The internet is mature enough now, but streaming companies still are broken

deriks

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
Back in the TV era, there was a method with ads. You show a thing, you have like 7 minutes of screening and a interval, some ads, then you go back to the thing or comes a whole another thing, repeats the circle and there's your structure. The day have 24 hours, and every second matters. It was predictable, and kinda cozy. I mean, you watch a sitcom and the punchline could come after the ad, or a plot twist in a good drama. Wasn't the best thing ever, but was fine

Now we don't have "a rule". It's just an algorithm, and changes all the time

I got YouTube Premium mostly because I like to hear gaming music, so I don't have ads while watching YouTube. Ok. Got to my folks this weekend and they don't have Premium, but I started to watch some videos anyway, and got like two ads that I could skip or whatever. But then, in a longer video that I don't remember right now, there was an ad like every two minutes or something. I couldn't see any standard. It could be a video starting with ads, or maybe starts and out of nowhere three unskippable ads, or a even not having at all in a video. Not a single rule, just being annoying. What the fuck?

I guess that everyone knows that YouTube doesn't care about less than 10 minutes videos now. If the videomaker do that, it's not that easy to see their content even if you're subscribed to the channel. Videomakers now needs to fill with shit a video that could easily be half of the time, but guess what? The site needs those ads to show, baby. If someone does a small video, it's better to just do a short, then your channel pops... on the shorts tier. The algorithm is fucked up

And with the ads thing, not just Youtube has this problem, but Netflix and Prime Video also got some shit like it. While Prime is the cheapest of all and their focus is on their own material that only shows sometimes when I start a Prime content, it still sucks - I heard that Max also has, but I signed inside Prime, so doesn't show up to me

The worst of all? We are kinda powerless against this thing

One might say that we can "vote with our wallets", but streaming is not really a product, it's a service, and services can't change in a snap of fingers. Even if everyone cancels their signature, the ones that you need to pay to consume will just adopt a freemium catch, and this method you can't really have a saying. We can pressure them for sure, and hope they fix some stuff and don't fuck more of it. But it has so much different people with a lot of different perceptions in different companies... oh, boy

297.jpg
 
youtubers make their videos overly long and put tons of ads in them because of greed; the worst are the ones that make a 15 min video about some post/article and then just fill it with speculation/rumours.
 
Hulu has issues but at least I can fast forward through the commercials. Unfortunately, you only get 5 minutes of view time before the next 1:30 of ads. 😑
 
Watching youtube on a TV is the worst thing you can do to "entertain" yourself, terrible experience with so many ads, on PC it is way better and you can easily avoid them.
 
Yo what's up NeoGAF it's your boy RagnarokIV coming at you. Now today I'm going to share my response to deriks deriks thread about ads on YouTube and various streaming services. But before we do that, I just want to remind you that in not only do I reply to threads but I make a new thread every second Friday of the month, and if you enjoy those threads don't forget to like and subscribe.
Now I know what you're thinking - only every second Friday? Well I also have other content for you to enjoy and that's when I post messages every day at 6PM. If you enjoy my content then do consider subscribing as it really helps out and allows me to keep making content for you guys.
You know what else helps me make posts for you guys? Our sponsor for today's post - RAID WALLET SHADOW VPN is a VPN service that puts your privacy first. Whether you want to dodge trackers on GAF or block the Bruce Willis mask on eBay ads that show up - RAID WALLET SHADOW VPN has you covered! Use discount code RAGNAROK4 to get 4% off a 1200 day subscription.
So a lot of you may have seen that deriks deriks made a post about ads on streaming services. I just want to say I agree with what he says.
 
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I'm not sure what the specific problem is you are trying to describe? Other than ads exisiting unless you pay a premium?
 
DetectiveBananas said:
Hulu has issues but at least I can fast forward through the commercials. Unfortunately, you only get 5 minutes of view time before the next 1:30 of ads. 😑
Click to expand...

I can't stand Hulu. I got the 99 cents a month deal for a year but because their ads come so often and last so long, I don't bother to watch anything on the service. I also refuse to buy the ad free version because it's a ripoff.

I could afford it, but I didn't grow up with a lot of money and the principle of getting ripped off and taken advantage of is ingrained in me.
 
