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Post by PG on Jan 31, 2024 17:42:18 GMT
This was going to go in rants, but I think it is an interesting (annoying) topic for wider discussion. Streaming services are introducing ads into films and programmes, unless you are willing to pay more for an ad-free membership.
I started watching a film last night on Amazon and about 10 minutes in adverts suddenly started. WTF I thought? I'm a prime member. A quick google told me that from 29th Jan, Amazon UK Prime has adverts in film and programmes. You can't fast forward or avoid them. And unlike YouTube, who at least have the decency to allow you to skip ads after a few seconds of them on their free service, Amazon make you watch the entire fucking thing. Of course, Amazon plan to offer a higher priced "ad-free" Prime as well in due course. After they've totally pissed off everyone who will (they hope) be desperate to get rid of the adverts and be willing to pay more.
Netflix have also done something similar, but it seems at the moment if you are on the second tier pricing (£6.99 per month) you can stay on this ad free, but if you want to upgrade it is much higher priced ad-free or new members get ads unless they pay the higher price. But I expect that will change soon.
Are the streaming services shooting themselves in the foot? Because if everybody has to start paying more every month for ad free streaming, I think people will drop some services as budgets are not unlimited. The whole point of streaming was that you paid a monthly fee and got ad free stuff. I think people will once again be looking at pirating stuff or maybe somebody will find a hack that allows you to at least fast forward your way through the ads. To me, this is like the attempt to charge for subscription services in cars - destined to make the companies hugely unpopular and get them loads and loads of bad press.
Thoughts?
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 31, 2024 18:22:33 GMT
My thoughts - I hate ads and am more inclined to give the relevant companies/products a miss rather than buy them/from them as the ads are so annoying.
Ads are also poorly targetted - I remember the days when for example YouTube was ad-free. Now I am plagued by adverts for Radisson Hotels but I am a member of their "club", so why keep annoying me by reminding me of their name and the fact that they are a hotel chain?
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 31, 2024 18:34:14 GMT
As much as I hate lining their pockets, I will probably pay the extra to avoid them.
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Post by Martin on Jan 31, 2024 18:41:52 GMT
As much as I hate lining their pockets, I will probably pay the extra to avoid them. +1. I can’t stand adverts. |
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Post by bryan on Jan 31, 2024 19:23:37 GMT
We will probably drop them, we have Netflix and Now through BT and borrowed Disney plus Prime and there is bugger all on!
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Jan 31, 2024 19:53:23 GMT
I’ll bin any streaming service that brings in ads.
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Post by Alex on Feb 1, 2024 6:20:30 GMT
Just do like we always used to and take it as a cue to pop the kettle on and take a piss! Oddly I always felt that the one thing that was annoying about watching an hour long programme or a film on BBC (back in days before iPlayer) was the lack of ads. If the programme started and you'd forgotten to go you either had to sit there desperate for a wee or miss some of it. At least ITV and C4 gave you a toilet break.
But I do get what you mean about being irked at paying for a streaming service so expecting not to also have ads. Though equally Sky TV was the original subscription service in this country and that's always had ads with no-one complaining about it. And we never really complain about ads in magazines we've paid money for either. We know that if they weren't there the magazine would be £20 not £5 so it's just a way of subsidising the service to keep the price reasonable for us the user.
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Post by Blarno on Feb 1, 2024 6:55:03 GMT
As soon as someone figures how to get ad blockers working on TVs, the better. I have Ublock on my laptop so I can watch Youtube in peace and a hacked version on mobile that tricks it into thinking I have Premium membership, but no such thing exists for the TV yet, which is where I watch the most Youtube. We have Netflix and Prime subscriptions, but have yet to notice any ads.
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Post by Tim on Feb 1, 2024 8:25:15 GMT
It seems a bit cheeky for them to introduce ads but not reduce the price on that level of subscription.
I think we'll refuse to pay any extra and will make a point of looking to see if the programmes we want to watch are on things like Channel 4 Player or ITV X - you still get ads but at least its an otherwise free service.
I suspect the majority of people will bitch and moan and then cough up the extra.
Prime have had something called Freevee for a while which includes ads.
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Post by rodge on Feb 1, 2024 13:45:45 GMT
Don’t like ads on streaming services, I have Netflix, Prime, Paramount, Peacock (US based allows me to watch football) and Apple TV which I pay for.
I don’t mind them as much on the free services- Channel 4 for example, but everything I watch on that is sponsored by Arnold Clarke, who have no presence on this side of the Irish Sea at all. So I get reminders of the car chain that everybody used to complain about whenever I watch Inspector Morse or the like.
I mush check out Prime as I haven’t streamed anything on it since they brought that ad thing in.
The one I don’t want to experience is the new one that’s appearing, where they pause the ads if you’re not looking at the screen on your device. That’s a serious nuisance.
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Post by Big Blue on Feb 1, 2024 16:41:07 GMT
I’ll bin any streaming service that brings in ads. Hard with Amazon Prime as it's wrapped into the delivery package. We pay for Apple TV+ (no ads) and Now TV (no ads). Never paid for Netflix. The other streaming services for OTA channels (so C4, ITVX and My5) offer an ad free subscription service but on the basis that if we watched them OTA we'd watch ads anyway we put up with it. Re: Prime, we've found ourselves watching far less on Prime than Apple, who have content only available on Apple TV+, and Now, who have the most up to date films as Sky have the purchasing power based on their long term subscription model. If Apple TV or Now bought in ads I'd probably just put up with it but watch a lot less streaming TV. I also pay for MotoGP. There are no ads apart from the ones plastered all over the bikes and riders. |
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Post by johnc on Feb 1, 2024 16:55:23 GMT
This is a bit like sport on TV. You used to get pretty much every sport on either Sky or free to view TV but as time has gone on the sports have been spread over lots of different subscription channels and it is financially impossible/ill advised to subscribe to every channel to get all the sport you want.
I think a lot of people will make choices by paying for ad free Netflix for example and dropping some other subscription services. Most people hate the adverts.
As time goes by though lots of people will find themselves only able to watch a proportion of the TV they would like to watch because of financial constraints. I think it also depends on how often they play adverts. If they follow the US model, advert free would be the only way to go!
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Post by PG on Feb 1, 2024 22:55:12 GMT
On Prime, I watched a 90 minute film and there were 5 ad breaks, each about 30-45 seconds (one or two adverts).
As Jeff says, with Prime the biggest benefit is the free delivery. It'll be interesting to see how that is tied into the new ad and ad-free packages. Rumour was also that free delivery on Prime would o y be for orders over a certain value on the lower tiers of package.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Feb 2, 2024 8:20:35 GMT
This is a bit like sport on TV. You used to get pretty much every sport on either Sky or free to view TV but as time has gone on the sports have been spread over lots of different subscription channels and it is financially impossible/ill advised to subscribe to every channel to get all the sport you want. I think a lot of people will make choices by paying for ad free Netflix for example and dropping some other subscription services. Most people hate the adverts. As time goes by though lots of people will find themselves only able to watch a proportion of the TV they would like to watch because of financial constraints. I think it also depends on how often they play adverts. If they follow the US model, advert free would be the only way to go! Pretty much everyone (except me 😞) down our golf club has a “ dodgy stick”. It costs about £45 for the year and they get all the Sky, Netflix, Prime, Box Office events free. I’m thinking of joining them. |
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Post by johnc on Feb 2, 2024 8:38:46 GMT
It's just like tax. When the cost gets too high a large number of people will find a way to avoid it, even if it is illegal. Compliance requires reasonable rules.
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Post by Alex on Feb 2, 2024 20:05:59 GMT
I've not bothered with the sports channels. Most Arsenal games are on the telly this season but I just go down the pub. I'd rather spend the money on supporting a local business and if that means drinking some of their beer it's a sacrifice I guess I just have to make 🍻
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Post by ChrisM on Jul 15, 2024 20:37:59 GMT
Understanding quite a bit of French, and a little German, and having been to France and Germany this year with my laptop and visited websites of those countries, I'm getting a random mix of ads in French and German as well as English, particularly on YouTube. I'd love to know how the advert algorithms are written and I wonder if any real person is monitoring what's going on.
Sometimes it's highly amusing to be bombarded with adverts that I don't understand, at other times it is highly frustrating
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Post by Ben on Jul 16, 2024 15:39:07 GMT
I've succumbed and paid for YouTube Premium. The number of ads were just too annoying and random for me to take.
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Post by Alex on Jul 17, 2024 6:04:30 GMT
I've succumbed and paid for YouTube Premium. The number of ads were just too annoying and random for me to take. My wife has YT Premium as it came free with her phone package. She's set it up on our TV downstairs so I've been switching to her account to watch some of the videos from the channels I follow. So far she doesn't seem too annoyed to keep getting weekly updates from Harry's Garage and Steve Marsh but we'll have to see how long I can get away with it! |
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Post by LandieMark on Jul 17, 2024 8:50:03 GMT
I watch quite a bit of YouTube so have had premium for ages. I ditched Spotify to justify it (YouTube music is included) so the cost is about the same for more content.
YouTube music isn't quite as good as Spotify, but the ad free videos more than makes up for it.
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Post by Tim on Jul 17, 2024 9:14:09 GMT
The YouTube ads are particularly irritating as most seem to be for 50+ seconds with no option to skip.
I just make sure I've got a book/magazine handy for those times
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Post by PG on Jul 17, 2024 15:35:15 GMT
The YouTube ads are particularly irritating as most seem to be for 50+ seconds with no option to skip. I just make sure I've got a book/magazine handy for those times On the free YT I seem to get forced to watch ads every so often, but have the "skip" ability after about 5 saconds on quite a lot of the ads. I've never considered YT Premium. Maybe I'll have a look as I didn't realise it included music too. I do pay for Greatest Hits web radio Premium to avoid ads on the radio as those are just awful. |
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Post by Ben on Jul 17, 2024 17:28:31 GMT
The problem is that the YouTube ads now pop up randomly in the middle of the video, instead of merely at the beginning and end. Given that you can now watch full-scale programmes on YouTube, that is just a whole new level of irritance.
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