Google exec: ‘We don’t believe in pre-rolls’

Cory Bergman January 31st, 2007

While YouTube said it was considering pre-rolls for a upcoming revenue-sharing program, a Google exec said the company hasn’t decided on how to monetize video. “We don’t believe in pre-rolls,” said Penry Price, director of North American sales for Google. The sentiment was mirrored in a Harris survey we published yesterday, which found 73 percent of frequent YouTube users said they would visit the site less if pre-roll ads were added. Google isn’t the only company that doesn’t like pre-rolls. Curt Hecht, executive VP and chief digital officer for GM/Planworks, said the pre-roll ad “just doesn’t cut it” because it’s an “interruptive model.” Personally, I like some of the lower-third animations that companies like Brightcove have been using.