YouTube has announced a few new features for creators, one of which is the ability to offer videos without ads, recommendations, and external links. Creators uploading content on the crowdsourced video-sharing platform can also engage their audiences by offering quizzes under the Community tab.
YouTube seems to have realized that a vast number of its viewers consume educational content. These viewers need content that’s not interrupted by advertisements, links that take the viewer away from the video, or the endless side-scrolling video wall. The platform may have also realized that content creators might be able to hold viewers’ attention for a lot longer duration and ensure they consume a lot more content if videos are served without distractions.
YouTube has confirmed that it’s launching an embeddable video player for education apps. The new player will automatically remove ads, external links, and recommendations so viewers can “avoid distractions”. Needless to mention, not every creator will be able to offer videos free of ads.
The embeddable video player without ads, external links, and recommendations will be available to select YouTube partners. Some leading education tech companies like EDpuzzle, Google Classroom, Purdue University, and Purdue Global have already qualified. However, creators, schools, and institutions, using the platform mainly for educational content, could qualify as well.
Moving forward, creators making educational content on the platform could also charge viewers for their videos. Creators will be able to create a series of videos, called “Courses”, and choose to keep them free or ask for money to grant access.
Whenever a YouTube user and a subscriber to the channel buys a course, they will be able to watch the content ad-free. YouTube will even allow videos to be played in the background. YouTube Courses will soon begin testing in the U.S. and South Korea.
YouTube will also introduce quizzes in the coming months. The YouTube Quiz feature will be available in the Community tab on the channel that uploads educational content.