Youtube is unwatchable without an adblocker. Even with premium it kept stopping my videos every 20 minutes or so and asking me "if I was still watching". Incredibly annoying.

poppabk said:
I'm not sure what the specific problem is you are trying to describe? Other than ads exisiting unless you pay a premium?
Click to expand...
I think he means that there's no rhyme and reason to the ad breaks. Back in the day before streaming there were a certain amount of ads in an hour so you could anticipate it and the producers/writers could write a story with different beats around those breaks. But now it's all nilly-willy and the ads come in different lengths and amounts which is frankly just weird and ruins the pace of the content.
 
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deriks said:
Back in the TV era, there was a method with ads. You show a thing, you have like 7 minutes of screening and a interval, some ads, then you go back to the thing or comes a whole another thing, repeats the circle and there's your structure. The day have 24 hours, and every second matters. It was predictable, and kinda cozy. I mean, you watch a sitcom and the punchline could come after the ad, or a plot twist in a good drama. Wasn't the best thing ever, but was fine

Now we don't have "a rule". It's just an algorithm, and changes all the time

I got YouTube Premium mostly because I like to hear gaming music, so I don't have ads while watching YouTube. Ok. Got to my folks this weekend and they don't have Premium, but I started to watch some videos anyway, and got like two ads that I could skip or whatever. But then, in a longer video that I don't remember right now, there was an ad like every two minutes or something. I couldn't see any standard. It could be a video starting with ads, or maybe starts and out of nowhere three unskippable ads, or a even not having at all in a video. Not a single rule, just being annoying. What the fuck?

I guess that everyone knows that YouTube doesn't care about less than 10 minutes videos now. If the videomaker do that, it's not that easy to see their content even if you're subscribed to the channel. Videomakers now needs to fill with shit a video that could easily be half of the time, but guess what? The site needs those ads to show, baby. If someone does a small video, it's better to just do a short, then your channel pops... on the shorts tier. The algorithm is fucked up

And with the ads thing, not just Youtube has this problem, but Netflix and Prime Video also got some shit like it. While Prime is the cheapest of all and their focus is on their own material that only shows sometimes when I start a Prime content, it still sucks - I heard that Max also has, but I signed inside Prime, so doesn't show up to me

The worst of all? We are kinda powerless against this thing

One might say that we can "vote with our wallets", but streaming is not really a product, it's a service, and services can't change in a snap of fingers. Even if everyone cancels their signature, the ones that you need to pay to consume will just adopt a freemium catch, and this method you can't really have a saying. We can pressure them for sure, and hope they fix some stuff and don't fuck more of it. But it has so much different people with a lot of different perceptions in different companies... oh, boy

297.jpg
Click to expand...
Part of the reason is that the video creator has the power to place ads at any given time - so if they wanted to they could have them every minute even. Not that they would do that - but in addition to that, they are really just "suggestions" by the creator at the end of the day and Youtube can place them in different spots in reality. But yes, there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason, some videos are loaded with ads (some of which have runtimes longer than the video you're watching, but skippable of course) and some have barely any at all. I went with premium because I watch or listen to so much Youtube and don't have Netflix or anything like that, so I justify the purchase to myself that way.
 
Diddy X said:
Watching youtube on a TV is the worst thing you can do to "entertain" yourself, terrible experience with so many ads, on PC it is way better and you can easily avoid them.
Click to expand...
The best way to watch Youtube:

- Use a PC with Firefox and uBlock Origin.
- Use the Youtube Enhancer plugin for some extra options (like hiding shorts)
- Use the Sponsorblock plugin.
- Turn OFF your Watch History.
- Bookmark your "Subscriptions" tab and use that instead of the the home page.

Congratulations. Now you can watch Youtube without ads, without sponsors, without shorts and without trending videos. Just whatever videos your subs upload and whatever you manually search for.

I'm using this setup for years and i can't stand browsing the site in any other way.
 
Trilobit said:
Youtube is unwatchable without an adblocker. Even with premium it kept stopping my videos every 20 minutes or so and asking me "if I was still watching". Incredibly annoying.


I think he means that there's no rhyme and reason to the ad breaks. Back in the day before streaming there were a certain amount of ads in an hour so you could anticipate it and the producers/writers could write a story with different beats around those breaks. But now it's all nilly-willy and the ads come in different lengths and amounts which is frankly just weird and ruins the pace of the content.
Click to expand...
Writing shows around the timing of breaks sounds far far worse though. I'm form England originally and we often had American shows that would be shown without ad breaks and would have weird issues with repeating scenes (supposed to be before and after the ad break) and just other weird shit (like fourth wall jokes about the upcoming ad break) that was annoying.
I'd much rather awkward ad transitions than artificial constraints.
 
