Hulu and AT&T to Test 'Pause Ads' in 2019, Automatically Playing Commercials When You Hit Pause

[Eorlas]

A pause ad is not that different from an ad running during a cable broadcast that you just walk away from...just now you have control of when it happens.

So, not good for binge sessions where you watch 3 or 4 of something before you go to the bathroom, but at least when you do go to the bathroom or get food, you can just pause and mute, let the ad piss off while you're not paying attention.

But the presence of ads even on the paid service is why I don't indulge Hulu anyway. Though at least if you could just "bank" the ads during a user pause, that would be a pinch of silver lining. Still not enough to make me get it.

Netflix please take note of this, and don't do what Hulu does.

 

[zorinlynx]

If the ads had no sound, as in, just display ads on the screen like slides you'd see in a movie theater before the movie, that would be tolerable.

But in either case they're going to make the user experience worse to make more money, and will pass none of the savings onto us. The people who come up with this stuff are nothing but greedy sadists.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I expect Apple will do the right thing and reject app submissions that include "pause ads". Apple was often annoyingly anal about making sure developers used buttons with the right icons to do the right tasks ("you're using the clock icon to convey a stopwatch instead of the current time - your app is rejected"), but I think consumers will agree with Apple that the pause button should be a pause button and not a "switch from what I'm watching to an ad" button.

But if the Apple under Tim Cook screws this up (he might - he's pretty good at screwing stuff up), then I suppose we'll always have the Home button to press to actually make it so stuff stops playing.

 

[timeconsumer]

This would be an excellent way to get me to cancel my subscription. When I pause I want it to pause completely because I need the break. I don’t mind viewing ads during the show as they have an option to pay extra for no ads, but if I am working from home and get a work related call I want to pause with no distractions.

 

[CaTOAGU]

The year is 2034. Hulu is trialing, "external ads". When a user is not watching Hulu, their TV is turned off, or their mobile device is off or in their pocket or handbag. Or they've uninstalled the Hulu app, or aren't even a Hulu customer, a member of an elite Hulu external ads team will track them down in the street and, using data collected from many sources, including but not limited to, your or someone else's Hulu, Google, Facebook, Email, Twitter, Walmart, Amazon history, will force them to watch an ad entirely unrelated to anything they're interested in.

 

[CarlJ]

They just gave away a whole year for $12 last week.

Wait, what? Did i miss something?
[doublepost=1543953499][/doublepost]

I’d be willing to bet pause ads won’t play sound, for everyone freaking out about that. It’ll be more like a screensaver.

Still doesn't help the scenario of, "I hit pause in order to carefully look at or read something on the screen, and now the screen is obscured by twelve dancing bunnies, singing about toilet paper."

 

[Juicy Box]

you can just mute the audio

There is no "mute" button on the ATVs' remotes.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Hahahaha! Yet another reason to not use Hulu!

Thank goodness we are drowning in content these days and can just watch something else some other way in response to such madness.

 

[CarlJ]

As I've said before, Hulu is the legacy TV industry's trojan horse to maintain their outdated business model in the threat of massive disruption from streaming services. It is NOT an alternative to Netflix, it is an attempt to stop Netflix and its like from forcing them to change.

I don't see it as an alternative to Netflix, I see it as a way to get on-demand access to anything on broadcast TV, without an antenna or DVR box (with its monthly rental cost), for $11ish/mo, instead of 3x that from the local cable company (with the huge bonus that the shows are commercial-free - and yes, before someone complains, a handful of shows do have two commercials). I have no problems with that. I don't watch a ton of broadcast TV, but that's a fair trade to me.

Hulu's interface is annoying, which is why I mostly use WatchAid as a front-end (Apple's TV app is too particular about the way it expects me to watch things) - this way I don't have to pay attention to whether a show is on Hulu or Netflix (handles a bunch of other streaming apps, too).

 

[dannyyankou]

Wait, what? Did i miss something?

Yes, Cyber Monday sale. $1 per month for a year.

 

[sinsin07]

Wait, what? Did i miss something?

Hulu extends its 99-cents-per-month Black Friday offer
[doublepost=1543955514][/doublepost]Concerning AT&T & Streaming, pausing ads ain't the only issue:
AT&T Plans to Charge $50 to $60 a Month For DIRECTV NOW
DIRECTV NOW’s Future Is Unknown
AT&T Plans to End Their Satellite DIRECTV & Focus on Streaming

 

[Juicy Box]

The purpose of hitting the pause button is to freeze the show/movie you're watching to get up and do something else.

This is true. I also use the pause button to see things that I would otherwise miss, like Easter eggs, reading documents that flash on the screen (Chuck), a subtitle that quickly disappears, and many other things. Having ads there instead of a paused video would cause me to miss all these things.

Although, I do pay for the ad-free Hulu service.

 

[CarlJ]

Yes, Cyber Monday sale. $1 per month for a year.

Hulu extends its 99-cents-per-month Black Friday offer

Ah, thanks. Not valid for existing customers. And it's the "limited commercials" version, rather than the "no commercials" (aside from 4 specific shows) version. The no commercials version is much more enjoyable.
[doublepost=1543956309][/doublepost]

And they wonder why a lot of people pirate. Makes me wish more people would pirate and teach them a valuable lesson.

People who pirate will always be able to come up with a reason why they think such behavior is at least justified, if not righteous. Doesn't mean it is justified, just means they'll turn up the magnification level as much as necessary to find something to complain about, so they can feel like they're the good guys, instead of the opposite.

