As Amazon becomes the latest platform to push an ad-supported tier, TV writers greet this retro model with frustration and, in some cases, disdain: “I thought 'Nine Perfect Strangers' with commercials was horrible,” says David E. Kelley of his Hulu show with breaks.
Okay, I need to say it: having an ad for your own programming is still an ad.
Paramount. I’m looking at you, Paramount. I don’t want to watch your shitty movie/TV show/whatever about the shitty mom from the His Dark Materials series losing another kid. Stop playing the same goddamn ad for it before every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Especially since you feel the need to double whatever goddamn volume I have set in the opening to the ad. I pay for the subscription, I already bought your product. Fuck off with your shitty ad.
I mean, others do it too and it pisses me off, but I’m on Season 2 of TNG and I may just have to get it some other way and canceling Paramount because that ad has started really getting to me.
When a company gets that hostile in their design to their paying customers is when I start advocating for flying a Jolly Roger.
Honestly, a preview for another show on the same service doesn’t bother me AS LONG AS it is skippable. I’ve never used paramount so I’m not sure if that’s the case.
If I’m being honest when I was a kid part of the fun of going to the movies was the previews before, finding out about upcoming movies and what not.
I do agree that you shouldn’t see the same preview every episode cause that’s super annoying. But I’d be totally fine with one per session or something. Again, as long as it’s skippable right from the start.
It’s not skippable as far as I can tell. It also frequently advertises shows I’ve already watched. Sometimes it advertises the show I’m trying to watch.
I’m pretty sure it also has the “ad counter” showing on the screen during this as well.
Here’s what they call it in their docs:
It’s not an ad, it’s a “preview.” /s
If you exit out and then start the show again, it skips the pre-roll. It’s annoying, but slightly faster than waiting and watching the 30 second pre-roll.
They advertise as extra $ for ad free, but then they put ads in it. That’s dishonest.
What I have to do whenever I watch a show is start the show, get the pre-roll, exit out, then start the show again. It’s annoying and a stupid hoop to jump through just to not have to watch the same pre-roll over and over.
Prime has been doing this for ages
And it has been nothing but annoying since they started.
Yep, including the removal of “bought” content.
Paramount definitely seems to be the worst about this … their app in general is really frustrating.
Max does it occasionally but it’s rare enough I don’t notice.