Hello:

   I wanted to start this thread as a way to hear your opinions about having to watch ads to enjoy your favorite content on Roku and other streaming platforms.

My opinions are:

  I have no problem watching ads to help support developers and content providers that offer free content.  Or to subsidize the cost like with HULU.  HOWEVER....

Ad placements and number of repetitious ads seem to be the problem.

Some channels with linear "live" content make you watch up to 8 continuous ads just to enter the stream only to find out that what is being played is of no interest to you.  Who wants to watch 8 ads where at least 4 of them are the same ad and not like what is being played?  I think this is terrible and a huge waste of time.  And  if  developers think that this is the way for them to make money I think they are wrong.  You will just upset and angry the viewers who will ultimately get fed up and delete your channel(s) if configured the same way.  Once deleted, there goes your revenue source.  Can't you developers see that?

Ideally, you should just place one ad before starting any stream and about every five minutes another ad or larger interval with no more than 3 ads.  Avoid repetitive ads.  At least don't show the same ad over and over and over in the same interval/block.  If you must add ads then at least try to mimic traditional TV and make the experience less painful.

There are many posters here that express how they hate ads but I am sure they would be more tolerant if the way the ads are managed is improved.  Please spread the ads out, avoid repetitive ads in the same block and don't place too many ads at the beginning of the stream.  If you at least offer a "What's on now" guide so we can decide if we want to sit and wait for multiple ads before watching then maybe some extra ads upfront can be justified but not advised.

Another thing, if you are a channel that offers free Public Domain content, you should not need to abuse ad-revenue.  You should limit ads to generate enough income for operating expenses and that's it.  Trying to make excessive money via aggressive ad-revenue by using free PD content on multiple channels that offer the same content like "Movie Club" channels is just going over the top and should not be endorsed.  We appreciate developers that make channels for us to enjoy but we can tell when they are trying to be slick by making extra channels showing the same content but re branded with a different channel name in an effort to make money on free content.

Let us know your thoughts on the subject.

I can agree with this. Show a single ad before starting the video, then you can go with 2-3 at each break. I see all too often on the ad sponsored channels the same ad running 2-3 times in a row, and I mean back to back. It's bad enough they stop the video at completely inappropriate times (because they are basing it on time, not a natural break in the story), but to see the same 2-3 ads over and over. Come on Ad-Sense, you can do better than this! Try a little!

 I only want/watch ZERO AD programming.  I rather toss the TV and streaming media box in the closet permanently than watch ad programming.  Two decades ago, i stopped watching Red Sox Baseball because of ads in the stadiums.  I just began not to care if i miss Patriots football games because of ads.  I once was a season ticket of both teams.

These are Exceptions i can somewhat tolerate but i expect they will eventually increase thier ads silly like all the others : Onnews and Weatherforyou . Tuneinradio, i can tolerate station ads during talk shows. Youtube? I have the 3 month long trial no ad.

My ideal for an ad-based channel?
'The ABC Coffee Shoppe Chain Channel'
..there are no ads other than ABC Coffee Shoppe as the channel name.

Empirefalls sums it up nicely.  Ads are a problem in themselves.

Kritic wrote:

Empirefalls sums it up nicely.  Ads are a problem in themselves.

Hello:
   IMO, ads aren't the problem.  It is how they are being used in the streaming platform.  Because of ad-supported channels we can enjoy free content from sources like Crackle, TubiTV, VUDU movies on us and others.  Of course you can opt to only use no-ad sources but they usually are not free.  Those frugals looking for free content will be willing to watch ads understanding that is why the content is free but the way ads are handled by some channel/apps simply make the experience unpleasant and developers need to work on improving this.

I delete and stop using all channels that push ads.  I paid if there is a option and if I cancel for the ad ridden version I stop using it.  Every service starts out with one ad here and then before you know there are ads every few minutes.  The same ads many in sub 480p so they look bad too.  Ads on a streaming service to me is like trying to run with a stay jacket.  It can't be done right.

The problem with ads is not that they exist nor even that they are poorly placed but rather it is that they quickly become repetitive and boring causing the irritation factor to increase very rapidly.

I think the way ads are presented on streaming channels is contributing to many of the things we, at least most of us, don't want or believe in, like piracy. I know for a fact that many people that would not otherwise even consider theft are stealing content because they cannot any longer economically DVR what they want and use DVR features to skip at least some or most of the inane commercials.

I do find that since I have completely cut the cord and usually buy or rent content without ads I do not mind ads as much as I used to. I even sometimes allow commercials to play through on the occasions when I watch content from one of the commercial sources. BUT the irritant factor quickly jumps up when the ad repeats or is poorly placed.

I believe that the ad/anti ad culture has progressed but the ad presentation has declined much more rapidly.

