YouTube Updates: Profanity Rule Changes, Side-by-Side Ads & Livestream Community Leaderboard

New Insights into YouTube Live Side-by-Side Ads

YouTube is evolving how advertisements are integrated into live streams, moving toward a side-by-side format rather than traditional full-screen interruptions. This shift is driven by both technical constraints and the practicalities of advertiser assets.

Why Side-by-Side Instead of Full-Screen?

The decision to implement side-by-side ads is primarily a matter of efficiency for advertisers. Currently, most advertisers provide content in a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is the standard for pre-roll and mid-roll ads on traditional videos. By using a side-by-side layout during live streams, YouTube can reuse these existing assets without requiring advertisers to produce entirely new creative materials specifically for the live format—a requirement many advertisers were unwilling to meet.

Beyond asset availability, there is a significant technical hurdle regarding computational costs. For non-premium viewers, YouTube generates individualized video feeds where ads are “burned-in” to the stream. Creating full-screen ads in real-time for millions of unique viewers would be far more computationally intensive than the side-by-side approach. To avoid these high computing costs and maintain stream stability, the side-by-side format is the most viable path forward.

For viewers who wish to avoid these interruptions entirely, YouTube Premium remains the primary solution. At €6 a month, it removes ads while providing direct support to creators.

Rollout Timeline

Creators and viewers should prepare for a wider rollout of these side-by-side ads starting the week of May 5th. While an exact date has not been specified, non-premium users can expect to encounter this ad format more frequently in their live stream experiences moving forward.

Boosting Engagement with Community Leaderboards

To further incentivize viewer participation during YouTube Live events, YouTube is preparing to test a new community leaderboard experiment later this month. This feature aims to gamify the viewing experience and reward the most active members of a channel’s community.

How the Leaderboard Works

The prototype will track and display the top 50 chatters on a specific channel. Ranking is determined by “interactivity,” which includes metrics such as:

• Frequency and quality of chat interactions.
• Usage of Super Chats.
• Other general interaction metrics.

To add an extra layer of prestige, the top three viewers on the leaderboard will be awarded a special badge that appears next to their name whenever they chat, making their status visible to both the creator and other viewers.

Creator Control and Compatibility

YouTube is designing this feature to be flexible. It will be compatible with both horizontal and vertical live streams, ensuring that creators across different formats can utilize it. Furthermore, the leaderboard is not mandatory; creators will have the ability to enable or disable the feature within their settings based on their preference for community management.

The Question of API Integration

Currently, there are no plans to allow data exchange between the leaderboard and external tools via an API. However, a feature request has been submitted to YouTube. If implemented, an API would allow creators to connect the leaderboard to third-party bots or create custom “channel points” systems, significantly expanding how creators can reward their most loyal fans.

Relaxing Profanity Rules for Monetization

In addition to technical and engagement updates, YouTube is adjusting its monetization policies regarding language. Toward the end of May, there will be a notable change in how profanity affects the “yellow icon” (limited or disabled monetization).

The End of the Seven-Second Rule

Previously, creators had to ensure that the first seven seconds of their video were free of strong profanity to avoid receiving a yellow monetization icon. This strict window often forced creators to carefully edit their introductions to ensure they didn’t lose revenue.

Following consultations with advertisers, YouTube has found that most advertisers are now comfortable with swearing in content. As a result, the specific “first seven seconds” rule is being removed.

Important Caveats

While this change provides more freedom in how creators open their videos, it is not a blanket license for unrestricted language. Creators must still strictly adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines regarding:

• Hate Speech: Content that promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups.
• Cyberbullying: Harassment or targeted abuse.

Even with the relaxed profanity rules, it is generally advisable to avoid excessive strong language where possible to maintain a broad appeal and ensure long-term advertiser friendliness.

Original transcript

Transcript

We had the opportunity to talk to someone who is actually working on the YouTube side-by-side ads for live streams, and we have some new information to share. Firstly, why are they only side-by-side and not full-screen? Well, there are a few technical limitations at play here.

The main reason is that YouTube wants to reuse the 16:9 ads already provided by advertisers, which run before videos or as mid-rolls. They want to integrate these into live streams as mid-rolls but in a side-by-side format. This would require advertisers to create entirely new ads with a different format just for live streams, which they were not willing to do.

Additionally, creating full-screen ads in real-time is more computationally intensive. Since every non-premium viewer receives an individualized video feed with a burned-in ad, minimizing the computing cost of these video streams is crucial. This is another technical limitation preventing full-screen ads. And don’t even get me started on complaints about burned-in ads—get YouTube Premium for €6 a month, and you won’t see any ads at all. It’s the cheapest option and supports creators too.

The second update regarding side-by-side ads is that they will be rolled out more widely during the week of May 5th, in just two days. We don’t have an exact date yet, but if you’re not a YouTube Premium user, you’ll likely see them more often. Staying on the theme of YouTube Live streams, YouTube will start testing an early prototype of a community leaderboard experiment later this month.

This leaderboard will display the top 50 chatters on a channel, selected based on their interactivity in chats, Super Chats, and other interaction metrics. The top three viewers on the leaderboard will also receive a badge next to their name when they chat. This feature will work for both horizontal and vertical live streams, and creators can choose to enable or disable it as they wish.

Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to allow data exchange with the leaderboard via an API. However, we’ve submitted a feature request because this could enable channel points that interact with external third-party bots. As this develops, we’ll keep you updated.

Towards the end of May, YouTube will also make changes regarding profanity and yellow monetization icons. Previously, the first seven seconds of a video had to be free of strong profanity to avoid a yellow icon. This rule will be removed as YouTube has consulted with advertisers, who are okay with swearing. However, remember that you still need to adhere to hate speech and cyberbullying community guidelines. So, don’t go overboard, and if you can avoid strong profanity, it’s advisable to do so.

That’s all for today. If you have any further questions about the topics we discussed, feel free to leave a comment. Otherwise, we’ll see you next week with more YouTube updates. Take care!

Confused about YouTube's new side-by-side ads or the upcoming community leaderboard? Creator Services offers expert support and insights to help you navigate these changes. Get in touch if you need guidance.