YouTube: Even longer ads being tested?

Unless you pay for a Premium subscription or install ad blockers, advertising on YouTube has become a daily ordeal we've grown accustomed to. So why not push the envelope even further? YouTube is reportedly testing 90-second ads that can't be skipped… The reason? A test currently underway with a selection of users involves introducing 90-second ads that cannot be skipped. This test specifically concerns the YouTube TV app on Smart TVs, which, until now, limited mandatory ads to 30 seconds, three times shorter than this "new" feature being considered by the platform. It should be noted that, currently, YouTube's own rules define a maximum ad length of 30 seconds for the TV app (and 15 seconds on the mobile version). But since YouTube sets its own rules, nothing prevents the platform from changing them as it sees fit. YouTube denies it and calls it a mistake. A slight twist to note, however: after the backlash generated by this discovery on the Reddit forum, YouTube responded that it was a mistake. "YouTube does not have a 90-second non-skippable ad format," the platform explained on X. "It's not something we are currently testing. We are looking into the situation more closely." A genuine bug or a PR move to muddy the waters and absolve themselves of responsibility for a feature rejected by users? In any case, YouTube's statement represents a small relief, hopefully not a temporary one…