YouTube doesn’t want to interrupt your live stream, but also wants creators to make money

YouTube‘s newest ad format could be a breath of fresh air for both creators and viewers. Some users are getting the ability to run picture-and-picture ads during live streams.

The picture-in-picture feature is available within the mid-roll ads YouTube introduced on live streams about a year ago. The technology behind YouTube’s latest innovation has already been used to power experimental features as far back as 2018.

YouTube provided details about the mid-roll update on the page it uses to document its latest experiments. “YouTube is experimenting with Picture in Picture for live mid-rolls,” reads a brief post. “Some viewers on select devices will begin to see the new ad format in the coming months, allowing creators to run ads without disrupting the live stream!”

The focus on a non-interruptive ad experience allows YouTube to extend an olive branch to viewers who are aggrieved by the increasing volume of ad breaks on the platform. One way to escape those interruptions is to employ the ad-blocking software that has been in YouTube’s crosshairs over the past year.

The promise of PiP ads offers a more amenable solution that will look familiar to TV viewers, and sports fans in particular. If you’ve been watching the 2024 Summer Olympics on Peacock, you’ve likely seen a 30-second picture-in-picture spot during a lull in the action.

Applying that strategy to digital streams could give YouTube a leg up on its competitors. Its live streams are already siphoning traffic from Twitch, and the Amazon-owned hub has fielded numerous complaints about its mid-roll ads, which sometimes interrupt tense gameplay moments.

Picture-in-picture mid-rolls slot in next to the other monetization options for live-streaming YouTubers, including Super Chats and Channel Memberships. YouTube has added to its arsenal of revenue streams by introducing Partner Program standards tailored to streamers and rolling out a mobile live format that enables the sort of lucrative streams that thrive on TikTok.

Among all of those revenue streams, mid-rolls rank among the most beneficial options for creators. YouTube notes that streamers who enable mid-rolls see 20% more in-stream ad revenue per hour, so users who have access to the new picture-in-picture function have plenty of reasons to try it out at their earliest convenience.