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Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

nytimes.com

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Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#21

Post by 0xff00ffee »

rjtobin wrote: post #9
sjwright wrote: post #2

And the real question is: will history repeat itself with Netflix, et al? HBO demonstrates that it’s still an open question.

I think there’s a chance it will be different: at least now there is the potential to offer customers an ad-free package for an extra cost. Some services like Hulu already do this (offering cheaper plan with ads and a slightly pricier plan with no ads). I think with cable this would have been difficult or impossible to achieve. One nice thing about this is it makes plain how much the networks make from showing ads to…

Not true. HULU still shows ads, even with "No Ads" version. From their website:

Hulu (No Ads)

Get First Month Free

then $11.99/month

A few excluded shows play with ads.

[from here https://signup.hulu.com/plans]

That last line kills me.

It's like H2G2, you can't have Tea and No Tea unless you remove your common sense particle.

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#22

Post by egypturnash »

eranimo wrote: post #17
downerending wrote: post #7

It's like a creeping cancer that cannot be stopped. Back around 1981, advertisers would take a certain percentage of ad pages in each newspaper or magazine and consider it a reasonable deal. These days, they absolutely will not accept this unless they get a lot more space, obnoxious animations, force-play videos, and overlays that you have to click through, and often various registration walls, cross-site tracking, e…

That cancer is called consumerism

[flagged]

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#23

Post by sneak »

bosswipe wrote: post #20
downerending wrote: post #7

It's like a creeping cancer that cannot be stopped. Back around 1981, advertisers would take a certain percentage of ad pages in each newspaper or magazine and consider it a reasonable deal. These days, they absolutely will not accept this unless they get a lot more space, obnoxious animations, force-play videos, and overlays that you have to click through, and often various registration walls, cross-site tracking, e…

The only reason you can block ads on the web is because there was a small window where the idealistic academics that built the internet and the web were able to keep commercial interests out so they were able to use open universal protocols. The same will not be true for VR.

It’s already not true on mobile generally. No view source, no extensions, no user injected scripts. You get the page the server wants you to see.

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#25

Post by technofiend »

downerending wrote: post #7

It's like a creeping cancer that cannot be stopped. Back around 1981, advertisers would take a certain percentage of ad pages in each newspaper or magazine and consider it a reasonable deal. These days, they absolutely will not accept this unless they get a lot more space, obnoxious animations, force-play videos, and overlays that you have to click through, and often various registration walls, cross-site tracking, e…

As desperately as much as I'd like there to be a compelling VR experience equivalent to 2d internet we have today there just isn't one. VR seems to be the exclusive domain of games. I can't imagine Facebook's Oculus graying out billboards unless it's to replace someone else's advertisement with their own.

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#26

Post by caseysoftware »

It's amazing how much commercials have crept in. If you watch an "hour long" show from the early 80s, it's roughly 48 minutes. If you watch a similar show from 10-15 years ago, it's closer to 44-45 and in the last few years, it's more like 42 minutes.

I assume it's only going to get worse as TV ad revenue drops faster with more alternatives.

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#27

Post by dlbucci »

sneak wrote: post #23
bosswipe wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only reason you can block ads on the web is because there was a small window where the idealistic academics that built the internet and the web were able to keep commercial interests out so they were able to use open universal protocols. The same will not be true for VR.

It’s already not true on mobile generally. No view source, no extensions, no user injected scripts. You get the page the server wants you to see.

Firefox on Android at least gives you add-ons (hello, uBlock Origin).

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#29

Post by leereeves »

SubiculumCode wrote: post #19
leereeves wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> HBO demonstrates that it’s still an open question. What do you mean? Is HBO or HBO Go adding commercials?

I assume he means that because HBO does not show ads, it is an open question of whether Netflix would try. Personally, I will not subscribe to services that show commercials. Commercials are for free services, not for paid services. As soon as you allow them to cross that boundary....

I feel the same way, but not everyone does.

With that in mind I was wondering which Hulu plan was most popular. All I could find was the same widely syndicated Reuters article [1] from January 2019 calling the plan with ads "Hulu's most popular plan". I guess there is a market for streaming with ads.

1: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hulu-prices/hulu-cuts-pri...

Re: Will cable TV be invaded by commercials? (1981)

#30

Post by gruez »

sneak wrote: post #23
bosswipe wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only reason you can block ads on the web is because there was a small window where the idealistic academics that built the internet and the web were able to keep commercial interests out so they were able to use open universal protocols. The same will not be true for VR.

It’s already not true on mobile generally. No view source, no extensions, no user injected scripts. You get the page the server wants you to see.

Android: firefox for android, or the plethora of adblock browsers out there

iOS: adblockers are natively supported through "content blockers", plus there's a plethora of adblock browsers

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