Community Chat

[monicakm]

@Jordan2 

This exact scenario was discussed on an Amazon Prime reddit forum a couple of days ago.  We've been Prime members for years and years.  Recently we've been hearing ads with music playback.  Me, not so much as I mostly listen to my own curated playlist.  But I hear it when DH is listening to random music.  Multiple attempts to reach someone at YT (with answers) have been unsuccessful.  And yes, I got the same email about Prime videos.  The only thing I watch on Prime is Thursday night football.

[Ainhisg]

We only used ad-free streaming services UNTIL!  I got an offer for a free month of Paramount+ with ads.  We decided to try it, because why not?  

I found the ads don't take 4-5 minutes like ads on regular TV.  They don't seem to be as frequent as on regular TV and only take a couple of minutes with a timer shown.  I just use my iPad while waiting for the show to come back on or take a bathroom break or "whatever."  I'm all about the ad plans now if it saves money.  lol  

The only streaming platform we have that remains ad-free is Netflix, because if you have their ad plan, you're throttled on being able to watch some new releases particularly movies.  (Unless they've changed something...)  So no...I won't be paying more for ad-free Prime Video.  We watch the least amount of shows on it of any streaming service we have and wouldn't pay to have it if they started charging for it.

[Iwantcoffee]

The entire Amazon website is an ad.

[Teddixat]

it was inevitable.  If the ads are short and it's only one 1 ad, I really don't care.   Network television is the worst -  8 and 10 commercials back to back.  I only watch network tv for my local  news in the morning and football.  The ads are outrageous.  I won't pay extra for ad free either

[Dusty1]

@Etoile308 You never subscribed to original cable?

It was great.

So many movies & no commercials.

That & my VCR!

Those were the good old days.

[Shelbelle]

I dont have Prime, and never will. I dont find buying on Amazon to be that money saving at all.  Once in awhile i order something and pay 35 to get free shipping. I do buy their gift cards for people, but they always ship for free

[Jordan2]

I feel like I was paying for one thing and now the rules are changing. The fees for all streaming platforms keep going up (where will it end)? Amazon not raising the subscription rate but adding ads isn't what I thought I signed up for. I think they are going to alienate a lot of their customers, they're a big company, this looks greedy on their part. 

[bikerbabe]

As viewers change to streaming most of their content, and most new shows are created on streaming channels, companies can’t continue to offer streaming at a loss.

The irony is that you now have to be selective on what streaming services you subscribe to or your bill may be higher than what it used to be when you had cable or satellite.

If you look at the trend, companies are now starting to merge. In a few years, we may be back to only a few providers.

[Jordan2]

I was putting off watching anything on Prime because I wasn't happy about the ads. I watched ExPats over the weekend (can't give it my seal of approval, I thought what was the point of that), there were two short ads per hour. The ad interruptions are brief, but shelling out $150 for Prime, I don't think we should be subjected to the ads (for $2.99 extra a month you can skip the ads), they're not getting anymore money from me.