YouTube ads are intrusive and annoying though tolerable in many cases. However, a rising issue is affecting YouTube’s 5-second countdown that typically plays prior to throwing to an ad. Thankfully, the platform is actively looking into the problem.
YouTube users have been experiencing an odd occurrence where a video will suddenly cut to an ad without warning. Traditionally, YouTube will display a small five-second countdown in the bottom right corner of the screen before throwing to a midroll advertisement. This issue has been continuously affecting users across various platforms for weeks.
It appears the issue is most commonly found on TVs using the YouTube app. However, there have also been reported issues on web, mobile and even consoles. Users have taken to Reddit as well as Twitter to complain about the problem.
More feedback, the ad countdown seems to have been removed. We have a young baby and mute the ads as they are normally louder than the content, without the 5 second countdown this is difficult!
— Adam (@AdaKer175) March 26, 2023
Although some firmly believe YouTube actively removed this feature, the company has been responding to complaints on Twitter. In one instance, the TeamYouTube account says, “We’re looking into the issue of the 5-second countdown for midroll ads not showing on videos. thx for your report!”
In another instance, the account asks that users send feedback to report an issue to YouTube. To do so, users must sign into their account, select their profile picture and hit ‘Send feedback’. This then prompts users to describe the issue and include any screenshots that may be useful.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a solution that can solve the issue from the user’s end. This is a bug that YouTube has to address itself. Thankfully, the company is aware of the situation and is looking into it. However, there’s no current word on when a fix may be released.
Via: 9to5Google
