>>ksec+(OP)
Bold prediction: if ads on paid streaming services become the norm, there will be a renaissance of piracy because it will once again offer the superior user experience.
>>jupp0r+T5
It's inevitable. Paying for cable TV was once pitched to the American public as a reprieve from ads. Now, virtually all cable TV channels have more ads than than broadcast television had in the first place.
>>Msw242+Ib
Can the answer not just be to charge more for the ad-free tier? The gap between what I'm willing to pay for a streaming service with and without ads is a lot more than what the current going rate is.
>>smeyer+Kc
This is boiling the frog though? These services were sold to us as something without ads. Seems really mob-like for the services to say to me: pay more or we're going to start showing ads on the thing we sold to you with the promise you wouldn't have any ads.
>>lp0_on+Yl
I don't think that's particularly a problem. Just because Netflix or Hulu offered one service when I first used them a decade ago doesn't mean they're obliged to provide the same service at the same price forever. I occasionally cancel a streaming service if I decide that it's no longer providing enough value to me, just like I'd cancel my current subscriptions if they started adding ads.