YouTube Introduces New Masthead Advertising to Their TV App

Whether you’re a content creator or an advertiser, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest changes and updates on YouTube. As one of the most popular websites in the world (and the second most visited search engine, right behind Google), what happens on YouTube will directly impact you in some shape or form. In recent months, a good amount of changes have happened under the hood. Advertisers may not have recognized the changes, but content creators did see the adjustments to their creator pages (a current creator page beta is still in effect as YouTube has slowly rolled out the updates). However, one of the most noticeable new features to YouTube is occurring on the YouTube TV app and it comes in the form of a large advertising block in the header of the page known as “Masthead.”

Here’s what you need to know about Masthead both as a content creator and as an advertiser:

The TV App
As streaming boxes become more commonplace in homes around the country, the YouTube TV app has grown in popularity right along with it. Streaming boxes like Roku, Apple TV, and others allow consumers to download applications and then stream content over the Internet. As YouTube is one of the original online streaming platforms, it was one of the first to adopt these streaming boxes and create an app for each.

While users have always been able to access the same video content on the TV app as the mobile and computer versions, the advertisement placement hasn’t been the same. Viewing YouTube on a computer has always brought with it the most available display space, which allows YouTube to place more advertisements on it. This has included everything from pre and end-roll advertisements, text ads on the bottom of videos, mid-roll advertisements, plus ads along the side of the screen and in the header.

Through research conducted not only by YouTube but Google (YouTube’s parent company), YouTube found viewers remembered information more accurately with header advertisements. They were also more likely to engage with these advertisements. This made the header advertisement, also known as the Masthead, an optimal advertising opportunity.

However, although the computer platform utilized these varying advertising formats, the TV application did not. Outside of some of the pre/mid/post-roll ads, YouTube did not place ad space onto the TV display. This is all set to change with the company’s release of the Masthead ad update on its television application.

More About The TV App Masthead
Google is looking to customize its television application so it looks similar to the computer display. As more users are shifting from watching content on a computer to a television, Google wanted to make sure it maintains ad revenue coming in, both for itself and for some content creators, so it decided to place the Masthead advertisement space in the header of the television application.

It’s important to note the advertisement won’t remain over the top of a video if you select it and the video is in full-screen mode. However, if the video is not in full screen and is instead in the standard display mode or in “Theater Mode,” the Masthead advertisement will remain present.

What The New TV App Masthead Means For Content Creators
If you’re a content creator and run a YouTube channel for your business, it may or may not have an impact on you. A year or so ago YouTube changed its monetization requirements. In order to qualify for ad payments, you needed to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch time hours over the previous year (which equates to about 20,000 minutes per month). If you have not yet reached these requirements, the new Masthead TV advertisement will have zero impact on you and your channel. In fact, it won’t even appear on your channel when someone watches your videos (YouTube does not place advertisements on channels that aren’t monetized).

However, if you’ve reached the monetized threshold, then the new Masthead advertisement is good for you. The more advertisement options placed on your videos, the more money you may potentially make. The exact changes in the amount of money you make will vary from channel to channel, so it’s impossible to know what monetary impact will have. But not only will you see some improvements, but you’ll be also able to monitor these changes in your Analytics section in your creator studio account.

What The New TV App Means For Advertisers
If you advertise your business through the website, this new advertisement will offer you a new opportunity to spread the word of your business. Now, because the Masthead advertisement will now appear in the header of the TV application and be in prominent view for everyone in the room watching the television, there will be more of a push to advertise in this space. This means the buy-in for the ad will likely be greater than for the other advertising options.

Now, it’s important to note that the exact cost will vary depending on the keywords you’re advertising with and the particular channels you’re interested in advertising over. There is another variable to consider though. Some advertisers may choose to abandon placing their ads on pre/mid/post-roll video ads and on side advertisements located on the computer page. This means there might be a possibility of landing certain ad space for a lower cost than could previously be obtained.

Monitor Ad Performance

No matter the changes, it’s important to constantly monitor your ad performance if you’re an advertiser. It’s possible to adjust how your ads are viewed by content watchers. If you find certain advertisements are performing better than others, you’ll want to adjust your bids accordingly (and even adjust your advertising settings to appear in certain areas and not others). So experimenting with the new Masthead is a good idea, if you can afford the bidding price for your keywords, but even so, you don’t want to blindly keep advertisements there. So continually check up on your advertisements to see exactly how your content is performing and whether or not it’s delivering the desired return on investment.

Stay Up To Date

Staying up to date on the continual changes implemented by Google can be more than just a challenge. The company is constantly updating, changing, tweaking, and altering its service. Some of these changes are obvious, such as Masthead, while others appear minor but can have a major impact on both content creators and advertisers. It doesn’t matter if you’re one or the other (or both) – you need to stay connected with YouTube and up to date on these changes. At Simplemachine, you’ll have this constant information umbilical, where the experts here will not only take in the changes but make it easily understandable, so you know what to expect and how it will affect you. Our Google AdWords services are ideal for your needs since they allow for YouTube advertising. So if you’re interested in learning more about how to best take advantage of this service, or simply want to learn more about marketing your own business across the varying social media platforms, now is the time to reach out and contact Simplemachine today.