The people trying to make money from streaming content with ads have not solved the basic problem while they have made their ads MUCH more intrusive. If the basic problem with how the ads are presented is not solved and solved soon piracy will jump even more and that will mean that there will be more moves to restrict access and the ad presenters will try to increase their revenue by making it harder to watch without being over inundated with their obnoxious ads and that will drive more people to piracy which will cause the ads to be more intrusive which will increase the drive toward piracy and so on. 

I strongly doubt that anyone will take steps to reduce the intrusive nature of ads on streaming platforms and therefore I expect that people will watch less ad supported content and that will be a bad thing for everyone in the long run.

I REALLY miss the days when it was economical to have cable or satellite TV and have a good DVR hooked up to record content as needed. I cannot receive OTA signals and all content services have jumped so much is price that I cannot afford them. 

There are new services, like Vue or Sling TV, that are acting to fill the void but I like to binge watch several episodes at once and everything I have tried does not allow the content to be stored long enough to make that practical.

I have zero problem with interesting, varied, and well-placed ads. I realize they help subsidize the content I'm watching, and they generally provide a nice break that I'd want to take anyway. 

But I have to agree with many people here: repetitive ads, or those poorly placed, make me stop using a channel. Hulu is generally alright, but about as much as I want to put up with (mostly do to repetition). I don't use any channels that are put together for the sole benefit of advertising, because it's just not a good experience. Hulu is fine, Crackle is okay, but honestly most of my streaming is Netflix and Amazon and music lately. 

I agree that the way Hulu does it works just fine. They drop ads in shows where the shows are designed to break for ads. It's the mid-sentence breaks that some channels do that I don't like. That's not an ad thing, that's a sloppy program/service.

I tried the ad-free Hulu option a little while back, but didn't stick with it because it's not worth the extra money to skip ads. Ads aren't a problem.

I almost never add channels any longer.
Yesterday, i added the air hockey game channel. 
The Channel began with an about 15 second promo about the Channel.
Than the  'Programming begins after  messages.....'
Click,click,Removed. Faster than the ad began
Same with some new Western channel. .About a 30 second promo, than the ads. Gone.
Tried watching a Star Trek movie with ads last week. Just as the Enterprise was blowing up,...Ad.   Shut off the channel. Dont need it.

I don't mind ads but like others, I mind the haphazard placement and repetitive nature of the spots that run.
What I really mind -- and maybe this is a problem solely with my connection although I don't think it is -- is the constant buffering
between spots which makes the 90 seconds of content seem to stretch to 5 minutes before the program resumes.

empirefalls wrote:

I almost never add channels any longer.
Yesterday, i added the air hockey game channel. 
The Channel began with an about 15 second promo about the Channel.
Than the  'Programming begins after  messages.....'
Click,click,Removed. Faster than the ad began
Same with some new Western channel. .About a 30 second promo, than the ads. Gone.
Tried watching a Star Trek movie with ads last week. Just as the Enterprise was blowing up,...Ad.   Shut off the channel. Dont need it.

You know you don't like ads, but you keep adding/using/complaining about channels that exist solely to serve up ads. 
Almost nothing is free - either you pay with money (subscriptions), or you pay with your time (commercials). It's a large spectrum with lots of variation, but that's the basics. I love my "time" option (OTA television) and my "money" option (streaming services like Amazon and Netflix) equally. I just think it's odd that you keep acting surprised that your no-money options have commercials...

regnad kcin wrote:

I don't mind ads but like others, I mind the haphazard placement and repetitive nature of the spots that run.
What I really mind -- and maybe this is a problem solely with my connection although I don't think it is -- is the constant buffering
between spots which makes the 90 seconds of content seem to stretch to 5 minutes before the program resumes.

I've seen this much more on the public domain channels and others that have external ad servers. Your connection to the content may be fine, but your connection to the ad server is lacking, so you're seeing these problems. It sucks, and it probably has more to do with them than you.

Hello:

   Pluto.TV now has a free VOD section with movies and TV content.  I have not yet tried it myself but a commentator on the article says she watched some "ALF" episodes with no commercials.  Check out the article here:  http://cordcuttersnews.com/pluto-tv-announces-free-demand-movies/

Try it out and let us know if it is or not commercial free.  This would be great for all of us (ad-haters and supporters).

Hope this information is helpful.

Sorry, but I can't resist.  Personally, I'd rather watch ads full time than episodes of "Alf".

While ads are often offensive, everyone I know installed volume "mute" switches back in the 70's, and I'm pretty sure that almost everyone on the planet these days has a remote that will turn the sound off..

Its not like they wire your eves open and clamp your head in place, ala "Clockwork Orange. Go to the bathroom, get a drink, or just turn the sound back on when the ad ends. If that is your only problem, life is good.