3 ms·

TV is solved, pay the subscription (in majority of cases). Don't use Google for search, run an adblocker, and bail on sites that force it. It sounds like you h

TV is solved, pay the subscription (in majority of cases). Don't use Google for search, run an adblocker, and bail on sites that force it. It sounds like you have the problem letting go of the ad subsidized media, apparently many people are fine with it. If you can't afford to pay for the ad free content, fair enough, but maybe be grateful you at least have a means of getting it without paying.

Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
The greater the market share of subscription streaming gets, the greater the temptation to add ads to them will become. It’s already happening, a while back I got a subscription to the Discovery streaming platform and occasionally it would interrupt the show with an ad. I refuse to pay for that, so I unsubscribed. But sooner or later I will have no choice anymore.
- moonshinefe 5y ago
  You're completely right. People thought paying money would stop ads from permeating cable TV originally [1], and look what happened there. History is repeating itself and yet you still have people in this very thread carting out the tired old bromide: "the market will take care of it, vote with your wallet". Well, it clearly won't in this case. 1. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/arts/will-cable-tv-be-invaded-by-commercials.html https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/arts/will-cable-tv-be-inv...
  - captaincaveman 5y ago
    I think its too early to say if history is repeating, certainly a possibility. Things have changed a lot since 1981, consumers have a wider range of choice for entertainment, and swapping providers is super easy now. One negative change though is Public Broadcasting Services are being encouraged to be self funding, which may reduce the options for free and ad-free content!
- captaincaveman 5y ago
  I certainly can see that behavior from the media companies with a linear TV background, and potentially Amazon with their growing Ad business. As long as Netflix stays clear that should keep competition in check, once they start doing ads, I think that would signal the good times are over (squeezing the consumer).
toast0 5y ago
> TV is solved, pay the subscription (in majority of cases). This doesn't really work. Paid Cable/Satellite TV has ads all over the place. Even the extra premium channels will put cross promotion between the shows to fill the time slots. Paid streaming has cross promotion on almost all services, and some services have actual ads even when you paid (sometimes there's a higher tier you can pay for which has fewer ads). Of course, paying for content on disc, when available, doesn't prevent ads either.

Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago

The greater the market share of subscription streaming gets, the greater the temptation to add ads to them will become. It’s already happening, a while back I got a subscription to the Discovery streaming platform and occasionally it would interrupt the show with an ad. I refuse to pay for that, so I unsubscribed. But sooner or later I will have no choice anymore.

moonshinefe 5y ago
You're completely right. People thought paying money would stop ads from permeating cable TV originally [1], and look what happened there. History is repeating itself and yet you still have people in this very thread carting out the tired old bromide: "the market will take care of it, vote with your wallet". Well, it clearly won't in this case. 1. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/arts/will-cable-tv-be-invaded-by-commercials.html https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/arts/will-cable-tv-be-inv...
- captaincaveman 5y ago
  I think its too early to say if history is repeating, certainly a possibility. Things have changed a lot since 1981, consumers have a wider range of choice for entertainment, and swapping providers is super easy now. One negative change though is Public Broadcasting Services are being encouraged to be self funding, which may reduce the options for free and ad-free content!
captaincaveman 5y ago
I certainly can see that behavior from the media companies with a linear TV background, and potentially Amazon with their growing Ad business. As long as Netflix stays clear that should keep competition in check, once they start doing ads, I think that would signal the good times are over (squeezing the consumer).

toast0 5y ago

> TV is solved, pay the subscription (in majority of cases). This doesn't really work. Paid Cable/Satellite TV has ads all over the place. Even the extra premium channels will put cross promotion between the shows to fill the time slots. Paid streaming has cross promotion on almost all services, and some services have actual ads even when you paid (sometimes there's a higher tier you can pay for which has fewer ads). Of course, paying for content on disc, when available, doesn't prevent ads either.