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If I see a netflix ad I cancel. Just like I did with hulu+ (the paid service), no way am I going to pay a video streaming to waste my time and bandwidth with a

by sliken 5y ago

If I see a netflix ad I cancel. Just like I did with hulu+ (the paid service), no way am I going to pay a video streaming to waste my time and bandwidth with ads. Similarly first time I see a youtube ad, I'll cancel my youtube premium subscription.

01100011 5y ago
I agree. Yet I feel compelled to say that the HN crowd is not necessarily representative of the general population. I've missed out on some great ideas I thought were dumb because I made the mistake of thinking my brain and interests are similar to others'.
- spoils19 5y ago
  While I agree, the world would probably better off if it was the case. I think back to a very popular comment about how Dropbox can be simplified to a few shell commands over FTP. There's simply too much useless software out there not solving real human problems.
- shadowofneptune 5y ago
  The whole appeal of 'cutting the cord' was that you got better stuff at a lower price than cable. Netflix is now pricier than it used to be, and streaming bundles have arrived. Should ads come to Netflix, it's obvious to pretty much anyone that streaming has become what it was supposed to replace.
- anothernewdude 5y ago
  I feel compelled to say that tech interest has nothing to do with hating advertising and wanting content now. If anything the need for piracy or ad blocking led to a lot of people learning tech skills they would otherwise be completely uninterested in.
- Fnoord 5y ago
  If about 33% of the users on the WWW use an adblocker, then its likely a considerable amount of them like convenient streaming without ads. Netflix already contains advertising, btw. Its content does, such as product placement (a good example of which being Nokia in the original The Matrix though not Netflix specific). Heck, even Disney+ is advertising: for their merchandise. My kid digs 'Mini Mouse'. What I am not interesting in is wasting my time on ads. I sort of accept it on Prime because I got Prime cheap, and its Prime Video products only. They're testing my limits though, I can tell you that much, and I can also tell you the ads are usually not appropriate for me (although I do have Prime for the Prime specific content, I find it on my own). The moment Netflix starts to waste my time with ads, it becomes less valuable. Because ads is the reason I avoid cable TV. I CBA with wasting my time on BS I don't want (to see). Its the reason I got Netflix in the first place. It makes the product less convenient, and pirating is already very convenient. It just feels better to pay for something while watching the people you paid for acting.
  - tzs 5y ago
    > If about 33% of the users on the WWW use an adblocker, then its likely a considerable amount of them like convenient streaming without ads. I think WWW and streaming ads are too different to allow much meaningful cross inference. On a web page with ads the ads are visible while you are trying to read the content, sometimes even overlaying it, and sometimes making noise and playing distracting animations. On streaming (and on broadcast) the ad breaks usually alternate with the content or occur between acts in the content. When the content is actually playing the ads are not there. This makes a huge difference. When an ad comes on between acts in a show, I simply pick up a book or my iPad until the next act starts in the show. I've always got things I want to do that I can make progress on in 2 or 3 minute segments so it is no big deal.
doldisod 5y ago
> Similarly first time I see a youtube ad, I'll cancel my youtube premium subscription. Youtube has ads for the lower tiers, yet you’re still subscribed. This article is explicitly not arguing that Netflix should show ads to existing subscribers like yourself.
- stingraycharles 5y ago
  It’s only arguing to not show ads to the highest tiers, and to bump those prices as well as they introduced a new benefit (“no ads”).
  - doldisod 5y ago
    Highest tiers being the current tiers. The article also argues that Netflix is constantly bumping up their prices, and this would further justify that by making the higher tiers seem more attractive.
err4nt 5y ago
Totally agree. I am paying to _not_ see ads. If they show me ads anyway I simply won't use the service.
- BizarroLand 5y ago
  Ads are only acceptable to me for purely ad-supported services. If I have to reach for my credit card to view your content, you have to put the ads away. There is no in between for me. If you pull out ads on me, I will drop your service.

by sliken 5y ago

01100011 5y ago

I agree. Yet I feel compelled to say that the HN crowd is not necessarily representative of the general population. I've missed out on some great ideas I thought were dumb because I made the mistake of thinking my brain and interests are similar to others'.

spoils19 5y ago
While I agree, the world would probably better off if it was the case. I think back to a very popular comment about how Dropbox can be simplified to a few shell commands over FTP. There's simply too much useless software out there not solving real human problems.
shadowofneptune 5y ago
The whole appeal of 'cutting the cord' was that you got better stuff at a lower price than cable. Netflix is now pricier than it used to be, and streaming bundles have arrived. Should ads come to Netflix, it's obvious to pretty much anyone that streaming has become what it was supposed to replace.
anothernewdude 5y ago
I feel compelled to say that tech interest has nothing to do with hating advertising and wanting content now. If anything the need for piracy or ad blocking led to a lot of people learning tech skills they would otherwise be completely uninterested in.
Fnoord 5y ago
If about 33% of the users on the WWW use an adblocker, then its likely a considerable amount of them like convenient streaming without ads. Netflix already contains advertising, btw. Its content does, such as product placement (a good example of which being Nokia in the original The Matrix though not Netflix specific). Heck, even Disney+ is advertising: for their merchandise. My kid digs 'Mini Mouse'. What I am not interesting in is wasting my time on ads. I sort of accept it on Prime because I got Prime cheap, and its Prime Video products only. They're testing my limits though, I can tell you that much, and I can also tell you the ads are usually not appropriate for me (although I do have Prime for the Prime specific content, I find it on my own). The moment Netflix starts to waste my time with ads, it becomes less valuable. Because ads is the reason I avoid cable TV. I CBA with wasting my time on BS I don't want (to see). Its the reason I got Netflix in the first place. It makes the product less convenient, and pirating is already very convenient. It just feels better to pay for something while watching the people you paid for acting.
- tzs 5y ago
  > If about 33% of the users on the WWW use an adblocker, then its likely a considerable amount of them like convenient streaming without ads. I think WWW and streaming ads are too different to allow much meaningful cross inference. On a web page with ads the ads are visible while you are trying to read the content, sometimes even overlaying it, and sometimes making noise and playing distracting animations. On streaming (and on broadcast) the ad breaks usually alternate with the content or occur between acts in the content. When the content is actually playing the ads are not there. This makes a huge difference. When an ad comes on between acts in a show, I simply pick up a book or my iPad until the next act starts in the show. I've always got things I want to do that I can make progress on in 2 or 3 minute segments so it is no big deal.

doldisod 5y ago

> Similarly first time I see a youtube ad, I'll cancel my youtube premium subscription. Youtube has ads for the lower tiers, yet you’re still subscribed. This article is explicitly not arguing that Netflix should show ads to existing subscribers like yourself.

stingraycharles 5y ago
It’s only arguing to not show ads to the highest tiers, and to bump those prices as well as they introduced a new benefit (“no ads”).
- doldisod 5y ago
  Highest tiers being the current tiers. The article also argues that Netflix is constantly bumping up their prices, and this would further justify that by making the higher tiers seem more attractive.

err4nt 5y ago

Totally agree. I am paying to _not_ see ads. If they show me ads anyway I simply won't use the service.

BizarroLand 5y ago
Ads are only acceptable to me for purely ad-supported services. If I have to reach for my credit card to view your content, you have to put the ads away. There is no in between for me. If you pull out ads on me, I will drop your service.