YouTube offer Publishers AdSense Embedded Video Players

I’ve had a number of readers email me in the last 24 hours to let me know that they’re seeing options to monetize sites using YouTube custom video players with AdSense units in them.

Perhaps this was announced previously without me noticing it – but I can’t find any official announcement of it – but YouTube now have pages that talk of how this is available. Their blurb on it reads:

Video Units

Enhance your site with high quality, relevant video content from YouTube partners, and earn extra revenue along the way.

* Relevant, Premium Content

Deliver high quality video content to your site. Choose categories, individual content providers, or have Google automatically target your site’s content.

* Targeted, Non-Intrusive Ads

Earn revenue from relevant, user-friendly ads targeted to your site and to the videos being played.

* Enhanced User Experience

Attract and retain users with highly relevant, frequently refreshed video from popular content providers.

* Customizable Players

Customize the color theme and layout of the player to best fit your site.

* Ready? Get Started!

You’ll need to sign up for an AdSense account to start using Video Units.

Sign up for AdSense now.’

The screen also has a little screen shot of the ads in action with the ads appearing above the video in a new kind of YouTube Player (pictured above and below).

Like I say – this may have been announced somewhere previously – but it seems to be new and something that only some YouTube account holders are seeing at the moment (I can’t see it as an actual option on my account yet). It’s a little odd because on the page which talks about this it says to click a button to use it – but there’s no button – just a link to AdSense.

Here’s a screen shot of the page which mentions it:

Have you seen this anywhere else (or have I been sleeping)? Is it available to your YouTube account?

Here’s a link to the page where the AdSense/YouTube program is mentioned (update: YouTube seem to have killed this page).

Thanks to JKK Mobile who was the first to email me about this.