YouTube expands pause ads to smart TVs

The news: YouTube is capitalizing on a surge in streaming ad dollars by expanding its Pause Ads format to more users on smart TVs. Currently, Dunkin' Donuts appears to be the sole advertiser using this format, suggesting a gradual rollout.

How it works: Introduced in May 2022, this feature shows static ads when a viewer pauses a video.

• The paused video shrinks to a small window on the left side of the screen, while the ad takes up space on the right.