Netflix might soon have a free ad-supported tier. Bad for privacy
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Netflix considers introducing free ad-supported versions of its service in Europe and Asia. Why?

Netflix, once a pioneer of ad-free viewing that offered a break from traditional TV norms, is now contemplating launching free ad-supported versions of its service in markets like Europe and Asia, Bloomberg reported.

The plans to offer a free ad-supported tier, albeit in select markets, suggests that pivot towards monetizing user data, in other words — making users and not the extensive library of award-winning shows a product, might be well in the pipeline.

  • Nougat@fedia.io
    290·
    5 months ago

    I’ve been watching Monk recently, without ads, and it’s very interesting how television shows used to be written and edited for commercials. It’s dead obvious where the commercials used to be, and even that detracts from the overall experience.

    • CaptDust@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1401·
      5 months ago

      Some shows we’ve watched spend their time “recapping” after the 'ad breaks", playing same scenes we just saw. Drives me nuts, wastes my time and feels so dated.

      • Nougat@fedia.io
        57·
        5 months ago

        Monk doesn’t go that far, and it’s still obvious. “Here’s a joke before commercial!” Pause. Fade back in to a new scene. Pause. “Here’s a little cliffhanger before commercial!” Pause. Fade back in to a new scene. Pause.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          5 months ago

          At this point if I’m ever responsible for making a tv show it will have obvious places for commercials to go just because I don’t want them butchering it.

          • The Pantser@lemmy.worldEnglish
            18·
            5 months ago

            Good luck, if you ever watch any of the free TV apps like freevee they will just hard cut in a commercial, sometimes in the middle of a sentence. Then they have the old places where a commercial was in the OG broadcast and it just fades to black and back. It’s really jarring to watch.

      • The Pantser@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        5 months ago

        I always thought it would be a nice addition to piracy for a release group to edit a version of shows that cuts the recaps and makes a more unified episode. I would totally only ever download their releases.

      • stellargmite@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        5 months ago

        That was a trope of real tv shows especially , and also a way to fill time with less filmed content i.e cost cutting. Often you’d see many shots 5-7 times throughout the show. Opening montage , before ad tease, after ad recap, thr event itself, end of show montage summary etc. Also drives me nuts. Even back when ads were between. “Yes I know what happened two minutes ago!”. And then there were so many shows you could tell the edit project file was a template and they just replaced the footage. Same exact structure every episode.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.socialEnglish
        1·
        5 months ago

        God I’ve been watching through Bleach and it’s like this. Each 22 minute episode is really only about 12 minutes long with the rest being a 5 minute recap of the previous episode, the intro, credits, and post credit filler.

        Edit: a tangent of this would be watching a sitcom with the laugh track removed. Imagine seeing the actors awkwardly standing there in silence in the middle of their dialog where the laugh track would normally be inserted.

        A funny second tangent is the musicless music videos on YouTube. Definitely worth checking out for a laugh.

      • sunzu@kbin.run
        242·
        5 months ago

        we were not the customers… we were the product lol…

        yeah it hurts, so let’s stop allowing ads into our lives as much as possible…

        the fact that netflix wants to offer it for free is telling what their core business is turning into…

          • sunzu@kbin.run
            52·
            5 months ago

            good, same here but we are a very small minority…

            half the population still pays for cable haha

        • Altima NEO@lemmy.zipEnglish
          62·
          5 months ago

          Their core business is lost, IMO. Once they stopped offering movies in favor of their own content and tv shows, thats when it was game over for me.

          • sunzu@kbin.run
            23·
            5 months ago

            I agree I stopped with them mid 2010s… their OG content is just low quality engagement slop. I prefer spytube for that.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.eeEnglish
      152·
      5 months ago

      I don’t mind those breaks… It feels like going to the next chapter in a book.

      But actual ads, yea, not for a service that costs.

      Though this whole thing is funny - they collect even more user data than they did with cable or broadcast, and now want to show you ads too.

      Can’t wait to finish my media server setup.

      • PlantJam@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        5 months ago

        I don’t mind when it’s an obvious break followed by a new scene. I do mind when the break is in the middle of a scene and they essentially replay the last thirty seconds before continuing the story. It just feels very disjointed and dated.

        • BearOfaTime@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          5 months ago

          Ah, yea, that seems more like something that wasn’t intended for breaks.

          Definitely disruptive.

    • umbrella@lemmy.mlEnglish
      8·
      5 months ago

      modern shows frame things differently to account for people watching on tiny phone screens and we might be bothered a few years down the line when we get holodecks or mind control implants

    • CileTheSane@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      5 months ago

      It’s even worse if you’re watching competition shows:
      “Coming up: things you’re going to see in the next 5 minutes.”
      “Welcome back: recap of what you’ve seen in the last 5 minutes.”