Apple in Talks to Bring Ads to Apple TV+

[ninecows]

The piracy option is practiced by a tiny minority, insignificant these days in terms of its effect on profit. Add to that the prospect of getting caught and prosecuted, or being pwned by malware inserted into the pirated content, and the average person is deterred. Tech blog denizens like to pontificate about their prowess in stealing software and content but that’s mostly chest pounding narcissism.

I do not disagree with that the “pirates” are a minority. I’m just pointing out the general principles and forces driving this business.

Generally people will have a higher tendency to resort to piracy/stealing when the price of something exceeds the (perceived) value of it. Some are more risk-willing or technically gifted than others.

 

[orbital~debris]

Anybody have idea about estimated release date of new APPLE TV device????

I know it'll probably not happen, but I'd love for Apple to split the tv into two distinct lines, and have a more sleek premium model finished in Space Black aluminium, with a weighted braided cable. Then make the current/standard model considerable less expensive to broaden the customer base.

 

[iMac The Knife]

I would recommend basing the economy on something else than capitalism then 🤷‍♂️

What do you suggest?

 

[ninecows]

Forgive my ignorance (not using them nor cable TV), but what's the point of streaming services if they are no different than old school cable TV?

Freedom to watch something else than the neighbor. Watch the show you want when you want it.

 

[webkit]

Forgive my ignorance (not using them nor cable TV), but what's the point of streaming services if they are no different than old school cable TV?

But they are different as they can offer both ad-free and ad-supported plan options, on demand, etc. "Old school cable TV" didn't do that.

 

[ninecows]

What do you suggest?

I am not the one complaining. I just point out what the “rules” are in capitalism. People are free to pick whatever system they like.

 

[jdclifford]

Suspect the title of this post will drive engagement in this thread (people annoyed at  bringing ads to their premium streaming service), as some will not read the post's detail which indicates the addition of ads will be for an ad-supported tier. That's likely just a strategy to broaden viewership of Apple TV+ content, for those customers who won't pay for access / can't pay the full price.

In doing so, Apple will ALSO raise the ad free sub rate (which it has doubled over the past 2 yrs). Personally, I’ve never found 80% of its content to be worth watching.

 

[orbital~debris]

View attachment 2400863

The thing this misses is that the pirate-admirers are a minority. For the majority, ease of access wins out every time, and this means subscribe & ▶️

 

[jdclifford]

I'm just glad I still get the Go Big plan from DirecTV Stream for $40 a month with over 105 HD channels including local, 3 simultaneous streams anywhere with an internet connection, and 20 hours of DVR included. The current comparable plan is now $110 per month, but I'm locked in at $40 and it never changes. It is the best deal in streaming by far. Cheers to that!

I hope you don’t have a “locked in forever” rate like T-Mobile has (had)! 😊

 

[orbital~debris]

In doing so, Apple will ALSO raise the ad free sub rate (which it has doubled over the past 2 yrs). Personally, I’ve never found 80% of its content to be worth watching.

To me, it feels like the ad free sub rate has justifiably increased in line with the growth of the content catalogue.
Personally I've genuinely found 90% of its content worth watching. At this point, Apple TV+ is the first service I consider, as I know that there's a very high chance any content will be something I enjoy.

Out of interest, what content have you tried and disliked?

 

[iMac The Knife]

The thing this misses is that the pirate-admirers are a minority. For the majority, ease of access wins out every time, and this means subscribe & ▶️

Plex really is the way to go. Between just a couple of friends libraries and my library, we have over 4,000 movies and hundreds of TV shows. Now, I personally don't pirate anything, but I also don't ask my friends where they got their content. That is their business. If more people set up Plex servers and shared with their friends, less people would feel the need to get ripped off by all these streaming providers.

 

[Chungry]

View attachment 2400863

Pretty much
Thing is Apple has blown through like, what was that alleged sum, 20 billion? If they didn’t have a profitability strategy it’s more of the same.

 

[gatorvet96]

If you want to watch an episode of a series, you have to endure ads for other series, maybe ads for a podcast (like For All Mankind), the preview, and the intro before you can watch.

No you don't. There is a skip button.

 

[iMac The Knife]

I hope you don’t have a “locked in forever” rate like T-Mobile has (had)! 😊

Nope, my rate has been locked in for almost 8 years now. The reason I don't worry about it going up is because the rates across the board have gone up at least ten times now over the years and mine has never gone up a penny.

 

[Chungry]

What I disliked about DVDs were the mandatory FBI anti-piracy warnings that you couldn't skip through so you're forced to endure intrusive government threats with every DVD you watched.

Thank goodness those days are long gone.

(Oops, I mistook DVR for DVD ☺️)

I intentionally stripped those VOBs and re-burned my DVDs without them. IT Crowd had a wonderful joke about it.

 

[victorvictoria]

I have Apple TV+, and enjoy the quality of programming. But if I have a choice to either pay more for ad-free or suffer from commercials for products I don't use or want at the price I'm paying now, I'll take the third choice and cancel.

 

[ttaylor2258]

Everyone, cancel all subscriptions and start using Kodi. It's the only way we can win the price increase war. If we keep subscribing, they'll keep raising the prices while at the same time making the service worse.

 

[Premium1]

Step 4: complain on Macrumors

Step 6: Laugh at those defending apple who also claimed apple WOULD NEVER introduce ads to their offering.

 

[jdclifford]

To me, it feels like the ad free sub rate has justifiably increased in line with the growth of the content catalogue.
Personally I've genuinely found 90% of its content worth watching. At this point, Apple TV+ is the first service I consider, as I know that there's a very high chance any content will be something I enjoy.

Out of interest, what content have you tried and disliked?

Actually, I hardly ever watch Apple TV+ except for “Slow Horses” and “For All Mankind”. I think Apple should get out of the production business and just license content. $20M+ in production costs an episode is insane (and sadly it’s not limited to Apple). And since when does a “SEASON” consists of 6 episodes?

 

[Premium1]

Looks around. Am I the only one who does free 3 month trials every few months? Lol.

They seem to be cutting down on those and limiting how many times you can use those.

 

[Premium1]

Anything with ads should be at most $1-$2 per month. Everyone knows they make more with the ads then they do with the ad-free versions (hence why ad-free is usually 2x or more more a month). This is nothing more than these companies double dipping on the back of "cheaper"

 

[ninecows]

Everyone, cancel all subscriptions and start using Kodi. It's the only way we can win the price increase war. If we keep subscribing, they'll keep raising the prices while at the same time making the service worse.

Where and how will you get content for Kodi?

 

[jdclifford]

Nope, my rate has been locked in for almost 8 years now. The reason I don't worry about it going up is because the rates across the board have gone up at least ten times now over the years and mine has never gone up a penny.

that’s what these people thought too but I hope you are luckier than they were

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/t-mobile-sued-for-breaking-lifetime-price-guarantees.2432307/unread

 

[Chungry]

Where and how will you get content for Kodi?

I’d imagine same place we all do- private seed boxes and release groups, Usenet. I did that for Fallout despite having Prime so I could have no ads.

 

[gk_brown]

People don't unsubscribe when prices are raised...and they aren't going to unsubscribe over ads.

I would.