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deriks said:
Back in the TV era, there was a method with ads. You show a thing, you have like 7 minutes of screening and a interval, some ads, then you go back to the thing or comes a whole another thing, repeats the circle and there's your structure. The day have 24 hours, and every second matters. It was predictable, and kinda cozy. I mean, you watch a sitcom and the punchline could come after the ad, or a plot twist in a good drama. Wasn't the best thing ever, but was fine

Now we don't have "a rule". It's just an algorithm, and changes all the time

I got YouTube Premium mostly because I like to hear gaming music, so I don't have ads while watching YouTube. Ok. Got to my folks this weekend and they don't have Premium, but I started to watch some videos anyway, and got like two ads that I could skip or whatever. But then, in a longer video that I don't remember right now, there was an ad like every two minutes or something. I couldn't see any standard. It could be a video starting with ads, or maybe starts and out of nowhere three unskippable ads, or a even not having at all in a video. Not a single rule, just being annoying. What the fuck?

I guess that everyone knows that YouTube doesn't care about less than 10 minutes videos now. If the videomaker do that, it's not that easy to see their content even if you're subscribed to the channel. Videomakers now needs to fill with shit a video that could easily be half of the time, but guess what? The site needs those ads to show, baby. If someone does a small video, it's better to just do a short, then your channel pops... on the shorts tier. The algorithm is fucked up

And with the ads thing, not just Youtube has this problem, but Netflix and Prime Video also got some shit like it. While Prime is the cheapest of all and their focus is on their own material that only shows sometimes when I start a Prime content Best Twitch Clip Downloader, it still sucks - I heard that Max also has, but I signed inside Prime, so doesn't show up to me

The worst of all? We are kinda powerless against this thing

One might say that we can "vote with our wallets", but streaming is not really a product, it's a service, and services can't change in a snap of fingers. Even if everyone cancels their signature, the ones that you need to pay to consume will just adopt a freemium catch, and this method you can't really have a saying. We can pressure them for sure, and hope they fix some stuff and don't fuck more of it. But it has so much different people with a lot of different perceptions in different companies... oh, boy

297.jpg
Click to expand...
I get what you're saying — the constant ads and the unpredictability of them can really take away from the enjoyment of content. It's frustrating how platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video have shifted away from a more consistent, traditional viewing experience. With YouTube's algorithm pushing longer videos and creators padding out content to make it ad-friendly, it feels like the experience is tailored less for the viewer and more for maximizing ad revenue. Even if we cancel subscriptions or try to "vote with our wallets," it feels like the power to change the system is out of our hands. It's an unfortunate reality that many streaming services are now relying on ads to sustain their business models, and as you said, it can feel like we're powerless to stop it.
 
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On regular tv ads are not that bad but when watching free streaming services they usually play ads more often compared to tv. And the annoying part is its the same ads over and over, sometimes back to back. So i block ads where i can now.
Firefox with the Ublock Origin extension (either on pc or your phone) can block ads in youtube and other streaming services.
On my android tv and fire sticks i use Smarttube as a replacement for youtube.
I also have a usff that i use as a htpc. FF+Ublock origin is really nice to have as it can block ads in free streaming services like Tubi, Pluto Tv, and Plex too.
 
Can't believe how close they came.

There was a period subscribed to everything online. Live in the EU, after having lived in the US, you could get Hulu+Netflix, and you were set, all new TV shows were on there, and you could see the US content, no matter where you lived.. No adds!

Then they all realized "localized streaming rights", and started multiple different services, and eventually started blocking you from seeing content in other countries.

They were sooooo close, if one company had managed to negotiate global streaming rights to most shows/movies, they would be THE streaming service, but naw, everyone wants their piece of the pie, so there are now hundreds, if not thousands, of different streaming services.

Fuck dat shit. If I nowadays want to see all the latest TV shows, I don't think I even can, until they are released on DVD, and, who wants to see shows like House of Dragons, 6 months after it has been shown in the US? Just one example. Or, Argentinian shows, impossible to get here (there are some reaaaally good ones). Youtube can go screw itself after adding unskippable commercials for paying users here.

I realize I am talking mainly about streaming as TV content, but every provider have completely screwed over consumers now, they really need to pull back, and get more stuff into single services, or, they will just bleed money, and blame pirating. Also, adds, screw adds, I am not wasting my time on adds. 1 hour TV show is 15-20 minutes of commercials, been like that for a long time, but for a bit, it wasn't so online.

