Ads or Ad-free

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Talking about streaming apps here such as Netflix,Hulu,Paramount etc...Do you find it that annoying to where you feel the need to subscribe to ad free? I don't mind an ad here and there myself though I'm doing a trial to YouTube premium and not needing to skip ads feels so less annoying mostly because the length of YouTube ads are different lengths, so to add some more content which apps are you currently subscribed to if any?

At the moment I have
YouTube Premium
Paramount+

I did have the Disney+ bundle for a while but got my fill of it and decided I didn't really want to keep getting my bills added to tons of different services.

[Brian]

Twitch Turbo is the only thing I'm subscribed to for the express purpose of not receiving ads. Somewhere down the line the site changed something on one of the more popular channels I watch where after a certain interval up to 8 consecutive video ads will play in the middle of their stream. The person who runs the channel has no control over when those particular ads play and there's no option as a viewer to rewind to see the minutes worth of whatever I missed thanks to ads, so that incentivized me to bite the bullet.

On the plus side I get no video ads anywhere, so even on smaller channels that don't have that problem I also get to avoid the video ad that everyone gets when first opening a stream.

It was kind of a last resort. When advertising gets to a point where I'm actually missing content it becomes inexcusable. Even TV ad breaks never had that problem.

[HoudiniDerek]

I grew up in the era of commercials you could not speed up, so it doesn't bother me. It only irks me when it clearly isn't timed well and cuts off part of an episode or someone speaking. But that's rare enough that it doesn't bother me overall. It's still not the three plus minutes or more I dealt with every show as a kid.

[CheatAreZee]

My main sources for video content are Youtube and Twitch, and subscribe to both of their ad-free services. I really dislike video ads and would go on a rant about how especially terrible Twitch's system is, but I see Venoob already covered that

We also have Amazon Prime Video and have been re-watching House recently. I probably wouldn't bother if I had to deal with ad breaks again.   

[wildmaven]

We have Disney+ (no ads), Netflix (no ads), and use YouTube (tons of ads). I wouldn't mind ads so much if they didn't keep showing me women's bladder incontinence products (I don't need them) and Spanish ads (I don't understand what they're saying) and absolutely HATE ads in the middle of the content when I'm truly engrossed in what I'm watching.

It would be nice if YouTube had a way for content creators to choose exactly when an ad can interrupt, such as a break in a scene. I don't mind watching an ad right at the beginning of a video. For some content creators that I really like, I don't hit 'skip' so that they get more money from the ad.

I've noticed on YouTube lately that some ads won't let you hit the "why am I seeing this ad" feature. I only use it when an ad becomes super repetitive. Jeep must've paid them a lot to get rid of that feature on their ads.

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

I'm too cheap to really be bothered whether or not one of the services I use has ads or not.
Besides I never really fully watch anything anyway, I tend to do other stuff while the TV or my laptop is on.

[harryk]

Interestingly, I use an old Windows 10 phone on the Narrow boat with a wireless monitor, and keyboard. Much more capable of handling voltage differences than most devices.

Most subscription ads just don't work anymore on it. Sometimes I have to restart the vid but mostly it just pauses and skips when I press play.

Part of the general problem seems to be that streaming services pay third party ad agencies to supplying ad contracts, and subsequent revenue. Advantage to the service as they don't need a big, expensive sales team. Disadvantage is a loss of control which damages user experience. Making users less likely to invest in the future. It's a delicate balance.

Personally I don't mind well placed, appropriate ads if they're 15-30 seconds long, more than that and the skip button needs to work properly. YT often fails here.

Like Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti, I'm usually doing something else while "watching". A few the glances at the screen to establish voices with characters is normally enough. A couple of drinks while reading Iain M Banks and listening to Life on Mars can lead to some interesting dreams.

[Immortal]

If I have to purchase ads or ads free, I'll purchase the cheaper option with ads. If there is only an ad-free version, I'll obviously go with ad-free. I actually prefer to purchase annual plans so that I don't have to worry about the bill for a year (and if I can't afford it at the end of the year, just cancel). I currently have:
CuriosityStream [Love]
Disney+ [Ehh, enjoy enough]
Netflix [May consider letting it go if the rates keep climbing]
Hulu [Using it more and more, so worth it]
Paramount+ [Nice, but not quite pay for another year nice]
Discovery+ [Not bad, but I wouldn't miss it]
VRV [for anime]
And Prime because I have Amazon membership.

