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Hulu is another one of those great ideas that lost its track. I am not going to pay money to watch ad-sponsored show. I don't even watch freemium Hulu when they

by pavs 16y ago

Hulu is another one of those great ideas that lost its track. I am not going to pay money to watch ad-sponsored show. I don't even watch freemium Hulu when they have ads.

robryan 16y ago
How would you suggest they run it differently?
- pavs 16y ago
  Reasonable higher price without ads. Paying for ads is a dubious notion when there are better options online right now. Sure they might not have larger collection or more recent shows, but its still better than paying for ads IMO. They could have started off with two options. - Ad-supported lower monthly - No-ads higher monthly They wouldn't have to guess through trial and error to see the ideal model, people would have voted with their money.
chopsueyar 16y ago
Once I became accustomed to Netflix streaming, it was very difficult to rationalize paying for ad-sponsored streaming, particularly if it is being broadcasted OTA for free (and available sooner). They should double(or triple) the price and drop the ads.
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  My parents have never had cable, my mom is pretty hardcore anti-anything-thats-not-pbs. One time I mentioned seeing a funny commercial while I was at someone's house, "Wait... doesn't he have cable? Why are there commercials if they're paying for it?" I used to tell that story and laugh at her, now I tell that story and laugh at me. :/
eitally 16y ago
I do, because the alternative is handing over much money to my cable provider. I wish they offered the "watch a long ad at the beginning and then enjoy uninterrupted programming" for everything, though.
- pavs 16y ago
  I don't watch TV at all. Netflix is my first connection to tv shows in about 3 years. I only started watching it about 2 months ago when someone recommended it to me. Few days ago I went to my friends house and was waiting to go out. The TV was on, I was surprised how quickly annoyed I got with all the ads. I can't go back to that shit anymore. If I remember correctly Hulu ads are more annoying and frequent than TV ads (and they sometimes require human interaction, ie, "Click X", to go away!). I don't know if it got better though.
  - smackfu 16y ago
    "If I remember correctly Hulu ads are more annoying and frequent than TV ads " Yeah, not really. Hulu has the ad breaks at the same point in the show, but only shows 30-60 second commercials in them, vs 2-4 minutes for a TV ad. Like an average sitcom is 22 minutes, leaving 8 minutes for ads. The ads can be more annoying, but not because they are interactive, but because the ad inventory is limited compared to broadcast TV so you see the same ads more frequently.
markkanof 16y ago
Obviously I'm in the minority here, but I don't mind the ads. I ditched cable and just use Hulu. So now instead of ~80 dollars a month for video with commercials I pay 10 (soon to be 8). Plus there seem to be fewer ads than there where on cable. The ad break gives me a chance to get up and do a quick chore (move laundry from washer to dryer, pack lunch, etc.)
- yesimahuman 16y ago
  I mind when the main show loads just fine but the ads don't, turning a 1 minute wait time into 3 or 4+

by pavs 16y ago

Hulu is another one of those great ideas that lost its track. I am not going to pay money to watch ad-sponsored show. I don't even watch freemium Hulu when they have ads.

robryan 16y ago

How would you suggest they run it differently?

pavs 16y ago
Reasonable higher price without ads. Paying for ads is a dubious notion when there are better options online right now. Sure they might not have larger collection or more recent shows, but its still better than paying for ads IMO. They could have started off with two options. - Ad-supported lower monthly - No-ads higher monthly They wouldn't have to guess through trial and error to see the ideal model, people would have voted with their money.

chopsueyar 16y ago

Once I became accustomed to Netflix streaming, it was very difficult to rationalize paying for ad-sponsored streaming, particularly if it is being broadcasted OTA for free (and available sooner). They should double(or triple) the price and drop the ads.

steveklabnik 16y ago
My parents have never had cable, my mom is pretty hardcore anti-anything-thats-not-pbs. One time I mentioned seeing a funny commercial while I was at someone's house, "Wait... doesn't he have cable? Why are there commercials if they're paying for it?" I used to tell that story and laugh at her, now I tell that story and laugh at me. :/

eitally 16y ago

I do, because the alternative is handing over much money to my cable provider. I wish they offered the "watch a long ad at the beginning and then enjoy uninterrupted programming" for everything, though.

pavs 16y ago
I don't watch TV at all. Netflix is my first connection to tv shows in about 3 years. I only started watching it about 2 months ago when someone recommended it to me. Few days ago I went to my friends house and was waiting to go out. The TV was on, I was surprised how quickly annoyed I got with all the ads. I can't go back to that shit anymore. If I remember correctly Hulu ads are more annoying and frequent than TV ads (and they sometimes require human interaction, ie, "Click X", to go away!). I don't know if it got better though.
- smackfu 16y ago
  "If I remember correctly Hulu ads are more annoying and frequent than TV ads " Yeah, not really. Hulu has the ad breaks at the same point in the show, but only shows 30-60 second commercials in them, vs 2-4 minutes for a TV ad. Like an average sitcom is 22 minutes, leaving 8 minutes for ads. The ads can be more annoying, but not because they are interactive, but because the ad inventory is limited compared to broadcast TV so you see the same ads more frequently.

markkanof 16y ago

Obviously I'm in the minority here, but I don't mind the ads. I ditched cable and just use Hulu. So now instead of ~80 dollars a month for video with commercials I pay 10 (soon to be 8). Plus there seem to be fewer ads than there where on cable. The ad break gives me a chance to get up and do a quick chore (move laundry from washer to dryer, pack lunch, etc.)

yesimahuman 16y ago
I mind when the main show loads just fine but the ads don't, turning a 1 minute wait time into 3 or 4+