Best time I ever had was when I owned a C-band parabol antenna and could lookup the feed satellites, you could watch show without commercials, saw Stargate that way, it was glorious, just a second or two of blackness where the commerials would later be put on by local providers.

It's just retarded how user unfriendly it all has become.

/end ramble
 
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Great Auk said:
I can't stand Hulu. I got the 99 cents a month deal for a year but because their ads come so often and last so long, I don't bother to watch anything on the service. I also refuse to buy the ad free version because it's a ripoff.

I could afford it, but I didn't grow up with a lot of money and the principle of getting ripped off and taken advantage of is ingrained in me.
Click to expand...
I got the 99 cent year sub too. I love "It's Always Sunny in Phili" so I cave every December to rewatch the series again since I only own half the series on DVD.
 
I think you have a point about YouTube but its' also not really trying to be much like traditional television. But YouTube is just trying to be actually directly profitable as opposed to just a giant source of only so usable data for Google's ad empire. People truly don't realize how long it took for them to even come close to break even.

If you compare Hulu TV or YouTube TV to cable TV they are pretty similar. You'll get a 2-3 minute ad break 5-6 times per hour of content if you watch something live or the week of release. Hulu tends to taper that down to shorter or less often breaks after several weeks which is nice.
 
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Let me tell you a "secret."

Their business is unsustainable they way it was.

Cheap streaming only occurred because the companies were trading revenue for market share. Now? Not anymore. And they need that revenue, that's why we see price raises one after another, ads etc.
 
Gp1 said:
Let me tell you a "secret."

Their business is unsustainable they way it was.

Cheap streaming only occurred because the companies were trading revenue for market share. Now? Not anymore. And they need that revenue, that's why we see price raises one after another, ads etc.
Click to expand...
It's not really about the quantity, but we don't see a rule or any "default settings"

You could be watching the same video as me, and even if we start this particular video at the same time, in the same amount of internet time, we won't see the same type of ads or length from it. That's the problem
 
deriks said:
It's not really about the quantity, but we don't see a rule or any "default settings"

You could be watching the same video as me, and even if we start this particular video at the same time, in the same amount of internet time, we won't see the same type of ads or length from it. That's the problem
Click to expand...

Their idea (lets say, Netflix but you can apply it to any pioneer in the area) at the time was to "lets subsidize our product to a point that we will acquire a massive market share, without any expressive competition THEN we will charge whatever fuck we want because we are the only ones"

Guess what? That will never happen and everyone saw it coming. First because everyone did the same thing (why the hell Paramount would cede their show to Netflix if they can enter the streaming business). Second, because piracy was still looming in the background. Now they compete for screen time with a N number of other services and the accounting doesn't add up. So that's why we saw the "enshitification"

YT is a little different beast but the same principle applies.

edit. IMHO Amazon got a fixed system that i find interesting. 20 minutes in the video, you will see a 45sec ad.
In YT, the quantity of ads is defined by the content creator. Statistically the creator defines something like "the user will see an Ad every 10 mins (give or take)" and the monetization will be accordingly. There are some live streamings on YT that still are ad free i think.

Soltype said:
If you have an android based TV or box, you can use SmartTube. https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube
Click to expand...

Bro, this is a godsend.

Thanks
 
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Trilobit said:
Even with premium it kept stopping my videos every 20 minutes or so and asking me "if I was still watching". Incredibly annoying.
Click to expand...

That's weird. That never happened to me. I've got Premium and play videos that go for hours without me touching the remote. No interruptions, no checking to see if I'm still watching. It'll play all night if I let it.

AJUMP23 said:
The internet seems pretty immature to me. No self control there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my first thought on seeing the thread title: "mature" is the last word I'd use to describe the internet, lol.
 
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I will say this, you don't need all of the services. You dont need to see everything. There are only so many hours in the week and if have enough time to consume all of the media, you probably need to take a look at why.
 
Humdinger said:
That's weird. That never happened to me. I've got Premium and play videos that go for hours without me touching the remote. No interruptions, no checking to see if I'm still watching. It'll play all night if I let it.
Click to expand...
That's how it was before I got it so I got almost furious and stopped using it. Maybe they tried it on only a limited number of people. It made it a non-viable option to Spotify as I like to have music on for hours.
 
