When paying for streaming services, you expect them to be ad-free, as that’s their big appeal. Now they are just taking your money and turning into cable television.
Ads are cutting into the middle of important scenes, breaking the immersive experience of shows and movies. For some, it feels no different than using cable.
I love watching “Love Island USA,” and this season, I finally cracked and bought the ad-free tier on Peacock because when I was watching the challenges and drama, I kept being interrupted by multiple prescription drug ads. The ads were never-ending with how often they would come on. The ads not only annoyed me, but I was losing attention to the show.
“Imagine you are watching the juiciest scene, then immediately get interrupted by a Skyrizi ad,” said Kassy Rowe, a sophomore elementary education major from Lehi. “Ads are killing the mood that the directors and editors worked to create.”
Directors and editors create specific designs in scenes to create a story. Editors will create transitions where they predict an ad may be placed to build up suspense and keep the storyline immersive.
When platforms add commercials in unexpected places or add too many, it ruins the flow of the story, causing me to immediately lose focus and get on my phone. I can never finish a show with all the ads because I just get on my phone, and once the show is back on, I don’t continue watching.
Originally, ad-free streaming was the reason platforms, like Netflix or Hulu, gained popularity. Now, many services are raising prices and adding ads. If you want ad-free streaming, you have to pay extra for an ad-free experience. Hulu’s ad-free subscription costs $18, twice the cost of its standard plan.
Streaming platforms started to use commercials to boost revenue, while keeping the cost of subscriptions more affordable for viewers. The ads allow viewers to watch content without having to pay a higher cost for the ad-free tiers.
Commercial revenue helps fund the cost of new original shows and movies. In addition to funding new movies, commercials help platforms compete in the streaming market. The platforms make me feel like my money is more important to them than how I am enjoying their services.
Student discounts sometimes apply, but with movies spread across multiple platforms and constantly being removed, one student says it isn’t worth it. The experience feels transactional, rather than an experience built on quality.
“I had to cancel some of my services because it just wasn’t worth it with the amount of ads in one episode, even with the student discount,” said Ashlee Phillips, a sophomore pre-engineering major from Henderson, Nevada.
Some platforms add pre-roll of ads, which are about five minutes long and would make the show “uninterrupted.” If the streaming services aren’t doing the pre-rolls, platforms are adding ads and increasing the amount of ads per show. A show that is an hour long will now have an ad almost every 20 minutes.
Student discounts used to be my go-to for saving money and finding good deals, but most student discounts aren’t even saving you money, especially if you have to have multiple services to watch the shows I enjoy. I would rather go on TikTok and find episode clips for free.
In a survey done by MNTN Research, Isabel Greenfield said how researchers found that viewers find five or fewer ads per show acceptable, and anything more drops their tolerance. If I am paying for a service, one to two ads is the acceptable amount — anything else is unnecessary. The survey also shows which platforms have the most and least amount of ads per show, Paramount being the most and Peacock having the least.
“I don’t know why there’s ads on something I’m already paying for. I might as well go on TikTok,” said Sarah Cowdell, a sophomore general studies major from Sandy.
Ads are more disruptive on streaming platforms compared to social media platforms.
On TikTok and YouTube, viewers are able to scroll past or skip ads, giving them more control over the content they are watching. This has led to people posting episodes of popular shows like “Young Sheldon” and “The Rookie” for anyone to watch. I personally have watched many episodes of “Young Sheldon” on TikTok. Meanwhile, streaming ads are interrupting scenes and giving unskippable ads.
The ad-free era is coming to an end. It’s the sad truth. I am guilty of paying extra for no ads just to watch the shows that are one hour long. I also pay extra for the YouTube Premium version, with the student version being $7.99 compared to the normal $13.99.
Streaming services are emptying my wallets.