 

[xp84]

normal Hulu

Actually I believe half or more of the Hulu audience now is on the ad-free tier now, so you could easily argue that's the "normal hulu."

Hulu, which has too many ads as it is, especially considering it is a PAID service.

I thought that 100% back when there was only one paid Hulu tier, but it's just 4 or 5 bucks a month more to eliminate all ads! To me, the ad-laden tier of Hulu should only be chosen by the very casual occasional TV viewer. The kind of person who if they had cable would have basic cable and no DVR of any kind. Like if you use it for 1-2 shows per week.

If you watch Hulu enough to be annoyed by the ads, it's tough to justify the complaining when they've given you an attractive option: Just cough up the extra few bucks. I certainly don't regret it. TV is so enjoyable without ads.
[doublepost=1543958295][/doublepost]So many whiny people are howling about this, but since you can get rid of Hulu ads for 4 lousy bucks a month I have little sympathy. You're choosing the bad product (TV with ads) while complaining to high heaven about its main differentiating quality. This is like buying the super base model car with no radio and complaining that you have nothing to listen to. It's not that much more money to just get a radio, so why not just upgrade? Do you really think you'd like the selection they'd be able to afford with an $8 a month subscription and no ads? Instead of having like 3/4 of the best broadcast and cable shows, It'd be like Netflix minus all the original content.

As for the pause ads, if they know what's good for them, they'll be smart enough to make them quieter than normal and possibly instrumental only. And no, they shouldn't be pitches to sell reverse mortgages with a "CALL NOW" number which wouldn't be effective in this form. However this would be a great place for brand advertising. Think Coca-Cola, BMW, Geico. Ads that exist just to remind you of the brand don't require your full attention to be registered, that's why billboards are a thing.

 

[v3rlon]

The plan likely to see pause ads is Hulu With Limited Commercials, which interjects a few ads throughout a show's runtime, similar to live TV, but again this hasn't been confirmed.

I cut the cord and went iTunes/Netflix for my TV years ago. I recently watched a show on network TV. I would not at all consider them "injecting a few ads." An episode is 42 minutes. One third of an hour long drama is spent in commercials.

Compare that to 50 minutes for Star Trek TOS episodes circa 1969. Better yet, how about the 60 minute run time of Perry Mason in 1957.

If I am paying for the service, I don't want to watch ads. Look at Netflix. If the service is free, some ads are okay, but if more than half your content is commercials (or just one commercial repeated over and over, Hulu), it gets old REALLY fast. This is my gripe with many cable channels.

 

[neliason]

It’s already bad enough that Prime forces some pre-roll self-ads now.

So this is relatively new? We just got Prime and I was irritated that there as an ad before the program. I got rid of cable for many reasons and commercials is one of them.

 

[ctg7w6]

Ah, thanks. Not valid for existing customers. And it's the "limited commercials" version, rather than the "no commercials" (aside from 4 specific shows) version. The no commercials version is much more enjoyable.
[doublepost=1543956309][/doublepost]People who pirate will always be able to come up with a reason why they think such behavior is at least justified, if not righteous. Doesn't mean it is justified, just means they'll turn up the magnification level as much as necessary to find something to complain about, so they can feel like they're the good guys, instead of the opposite.

Very well, but then at least we can say that there is no good or evil dichotomy, but shades of gray. Because you won’t convince me that the other side are the “good guys” and pirates the unequivocal “bad guys”.

 

[jazz1]

Just pay the extra $2 a month to get the ad free version. Its well worth the money.

Isn’t some material not ad free even paying for the ad free service?

 

[Rigby]

As I've said before, Hulu is the legacy TV industry's trojan horse to maintain their outdated business model

How is it an outdated business model? Hulu offers an ad-free plan for the same price as the standard Netflix plan.

It is NOT an alternative to Netflix, it is an attempt to stop Netflix and its like from forcing them to change.

I think they are absolutely a competitor, especially given that they get many shows at airdate and have started producing their own high-quality content (such as Handmaid's Tale).
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Isn’t some material not ad free even paying for the ad free service?

There are a handful of TV shows that play trailers from the studio before and after the show, but they are not interrupted by ads.

https://help.hulu.com/en-us/included-in-no-commercials-plan

 

[lazyrighteye]

Pause membership.

And by "pause," I mean "cancel."
And by "cancel," I mean "I actually have to sign-up first in order to cancel."

I know how these tests go... Their minds are made up: pause ads are a go. 100%. Budgets have been set based on their projected performance. The test isn't to test the "feature," it's to test the user. To test their tolerance for change. But it is safe to assume they have crunched the numbers, hedged their bets and they're going all-in on moving forward with this "feature."

Weeeee!

 

[nwcs]

So this is relatively new? We just got Prime and I was irritated that there as an ad before the program. I got rid of cable for many reasons and commercials is one of them.

They’ve tested it a few times and pulled back but over the last few months it seems to be a mandatory thing 1 out of 3-4 videos.

 

[acarney]

At first thought I was open to this as long as it was a static image without sound, usually I pause because the phone rings, someone steps in the room, etc. However, I then realized I also pause sometimes to LOOK closer at the stuff ok screen... which an ad, static or not, would interfere with...

 

[Morgenland]

Hulu leader's Advertising Dictatorship.

Hail Hulu!

 

[glowplug]

That’s nice. Hulu would have to pay *me* a subscription fee to even consider using their service.

 

[dirtylilhobo]

Go ahead and force insert advertisements when I expect total silence and halt to the program when I’ve paused it. This unnecessary intrusion shall result in a nearly immediate cancellation of subscribed services.