Amazon Doubles Prime Video Ads to 6 Minutes Per Hour
- Reference: 0178026773
- News link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/06/12/2052205/amazon-doubles-prime-video-ads-to-6-minutes-per-hour
- Source link:
> According to six ad buyers and documents reviewed by ADWEEK, the current ad load on Prime Video now ranges from four to six minutes per hour. And while that could bring down CPMs, buyers will be watching whether this impacts user experience. "Prime Video ad load has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour," an Amazon representative wrote to an ad buyer in an email obtained by ADWEEK. The exchange occurred earlier this month.
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> The increase, which Amazon had telegraphed to investors but has not publicly acknowledged to consumers, gives the company significantly more inventory to sell across its rapidly expanding streaming business. "They told us the ad load would be increasing," said Kendra Tang, programmatic supervisor at Rain the Growth Agency. "That's been confirmed recently when we noticed more avails in the system."
[1] https://www.adweek.com/media/amazon-doubles-prime-video-ad-load/
Oh goody (Score:5, Insightful)
Soon it will be just like over-the-air TV, except you're paying Amazon $180/year for the privilege of watching their ads.
Re: (Score:2)
OTA and linear cable ad load is approximately 15min per hour.
Re:Oh goody (Score:4, Interesting)
That's why TV in my world went bye-bye 25 years go. I didn't want my kids bombarded with that shit. We chose what we watched, when we wanted to watch it, all ad free.
Re: Oh goody (Score:3)
There is decent commercial skip technology nowadays that brings the 15 minutes down to near zero with my DVR and OTA tuner. With Plex media server for example. Or Jriver MC with comskip. I mainly watch OTA and torrents as I'm not willing to put up with ads.
Re: (Score:2)
The old TiVos had this 15 years ago. Those things where great, well at least until they where abandoned (at least in australia, I heard somewhere they still exist in the US?) and we discovered for the first time why the cloud sucks.
Re: Oh goody (Score:3)
Don't you worry. They'll get to 15 soon enough. It's all a part of the plan.
Re: (Score:2)
I watch stuff thats ON-NOW and when ads come on I switch to another channel.
I also subscribe to add-on channels like BritBox and Acorn and they dont show in-show ads there.
I'm sure.... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sure this they'll use all this extra revenue to produce even more original content too [1]https://cordcuttersnews.com/am... [cordcuttersnews.com] .
[1] https://cordcuttersnews.com/amazon-slashes-prime-video-budget-for-original-contnet-prioritizing-profitability-and-live-sports-from-places-like-the-nfl/
This is why I pirate Amazon content. (Score:5, Informative)
Even though I have a subscription. I cannot stand having to sit through ads anymore.
Re: (Score:3)
It's fucking bullshit. Either take my money and no ads or make it free and cram it full of ads. None of this we're taking this service you've been paying for, going to make you keep paying for it but we're going to start cramming ads in as well.
Re: (Score:3)
You know, you can give them your money and have ad free streaming. It's under "accounts and settings", "ad free". That would fall under the first option in your either/or. Since that fulfills your demand I'll wait while you go sign up. :)
The introduction of ads for the reduced tier is long done. While the frequency is changing they aren't starting anything new.
If your complaint extends all the way back to the change in the service as thrown in with prime delivery... well, I get it... but why stop there? I'm
Re:This is why I pirate Amazon content. (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem you miss is that some of us would rather not even pay for the addled video. Prime didn't change its fee when they added video, so give me a video-free alternative at a lower price. I resent paying for something I don't use.
Re: (Score:3)
That's another way of saying they gave you the video service for free with your delivery service. You aren't really paying for it. The advertisements are.
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This is exactly what happened with cable. It started off as the "ad free" alternative to over the air, and since you paid for it, it helped offset the ads. Then they started sneaking them in little bit little and upping them.
We've come full circle.
Saw an ad after paying for ad free (Score:5, Interesting)
Dropped the ad free sub and just stopped watching prime video entirely.
Re: (Score:2)
I have a PC right next to me in my TV room. When an ad comes on from any source, I mute the sound, and read Slashdot or any other tech site I like to visit. Been doing this for years. I watch very few ad's unless they are funny.
Suit yourself, Amazon (Score:3, Interesting)
I ditched Prime once it became clear that Bezos is a coward, and I can't remember the last time I bought anything from Amazon. Eff you.
Don't worry, there is a limit (Score:4, Insightful)
> Prime Video ad load has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour
Fear not, they will stop increasing the minutes per hour when they hit 60. Not sure if they will also stop increasing the subscription cost then too.