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Aug 4, 2021 3:51:10 GMT -8 Immortal said:

If I have to purchase ads or ads free, I'll purchase the cheaper option with ads. If there is only an ad-free version, I'll obviously go with ad-free. I actually prefer to purchase annual plans so that I don't have to worry about the bill for a year (and if I can't afford it at the end of the year, just cancel). I currently have:
CuriosityStream [Love]
Disney+ [Ehh, enjoy enough]
Netflix [May consider letting it go if the rates keep climbing]
Hulu [Using it more and more, so worth it]
Paramount+ [Nice, but not quite pay for another year nice]
Discovery+ [Not bad, but I wouldn't miss it]
VRV [for anime]
And Prime because I have Amazon membership.

Alot of people dog Paramount+ but I actually see potential in it. They have a good movie line up coming out for it such as jackass 4, new Beavis and Butt-Head movie, scream etc...As long as they don't jack up prices I see more live channels being added in the future as well.

[Derek‽]

I find it annoying that I'm already paying money to Hulu to still have the content interrupted by ads. Why do I hate myself this much? I know there's a higher-priced, ad-free tier, but that wasn't part of the bundle. I wouldn't subscribe to both Hulu and Disney+ at full price. (For that matter, I'd never subscribe to ESPN+ at all and have never even touched it.)

Netflix always feels like a welcome surprise when I go back to watching something on it, just because of the lack of ads.

I don't really care about YouTube ads. I watch videos only occasionally, so ads are a very mild annoyance I live with.

[Zenlethic]

With Hulu, I do get annoyed at the ads interrupting the flow of what I am watching. It wouldn't bother me so much if it were only at the beginning of what I'm watching rather than scattered through different parts of the episodes.

Netflix and DVD's are my favorite way to watch shows; no commercials on either.

[Darkmage4]

Since I don't have cables/sat, and ads are the largest reason why I don't have it. I pay the extra for ad free. people often complain that there is a paramount+ and Discovery+ because they already have those channels on their cable, and ask "Why did they make these streaming services, they're money hungry! Rabble rabble, rabble"

I and many others reply, it's for the cord cutters. It's cheaper, and we can stream when we want whenever we want. I'm happy I can finally watch my shows.

I also pay premium on YouTube as I hate ads (I know, ad block.) but I want to support my favorite creators, I get Premium, and youtube music on top of that.

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Apr 9, 2022 23:06:13 GMT -8 Darkmage4 said:

Since I don't have cables/sat, and ads are the largest reason why I don't have it. I pay the extra for ad free. people often complain that there is a paramount+ and Discovery+ because they already have those channels on their cable, and ask "Why did they make these streaming services, they're money hungry! Rabble rabble, rabble"

I and many others reply, it's for the cord cutters. It's cheaper, and we can stream when we want whenever we want. I'm happy I can finally watch my shows.

I also pay premium on YouTube as I hate ads (I know, ad block.) but I want to support my favorite creators, I get Premium, and youtube music on top of that.

Premium does nothing to support the creators an ad free service goes right to cooperate wallets.

[Darkmage4]

Apr 10, 2022 6:09:28 GMT -8 User 180565 is taking donation said:

Apr 9, 2022 23:06:13 GMT -8 Darkmage4 said:

Since I don't have cables/sat, and ads are the largest reason why I don't have it. I pay the extra for ad free. people often complain that there is a paramount+ and Discovery+ because they already have those channels on their cable, and ask "Why did they make these streaming services, they're money hungry! Rabble rabble, rabble"

I and many others reply, it's for the cord cutters. It's cheaper, and we can stream when we want whenever we want. I'm happy I can finally watch my shows.

I also pay premium on YouTube as I hate ads (I know, ad block.) but I want to support my favorite creators, I get Premium, and youtube music on top of that.

Premium does nothing to support the creators an ad free service goes right to cooperate wallets.

 
It actually does. Formerly called YouTube Red. Any YouTuber apart of the YPP (YouTube Partner Program) will see the [Premium] tab and how much they've made through YouTube Premium Views as opposed to ads. It's not as significant as Ads are. But it still is up there if enough people with Premium watch that certain channel. 

As shown here: