The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is beta testing a button that will let you stop a YouTube video ad from playing a few seconds after it begins. The site will eventually let you choose which ads you want to view when you’re about to watch a longer video, too, similar to Hulu’s current “tailored ad” experience.
The site’s Senior Project Manager Baljeet Singh detailed the plan at a company event earlier today.
Hulu, YouTube’s closest competitor, already lets you pick from different ads and ad formats, but YouTube hasn’t been known for the sophisticated, longer-form programming that Hulu runs, so these sorts of features haven’t been as critical in the site’s priorities.