About YouTube TV ads

YouTube TV is an ad-supported subscription TV service that allows you to watch live and video-on-demand shows. Some non-skippable in-stream ads and bumper ads from Google Ads auction campaigns may be eligible to serve on YouTube TV.

Google Ads campaigns that are purchased on an auction basis may run (but aren’t guaranteed to serve) on YouTube TV. If you’d like to make sure that your ads will appear on YouTube TV, you can buy placements on a reservation basis, instead of through the Google Ads auction. Learn more about reserved media placements on YouTube.

Country availability

YouTube TV is currently only available in the United States.

Ad formats for YouTube TV

Depending on your goal, you can use the following ad formats built for YouTube TV. These ad formats are:

• Non-skippable in-stream ads
• Bumper ads

Targeting

Some non-skippable in-stream ads and bumper ads that are purchased in the Google Ads auction may run on YouTube TV, depending on eligibility. Google Ads auction campaigns are not guaranteed to serve on YouTube TV. If you’d like to make sure that your ads will appear on YouTube TV, you can buy placements on a reservation basis, instead of through the Google Ads auction. Learn more about reserved media placements on YouTube.

Limitations

• It’s not possible to target specific YouTube TV channels.
• It’s not possible to completely opt out of serving ads on YouTube TV.
• It’s not possible to exclude YouTube TV programmes in Google Ads auction campaigns.
• You can exclude up to 10 YouTube TV channels in Google Ads auction campaigns.

Instructions

Exclude YouTube TV channels from your campaigns

You can exclude up to 10 YouTube TV channels where you don't want your ads to show. In particular, you might exclude your ads from running on YouTube TV channels that aren’t appropriate for your brand.

Note: The instructions below are part of the new design for the Google Ads user experience. To use the previous design, click the 'Appearance' icon and select Use previous design. If you're using the previous version of Google Ads, review the Quick reference map or use the search bar in the top navigation panel of Google Ads to find the page you’re searching for.

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon .
2. Click the Shared library drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click Exclusion lists.
4. Click the Placement exclusion lists tab.
5. In the drop-down menu, select Account.
6. Enter the YouTube channel ID that you want to exclude. To exclude multiple YouTube channel IDs, click Enter multiple placements and add your list of channel IDs.

   How do I find the YouTube channel ID?

   From your computer, go to YouTube TV (https://tv.youtube.com) and click Channels. From here, click See all channels, then select the channel that you want to exclude. In the URL, copy the string of letters and numbers that appear after the channel name.

   For example, Ahmad wants to exclude 'Channel A' from his campaign. On the YouTube TV website, he goes to the 'Channel A' page.

   • The full URL for channel A is: 'tv.youtube.com/browse/channel-a-UC2_YYzXYcABtfySSCDSkO8B'.
   • In Google Ads, Ahmad enters 'UC2_YYzXYcABtfySSCDSkO8B' as the channel ID.
7. Click Save.

You'll be able to verify the placement exclusion on the 'Change history' page when you view changes at the account level. New placement exclusions usually take effect within 12 hours.

Target YouTube TV programmes about relevant topics

Topic targeting lets you reach people interested in content related to your products and services, whether it's travel, music or something else entirely. Topic targeting applies to non-skippable in-stream ads and bumper ads served on YouTube TV in Google Ads auction campaigns. Learn more about topic targeting.

Example

A travel agency has an ad group that features ads about various types of tours. They decide to target the 'Travel' topic, which allows the ad to appear on any YouTube TV programme that includes content about travel. The ad appears during the broadcast of a popular travel programme on a large news network. In this example, the ad appears on 'Travel' content on the news network.

Note: The instructions below are part of the new design for the Google Ads user experience. To use the previous design, click the 'Appearance' icon and select Use previous design. If you're using the previous version of Google Ads, review the Quick reference map or use the search bar in the top navigation panel of Google Ads to find the page you’re searching for.

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
2. Click the Audiences, keywords and content drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click Content.
4. Select the Topic Exclusions tab.
5. Choose an ad group from the list that appears.
6. Select the topics and subtopics that you want to target.
7. Click Save.

Exclude YouTube TV programmes about a specific topic

Just as you can target YouTube TV programmes about certain subjects – like 'cars' or 'music' – you can also exclude by topic to keep your ads off YouTube TV programmes whose themes aren't relevant to your customers.

Example

A travel agency has an ad group that features ads about various types of tours. They decide to target the topic 'Travel', but exclude the topic 'News' (since it’s less relevant to their offerings). Even if the ad appears on a news channel, it will run only when a non-news programme is running on the same channel. In this example, the ad appears on a news network, but not on any content labelled 'News'.

Note: The instructions below are part of the new design for the Google Ads user experience. To use the previous design, click the 'Appearance' icon and select Use previous design. If you're using the previous version of Google Ads, review the Quick reference map or use the search bar in the top navigation panel of Google Ads to find the page you’re searching for.

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
2. Click the Audiences, keywords and content drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click Content.
4. Click the drop-down menu, then choose Campaign or Ad group.
5. Click the
   pencil icon
   , then choose a campaign or an ad group from the list that appears.
6. Select the topics that you want to exclude.
7. Click Save.