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Youtube Adblock Reckoning as a service problem?
(startrek.website)
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this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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In podcasts, where I can't block ads effectively, I will instantly skip any canned ads and even avoid podcasts that have too many canned ads. On the other hand, when podcast hosts do their own ad reads, it doesn't bother me too much. In the best cases, they are funny enough that I feel like I'm missing out with the ad-free premium feeds (I subscribe to some podcast Patreons).
I also don't really mind sponsored segments from YouTube hosts, though it's highly dependent on the content. Most of the channels I follow have ad reads that are reasonably well aligned with the content and tone. In some cases, they are actually useful. I still run SponsorBlock, but I do often read through the video descriptions of my favorite channels to see what they're hocking.
There is no imaginable scenario where I would tolerate hypercheerful actors talking about insurance or cars. Get outta town.
I'm surprised there isn't a SponsorBlock equivalent for podcasts yet. I mean, I'm sure it works if I watch a video podcast on YouTube, but I'd prefer a hook in Pocket Casts or something.
The dynamic insertion of arbitrary-length ads into podcast files at download time makes SponsorBlock tricky (probably not impossible?) in podcasts that also have non-dynamic sponsor reads.
If someone chapters a podcast, noting an ad (dynamically inserted) for an online casino at 4:33-4:54 and a sponsor break read by the host (baked in to the original file) at 10:12-11:43, those times are mostly invalidated when someone else downloads the file and hears an ad for a business credit card at 4:33-5:21. Now the sponsor break section is going to cut the actual content early and come back before the read is over.
Multiply that problem by 3-4, depending on the episode, and you can start to see the issue.
This is a similar problem to that of Twitch. They bake the ad into the main video stream, meaning you can't block it without also blocking the content. If YouTube ever does it, it's game over; but I have a feeling they can't for some technical or scaling reason, or they would've done so first.
Hmm I guess I don't listen to any podcasts with 'automatically inserted' ads, they're all sponsor reads by the hosts.
Also, Twitch ad blocking is totally possible. I do it on my desktop, phone, and TV fairly easily. No content lost.