Google May Soon Allow Third-Party Platforms Place YouTube Ads as Part of EU Antitrust Settlement

YouTube may have a new option to place adverts soon, with the parent company Google pondering over a tweak to its current approach that would allow third-party ad companies to run ads on the platform.

According to Reuters, Google has offered to 'let rival ad intermediaries place ads on YouTube' in order to resolve a portion of an EU antitrust investigation and avoid a fine.

According to Reuters:

“The European Commission opened a probe last year to examine whether the world’s largest provider of search and video was giving itself an unfair advantage in digital advertising by restricting rivals’ and advertisers’ access to user data. The EU competition watchdog singled out Google’s requirement that advertisers use its Ad Manager to display ads on YouTube and potential restrictions on the way in which rivals serve ads on YouTube.”

This could potentially result in more flexible ad alternatives for YouTube campaigns via multiple routes, making it easier to manage your YouTube advertisements from a single dashboard, alongside your other digital campaigns.

It's unclear how such a method would operate in practice. If Google were to allow more open access to YouTube ads, it would almost certainly necessitate a shift in its ad bidding strategy, making it less appealing to develop ads outside of its own applications, while it may only be interested in enabling broader access in Europe, but not elsewhere.

In either case, it may provide new options for YouTube advertisements and ad content, as well as new opportunities for digital marketing managers.