It was an eventuality, to be honest: YouTube has essentially no way to make revenue (aside from a few banner ads) and costs a fortune to run. Finally, it's getting in-video advertisements as a way to make some money for its new mothership, Google.

These ads are unlike those you've probably seen on other video sites. Rather than a "pre-roll" ad that runs at the beginning of the video (popular with news-oriented sites), YouTube has launched a format called "InVideo," an overlay that sits at the bottom of the screen, and doesn't interrupt the video while it plays. The overlay is animated and takes up about 20 percent of the screen, much like you see on many TV programs, promoting other shows on the network. On videos containing ads, the ad appears 15 seconds into the video and minimizes after 10 seconds of playtime. There's also an "X" box letting you close the ad at any time, or you can click the ad to open a "deeper interactive video ad" if you like what you see; after that ad, you're returned to the original video you were watching. Check the screenshot to see what it looks like.

I scoured YouTube this morning for a video with an ad in it, but I couldn't find one. Turns out the ads are blocked completely if you use Firefox with AdBlock Plus. Disable AdBlock Plus or use Internet Explorer and you can see them. Check out the video mentioned in the story if you'd like to see what it looks like. There hasn't been any announcement on how YouTube determines which videos will contain ads and which won't, but I presume they'll roll out to many more clips over the next few months.

So, what do you think? While I don't like advertising any more than you do, I agree that the InVideo ads are less annoying than pre-roll ads. I've probably been softened up by seeing them on TV over the years, while I never watch regular commercials any more. I understand that Google needs to turn YouTube into a profit center, too, and there's nothing really "wrong" with a little ad being attached to the latest dude-falling-on-his-butt video of the day. Many expect YouTube's move into in-video advertising to have a ripple effect on the rest of the industry. I'd tend to agree.

That said, I'm a bit less thrilled about the prospect of overlays on the home videos I share through YouTube. While YouTube is "for now" only placing the ads on videos from major content partners, it would be nice of YouTube to let individuals proactively opt out of ads on vids that they put up for personal use and which get a limited number of views, but we'll see. Meanwhile, I'll be keeping AdBlock turned on.

LINK: YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format