Re: (Score:3)
When the ads are up to 60 minutes per hour the next step if to surround you with drones all chanting Buy, Buy, Buy as they swoop in and out and circle around you.
Remember the consumer economy supports both Chinese industry and your local landfill company.
Re: Don't worry, there is a limit (Score:1)
Picture in picture ads.
Broadcast TV does it sometimes.
Whew! (Score:4, Funny)
I was worried, for a second I thought Amazon wasn't going to make enough money this year!
So glad they got this figured out and make the experience worse!
Did anyone do the math? (Score:2)
When are advertisers going to learn that too many ads run people away from their product. That has been a great deal of technical market research that proves that. The bottom line after increases in ad spend also proves it. I guess the people buying ads haven't collectively figured out that the only people who are falling for the ad agency's BS is the ad buyers, not the end customers. There is plenty of data showing only 2 commercials in a typical sitcom work which is the 1st one past the end and the on
Re: Did anyone do the math? (Score:2)
I'm thinking along the lines that Amazon can theoretically book 2x as much ad revenue with the snap of a finger. Pretty tempting to just give it a shot incase it works. Screwing customers is popular these days, you can always settle halfway and spin that as a victory for the little guy. People seem to adjust to abuse rather then look for alternatives aka lazy. Amazon will probably come out ahead either way.
Re: (Score:3)
I wonder if anyone has ever done studies of ad effectiveness vs frequency. If they had half the ads which were twice as effective, they could charge twice as much and have the same revenue and happier customers. There must be some sort of Laffer curve. No ads == no revenue but more watchers. 100% ads == no watchers and no revenue. Where is the sweet spot? Some old TV shows were 55 minutes long with 5 minutes of ads, then they switched to 50 minutes and 10 minutes, so they have to chop out 5 minutes to
Re: (Score:3)
I suspect there are a LOT of us out here who, if a commercial is too stupid, or too repetitive or is just too f-ing annoying (like those ENDLESS drug commercials), we make sure we NEVER buy their product/use their service... My mute control gets a real workout when I watch tv..
Bait and switch (Score:2)
When they first bundled video with Prime, I figured it wouldn't be too long before it went south. It did. Series would include the first season only, they dropped a few I was in the middle of watching, they shifted some shows to Britbox and others which had been included.
Then they announced the ads, and I stopped watching. You're going to charge me for something I didn't ask for and can't get a reduction for not using, AND you're going to interrupt it with ads? No thanks. Stopped watching. Well, I was
Enshittification (Score:2)
27 posts (so far), and nobody...
Ad free is 2.99 per month. Worth it. (Score:3)
Ad free is 2.99 per month. As long as there is an ad-free tier and it is not too terribly expensive, I don't really care if Amazon uses ads on their "Included with Prime" tier. When I first subscribed to Amazon Prime they didn't even have a streaming business. So I still kind of feel like the Included With Prime streaming is "free" in some sense.
What irritates me is Freevee. Last time I checked, even though Freevee is an Amazon streaming service, there is no way to use it ad free. So far I have not watched anything on Freevee for that reason.
Re: (Score:1)
then they will ads to that to
Do you want piracy? (Score:2)
Because this is how you get pirates. If you need money, maybe start making something people want and not high-cost/low-effort shit like RoP.
The beatings will continue- (Score:4)
-until the stock price stops going up.
Remember? (Score:2, Insightful)
Remember when Cable TV offered an ad-free television viewing experience, for a monthly subscription fee?
Then the premium channels that you had to pay extra for on top of your monthly cable bill, in order to get an ad-free television viewing experience, because "regular" cable TV started showing ads?
Oops those show ads now too.
Same shit different decade different tech.
Re: (Score:2)
Remember when Cable TV offered an ad-free television viewing experience, for a monthly subscription fee?
No. Remind me.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
We used to joke that TV would be all ads one day as they kept on loading up on ads. The problem is (By my guess) a group of managers sit around and say what can we do to increase our profits and basically more ads was the answer. And in another 2 years they will have the same meeting and I am guessing the same answer. There are lots of areas of improvement they might make to improve their service and offerings and capture more market share but those don't seem like such a sure and easy path as just adding m
Re: (Score:3)
> Remember when Cable TV offered an ad-free television viewing experience, for a monthly subscription fee?
Pepperidge Farms remembers.
Re: Remember? (Score:3)
Really? When was that? The only ones I remember were the special premiums like HBO.