9 ms·
Netflix Officially Adding Commercials
- Vladimof 5y agoI have Netflix but I still download Netflix shows online from a different source because it is more convenient... and there will not be any ads
- spindle 5y agoI wonder how common this is (I do it too). I'm finding it hard to make an educated guess.
- nowherebeen 5y agoI don't download them, but I watch it on other streaming sites. I figured I already pay for the subscription for it so it should be okay. The reason I do it is simply convenience. Netflix UI isn't particularly good and I absolutely loathe their auto-playing thumbnails with audio. So the interface has little sway for me when content is the same. I also do it for Disney when I cast to my TV. For some reason, their decoding is always messed up. All the colors are green, so I have no choice but to use another source. I pay for Disney subscription as well.
- mandrizzle 5y agoJust curious, how is it more convenient? I assume you have a device that can’t stream Netflix? Downloading off of Netflix I believe you also miss out on Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, etc
- arthurcolle 5y agoyou can use VLC or Soda Player to cast anything (mkv, mp4, whatever) to a Chromecast enabled TV. Chromecast has been breaking subtitles recently though
- kobalsky 5y agoI use netflix for netflix, however I miss how simple plex is sometimes because the continue-watching feature on netflix is an unreliable piece of garbage and since they want me to see the shows they want me to watch, the show I'm actually watching is always below the fold. with plex it's just 1) open plex, 2) click play, and I can continue watching in peace.
- jumelles 5y agoIt could be automated with something like sonarr.
- Vladimof 5y agoI've been downloading the same way since way before Netflix started, that might be part of it but also, I used to have issues playing Netflix in Linux (last I tried). I also like not having to deal with their app or their app changes (I can use any video player and transfer anything on mobile if I wish). And lastly, I can keep a recording of what I liked even if it disappears from netflix.com (IE: "Netflix’s US Catalog Has Shrunk by More Than 2,500 Titles in Less Than 2.5 Years").
- hn576 5y agoFor me, I also prefer watching downloads with Kodi than using my paid Netflix account. The main reasons: - audio sync issues are fixable while the film plays, it's almost impossible to get Netflix audio to be frame perfect (and I'd much rather have lip synced stereo than any of those multi channel sounds) - I really hate the "skip intro" button that Netflix shows on almost anything. (as well as messing with the end credits). To really enjoy a show, I need to watch it outside of Netflix. The Netflix UI is optimized for background noise, not something you want to watch and enjoy.
- cuteboy19 5y agoI have Amazon Prime but they don't have anime dubs. I too have to use a different source because of this
- bluefirebrand 5y agoGood timing on the heels of them losing subscribers for the first time and a pretty large dip in stock price.
- Justin_K 5y agoIf I see one ad, I guarantee I cancel and download elsewhere.
- bentobean 5y agoSame.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- __warlord__ 5y agoSame
- MiddleMan5 5y agoSame
- xeus2001 5y agoSame
- derevaunseraun 5y agoSame
- sfmike 5y agosame
- crakenzak 5y agosame
- R0b0t1 5y agosame
- qualudeheart 5y ago
- hedora 5y agoIt sounds like they'll charge extra to avoid the ads. Based on other services, it'll be like $5 a month. I'm still trying to figure out why advertisers would want to exclusively target Americans with under $5 / month of disposable income. My big fear is that they'll make tracking and selling profile data mandatory. If it comes down to it, I guess other sources of Netflix content exist.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- hombre_fatal 5y agoThey’re just targeting people who think the ads aren’t a big deal. I know people making massive money who sit through Youtube and Hulu ads. I’m the only person I know who subscribed to Youtube premium it seems. So, plenty of people to target with ads. Even HNers making big bucks.
- longcommonname 5y agoAds are their own form of entertainment.
- bombcar 5y ago"Workhuman" or whatever it is always amuses me with how freaking tone-deaf the ads are.
- greenknight 5y agoMy old housemate use to complain when I switched from watching a movie on free-to-air tv, to a streaming service. Mainly because he liked the ad breaks as they allowed him to get snacks / water / toilet break etc.etc. I would say when you want something i will pause, but he wouldnt say its the same.
- thehappypm 5y agoThe ever present war between Coors, Miller, and Bud Lites.
- dannykwells 5y agoCancelled today and not looking back! Will focus on platforms with fewer, highly curated shows (and no ads). Also - interesting to see Netflix not grasping how low quality their brand is becoming. Or grasping, and going all in nonetheless...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- 1270018080 5y agoNetflix is finished. They were first to market and built the brand, they were the only people skilled enough to make cloud streaming any good, and they enjoyed their temporary advantage in the market. The rest of the world caught up. It's over. In terms of their stock, the only reason to ever own a stock is the promise of future cash flow, and yeah they'll probably get there, but bleh.
