Amazon has been sued due to introducing Ads

[Maxperson]

So streaming with ads is exactly like having cable TV. The whole reason I canceled my cable and started streaming was to avoid ads.

Maybe I’ll go back to cable.

 

[Ryujin]

Just a few days ago I received notification, from my cable company, that they were going to discontinue support of the two digital boxes that I purchased, years ago. That means I'd end up paying a rental for the replacement boxes and, with the issues coming up in streaming, my original plan to dump cable is looking iffy.

 

[R_J_K75]

"Use X brand, it's the best out there."

For some folks ads are just awareness or starting point in their research

AFAIR Oil has to meet API and SAW standards, so buying more expensive oil vs off-brand makes no difference. Though Im not a lawyer or a mechanic, so...

hese days commercials don't tend to be aimed at getting you to watch them and buy their product. Instead they are more geared to brand recognition and memory.

They get stuck in yoke head to the point you recognize it in the store

 

[GreyLord]

Everybody claims they’re immune to ads. Nobody is immune to ads.

That’s why advertising works. If everybody who claimed to be immune to ads was immune to ads, there would be no ads. So we all sit here boasting about how we ignore all ads, and the advertisers giggle.

So don’t worry. You’re not special.

it can be both. Ads only need a 10% buy through to be successful. Thus, if only 1% see the ad and then go out and buy the thing the next day...well...that's what is hoped for.

BUT WAIT...you say...what about the other 9%...what about that?

Well, let's say my ad was 10K to run and I got 100K views for that (And that's a HIGH cost of ads...normally that may get me over 1 million views and I'm only needing a .1% for that). I am selling Transformer toys at £20 a toy. I get £10 off of that for each sold. At 1% I break even. (1x1000 = £10K)

BUT, another 9% are going to have it wandering through their mind. When their little niece, nephew, child wants a toy...and they are browsing trying to figure what they want to buy them...in a week or two or three...they think...hey...why not that Transformer toy and buy it. Sometime they'll see it on sale at a bargain and I make less, but they still buy it. Maybe they buy something branded with it or stickers. So, eventually, that other 9% brings me in another £30K (yes, lower yield that a whale or someone who is wants the item, but more than the 1% in the long run). [And if it was a million views, then that would be .9% and I only need 1% total for the cost above make money)

That leaves 90% that may not ever buy any, may not even be affected by the ad, may even be turned off by the ad...but I made my money.

If I get anything as high as 20% I am gold crushed money at that point, and 30% or higher...that's the realm that dreams are made out of.

Anything over 1% that eventually buys my product (not counting the whales) is what is the target.

 

[MarkB]

I just started watching the latest Grand Tour episode on Amazon. Got ad 1: 40 seconds of some kind of tech thing that I switched tabs on. Ad 2: 5 seconds consisting of "This show is brought to you ad-free thanks to Mini." Who do I sue for that, Amazon or Mini?

 

[MNblockhead]

<SNIP>

But ... Prime's interface is bad, and doesn't seem to be getting better. It's almost deliberately confusing. It's terrible for browsing- it's really hard to tell if a particular show is available on Prime, is available "for free" through FreeVee (but with a lot of ads), available with an upcharge through a partner subscription, or available as a rental/purchase.

Contrast that with the other streamers, like Netflix. If you see something there (and it has a great search feature and categories as well) you know you can just watch it.

I never go to Prime unless I already know what I'm going to watch.

I agree, but I also find the interfaces for all the major streaming services seem to be getting worse and less useful.

The most frustrating thing for nearly all services is finding shows I've been watching to pick up on the next episode. I remember it being almost automatic. Just today, I was in Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon. ALL three made it frustrating just to find the shows I've been watching. In ALL of them, I had to search for the shows title. None of the shows I am actively watching appear on the home page.

Apple TV has it right. It is the by far the most intuitive streaming show interface. "Up Next" is the top row on the home screen, showing all the shows you've watch recently, letting you click to play the next episode. One area where Apple TV could use improvement is browsing by Genre. Both Netflix and Amazon are better in this regard.

In terms of content, I don't find Amazon to be worse than other services. Netflix used to be far ahead in overall selection, but over the past few years it has lost rights to a lot of IP as many studios set up their own competing streaming services. About the only thing I watch on Netflix now are Netflix original series and exclusives. I've been playing the cancel and resubscribe game for the past couple years to see the shows I want to watch.

In terms of finding new shows or movies to watch, I rarely try to do so from the streaming services interfaces. I just search or hear about things online, add them to a list of "things to watch" and then search for them by name in the streaming service.

 

[Blue]

I'm guessing technically that would be a pain in the butt.

Not that it couldn't be done, each user getting a different experience based on when they signed up, trickier than just everyone switching over at once but possible.

However you are selling that advertising, and you can't say it will be seen by 200 million subscribers!!! It will actually only be seen by a 12th of that for now... then later 2/12ths and a bit later 3/12ths... etc.

The user experience is already customized. By region for what's allowed, by individual for language and CC choices. And ads are sold based on demographics, so you and me watching the same show can easily have different ads shown to us. Bob could have baby stuff, Carol has travel ads, and Pat show hair care. Having no ads being show during a potential ad break where you are already individually picking ads to show is not a technological challenge.

Nor is selling X eyeballs worth of ads this month, more next month, and more the month after that.

The other option for fair play is them refunding a prorated amount of your already paid yearly subscription. Which is much more expensive.