I'm not sure where you're going. Paywalling doesn't have to be all or nothing, you could show thumbnails and preview clips, but then require payment/subscripti

I'm not sure where you're going. Paywalling doesn't have to be all or nothing, you could show thumbnails and preview clips, but then require payment/subscription once the vid's clicked on. Or track them server side and give a limited number of video minutes before they're prompted to pay up. I think it would be effective because it would retain the "hook" that typically generates traffic. Show just enough to make the "Subscribe" button look easy and cheap. Native ads are annoying and thankfully skippable with things like SponsorBlock. Hard/impossible to block in the middle of a stream, though... I remember when ads on the Web were just clickable banners or those silly animated GIFs. While they still took up way too much screen real estate, it was possible to ignore them to some extent. Now it's not that easy, and you risk security because of all the surveillance. The people who avoid ads would rather not visit or use a site than reward the ad-shoving behavior. It's about time and respect; there really isn't any threshold that I will accept ads. If they ever play I reach to mute or switch or even close the tab. My attention isn't for sale.