- psyc 5y agoThey’re definitely not the “must have” they may once have been. Way too many “must have” exclusives in way too many different elsewheres. I recently re-subbed after being gone for a year. Ran out of “catch up” content in less than a week. Un-subbed. Maybe I’ll do that again after another year or two.
- seattle_spring 5y agoBased on the content of the article, seems obvious they're adding ads to a new lower tier / free tier plan. This is what most if not all competitors do. I don't see the big deal, it's not like they're going to inject ads into the current tiers.
- avidiax 5y ago> it's not like they're going to inject ads into the current tiers They will have a "limited ads" tier to replace "no ads" within 5 years. People that have extra disposable income to avoid ads are very valuable to advertisers.
- mahkeiro 5y agoIf they do they are going to lose massively subscribers.
- huffer 5y agoIt may depend on how the whole ecosystem evolves: if the competition starts doing similar stuff, then you would have no alternative but to stick with one of them and accept the introduction of ads. That's the funny thing about oligopoly, you know...
- hiq 5y agoP2P doesn't have ads and doesn't look like it's going away.
- mahkeiro 5y agoThe success of Netflix came as it was more convenient to use it than to download. If all streaming service are not seen as convenient everybody will be back to "old" download strategy.
- rhino369 5y agoYou are in a bubble if you think the average netflix subscriber knows how to download using bittorrent or usenet. And did those who knew and were inclined to pirate ever really stop?
- silisili 5y agoI'm already on the verge of cancelling Netflix because frankly, their library sucks. I cannot even remember the last time I saw a remotely entertaining original movie, of the hundreds they have. Their shows are a little better, but too few and far between. Seems they've been hedging a lot on poorly dubbed foreign films, again, don't watch. So yeah, showing even a single ad is just the fire I need to remember to cancel.
- cloutchaser 5y agoI agree and I wonder if this is a problem that is Netflix's creation, or the movie/tv studies creation. Of course it's probably both. But I just don't think the way culture is moving in the US is that compelling to the rest of the world (and for many in the US). And in that way both netflix and most TV shows are based on cultural values of california. I'm not in the US and the way almost any US movie/show has to bring the race question into it is super annoying. And I don't even mean the character make up, like fine, I don't give a shit what race actors are, if they are great actors. But literally every story always has to go into race somehow, every film somehow has references to who's black and who's white. Frankly it's racist but reverse racist really, it's pretending to be culturally sensitive but in the end you are still making everything about race, i.e. racism. I don't care. Stop it. I don't care about racism or about the colour of people. Leave me alone and show me a good story. Streaming services aren't social networks with lots of user generated content, that probably matches to the country where people use it. At least it's much less that. You can't force people to like California culture if they don't.
- Beltalowda 5y agoI think the problem is that certainly as of late, it's always so on the nose, and about as subtle as an airhorn. It's like on Friday afternoon they thought "oh fuck, we need to do something about race! [feverish typing] Done! Off to beer!" By inserting these things so forcibly I don't think you're really doing anyone any favours really, least of all Black people.
- GoblinSlayer 5y agoYou're not their target audience.
- sfmike 5y agoEemember there's tons of content available with a library card.
- DrSiemer 5y agoThe Netflix ui is horrible, their offer is lackluster, the recommendations are useless and now this. For many subscribers any ads or any extra cost will be the final push.
- qualudeheart 5y agoI’ll cancel my subscription.
- forum_ghost 5y agoThis is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end I'll never look into your eyes...again ...... This is the end...
- ShowalkKama 5y agoAt this point I don't get why you wouldn't just pirate the movies / series. It's cheaper [0], you have a bigger library, you don't have to pay extra for 4k and, overall, you get a better service. [0] You can easily find a seedbox ~5€ with 2TiB of storage and upload bandwidth
- t0bia_s 5y agoStreaming services should abandon monthly subscription paying method and let me pay just for time I actually spend on consuming their products. It is ridiculous to pay multiple streaming services for content that I consume rarely. I'm able to watch 5 feature films in month, which means approximately one film from one streaming service (HBO, Netflix, Apple, Disney...). Together it is around 55 USD (11 USD per feature film) in my country. Not to mention that about half o films I have in my watch list are not in streaming services. Sorry, that is not acceptable. It is actually stupid business model. If that films are not in local cinemas around, I'm not able to watch them legally.
- nunez 5y agoIf they pull a Hulu and charge ads for the 4K plan, I'm officially out.
- subjectsigma 5y agoI use the Netflix DVD service. Let's see them put ads on that.