Over the next few days we will be introducing targeted third-party overlay ads to videos on the network. An overlay ad is a clickable ad that displays in the bottom 20% of the video window shortly after playback begins. The ads are semi-transparent, and viewers can minimize them at will (see above example).

We’re excited about this, as it means a wider variety of ads and increased earnings for participants, and we will be offering overlay ads to creators on an opt-in basis, along with pre-roll. It is important to note that overlay and pre-roll ad opportunities are now a bundled option — opting in means opting in to both kinds of ads, and opting out means opting out of both as well.

If you want your videos to receive overlay and pre-roll ads, please make sure to enable these ads by checking the appropriate box in your account preferences. If you don’t want overlay and pre-roll ads, you can disable them by unchecking the box. If you are unsure of how these ads will affect your videos, we recommend giving it a whirl — you can opt-in and opt-out at any time, as many times as you want.

Please note that enabling overlay and pre-roll ads doesn’t mean your content will necessarily receive both kinds of ads, as ad pairings depend on a variety of factors. After a brief testing period, we will be pushing overlay ads to as many creators as possible. If you have any questions or feedback, let us know.