Interrupting video interstitial

This is a video ad that appears in the app when the person does not expect it, usually right after they chose to do something else. The Coalition for Better Ads gives examples: full-screen video ads that appear during the game, at the start of a level, or at the start of a piece of content. They are a problem because the person expects to start playing or viewing the content and is surprised by the video. It is like sitting down to dinner and someone turning on a TV commercial right at the first bite.

In the Coalition's tests, the experience evaluated was the interstitial video during the game or during a stretch of content, with the option to close only after 5 seconds. This was the format tested and it falls under this rule. In other words, even if the video can be closed after a few seconds, if it appears at the start of a level or a piece of content, it interrupts.

As with the image interstitial, what decides is the timing. The Coalition says that interstitial videos at the end of the game, at the end of a stretch of content or after the score screen did not fall below the standard for apps. At those moments the person has finished something and is already taking a break. One question helps: does the video appear at the end of something or after the score, or does it appear right when the person was about to start? In the second case, it interrupts and falls below the standard.