucks. The video and audio quality is awful. A few seconds in, the video begins to blur and the audio morphs. Buffering also takes forever.