RagnarokIV said:
Yo what's up NeoGAF it's your boy RagnarokIV coming at you. Now today I'm going to share my response to deriks deriks thread about ads on YouTube and various streaming services. But before we do that, I just want to remind you that in not only do I reply to threads but I make a new thread every second Friday of the month, and if you enjoy those threads don't forget to like and subscribe.
Now I know what you're thinking - only every second Friday? Well I also have other content for you to enjoy and that's when I post messages every day at 6PM. If you enjoy my content then do consider subscribing as it really helps out and allows me to keep making content for you guys.
You know what else helps me make posts for you guys? Our sponsor for today's post - RAID WALLET SHADOW VPN is a VPN service that puts your privacy first. Whether you want to dodge trackers on GAF or block the Bruce Willis mask on eBay ads that show up - RAID WALLET SHADOW VPN has you covered! Use discount code RAGNAROK4 to get 4% off a 1200 day subscription.
So a lot of you may have seen that deriks deriks made a post about ads on streaming services. I just want to say I agree with what he says.
Click to expand...
I imagined you shouting all this and geting over excited for no reason. Plus hands slapping together to punctuate l. Fucking hell why do a lot of YouTubers feel they need to shout?

Cunts.
 
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RagnarokIV said:
Yo what's up NeoGAF it's your boy RagnarokIV coming at you. Now today I'm going to share my response to deriks deriks thread about ads on YouTube and various streaming services. But before we do that, I just want to remind you that in not only do I reply to threads but I make a new thread every second Friday of the month, and if you enjoy those threads don't forget to like and subscribe.
Now I know what you're thinking - only every second Friday? Well I also have other content for you to enjoy and that's when I post messages every day at 6PM. If you enjoy my content then do consider subscribing as it really helps out and allows me to keep making content for you guys.
You know what else helps me make posts for you guys? Our sponsor for today's post - RAID WALLET SHADOW VPN is a VPN service that puts your privacy first. Whether you want to dodge trackers on GAF or block the Bruce Willis mask on eBay ads that show up - RAID WALLET SHADOW VPN has you covered! Use discount code RAGNAROK4 to get 4% off a 1200 day subscription.
So a lot of you may have seen that deriks deriks made a post about ads on streaming services. I just want to say I agree with what he says.
Click to expand...
This post is fantastic and deserves more respect. Show your love, GAF!!
 
Most streaming services are still in the money-loss stage, and need to become net-neutral so they introduce ads. Thing is, they dont remove them once it goes into the black.
 
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Liljagare said:
Can't believe how close they came.

There was a period subscribed to everything online. Live in the EU, after having lived in the US, you could get Hulu+Netflix, and you were set, all new TV shows were on there, and you could see the US content, no matter where you lived.. No adds!

Then they all realized "localized streaming rights", and started multiple different services, and eventually started blocking you from seeing content in other countries.

They were sooooo close, if one company had managed to negotiate global streaming rights to most shows/movies, they would be THE streaming service, but naw, everyone wants their piece of the pie, so there are now hundreds, if not thousands, of different streaming services.

Fuck dat shit. If I nowadays want to see all the latest TV shows, I don't think I even can, until they are released on DVD, and, who wants to see shows like House of Dragons, 6 months after it has been shown in the US? Just one example. Or, Argentinian shows, impossible to get here (there are some reaaaally good ones). Youtube can go screw itself after adding unskippable commercials for paying users here.

I realize I am talking mainly about streaming as TV content, but every provider have completely screwed over consumers now, they really need to pull back, and get more stuff into single services, or, they will just bleed money, and blame pirating. Also, adds, screw adds, I am not wasting my time on adds. 1 hour TV show is 15-20 minutes of commercials, been like that for a long time, but for a bit, it wasn't so online.

Best time I ever had was when I owned a C-band parabol antenna and could lookup the feed satellites, you could watch show without commercials, saw Stargate that way, it was glorious, just a second or two of blackness where the commerials would later be put on by local providers.

It's just retarded how user unfriendly it all has become.

/end ramble
Click to expand...
Why should one company get sole rights
 
poppabk said:
I'm not sure what the specific problem is you are trying to describe? Other than ads exisiting unless you pay a premium?
Click to expand...

It's basically that streaming services have become a shittier a la carte version of cable TV with even worse advertising schemes. The only upside is the ability to watch "on demand", but I'm old enough to remember when cable TV offered that for free as part of your subscription package via your set top box…
 
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