San Bruno, California, April 14, 2026, 11:13 AM PDT
YouTube is tweaking ad delivery during livestreams: when chat traffic surges, ad breaks will pause for everyone. And users who shell out for Super Chats, Super Stickers, or gifts will unlock short ad-free stretches as a perk. The update is part of a broader rollout of livestreaming features, all designed to boost both interaction and creator payouts.
Timing is key. Live video thrives on immediacy, and an ad break can land just as a creator responds to a paid fan or when chat activity peaks. “We want to protect that collective vibe,” said Barbara Macdonald, YouTube’s product manager for Live. The wider ad holdback, she noted, applies to channels using automatic ads. Blog
Super Chat and Super Stickers let viewers pay to highlight their messages or send animated images in live chat. After a viewer makes a purchase—whether it’s one of those features or a gift—YouTube will give them a temporary ad-free window, so they can catch the creator’s reply without interruptions.
The company also stepped up efforts around gifts—its virtual tipping feature. According to help pages, viewers use Jewels, YouTube’s own digital currency, to buy gifts for streamers on eligible vertical and horizontal live streams. Creators then receive Rubies as earnings from these transactions. This system is available for creators in the United States, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
YouTube is expanding its dual-format live streaming option. According to support pages, creators now have the ability to broadcast horizontally and vertically at once, sharing a single live chat with both viewers. Some creators who qualify are getting access to a second stream key for the vertical feed, as third-party encoder support becomes available.
YouTube’s still tangled up in the live-video battle, squaring off with Twitch and TikTok. Twitch’s Ads Manager lets creators ditch pre-roll ads for an hour by running three minutes or more of mid-rolls each hour—TikTok points to LIVE Gifts, where fans can buy and send gifts on broadcasts. Both have their systems that blend audience money with ad dollars.
YouTube’s live-streaming expansion slots right into a bigger play at the company. Back in January, CEO Neal Mohan pointed to Nielsen data showing YouTube had claimed the top spot for U.S. streaming watch time for almost three years. Mohan described creators as “the new prime time” and signaled the company is doubling down on TV viewing and shows built around creators. Blog
The rollout isn’t done yet. According to YouTube’s creator update page, the dual-format feature is still reaching all creators. More cropping tools and support for third-party encoders in vertical layouts are on the way, so some creators may have to wait for the complete setup.
