[flsteve]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Definitely a pattern there. But this is not new. I recall back in the early 70s when Cable TV was in its infancy, at least in our neck of the woods. Gone were the annoying rabbit ears and the spotty reception. We now got TWELVE channels instead of two, sparkling clear on our little 19" black-and-white TV. And all for only $9.99 per month. Big selling point was that since we were now paying for what was formerly free, there would be no ads to contend with. I think that lasted two years before the ads appeared, followed by a "premium" service (a bit more money per month) that offered ad-free TV on the premium channels.

Same w/YouTube. YouTube Premium offers ad-free service. But the FREE service is increasingly peppered with increasingly long ads.

I guess the Amazon move is nothing to get your undies in a bundle about. Normal progression of events and all that. Also, Prime is a great service overall and $3 is less than pocket change.

My wife and I have PAID FOR Disney, Prime, Paramount+, Netflix, and YouTube. We have had others previously as well. Oddly enough, the paid platform that I like the very most is YouTube. The content is extremely useful, varied (even with the subjectively controlled content), and is virtually infinite in subject matter.

[DennisDee]

Lately, the content on Prime Video has been horrible and is no interest to me. $3/month is minor for good content. Paying any extra $$$ for something of zero value is ridiculous!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Keefelane66

“ Freevee is a free, ad-supported TV streaming service that carries over 150 free “live” channels of 24/7 looping content as well as thousands of on-demand TV shows and movies. The Amazon-owned service was previously known as IMDb TV (2019–2022).”
It's always had adds on Freevee. Other movies on Amazon Prime do not.

I did not know that Freevee was owned by Amazon. Freevee bugs me because when I watch some movie part way through and then I stop - it does not recognize me and it forces me to start over from the beginning (and watch all the ads over again). It is pretty awkward.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Regorp

I only watch certain shows like Reacher, The Boys, Terminal List, and Leverage Redemption so adding commercials will not bother me so much .

Strange Days is good. "Barbie" is good. That Eddie Murphy Xmas movie is good. "A Quiet Place (part 2) is good. "Black Box" is reasonably good. "Anna" is good. All on Prime.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

"Barbie" is good.

You can't be serious. I'm not a 13 year old girl with woke parents, so I'm not going to take your advice.

[dtennent]

If you pay the additional $2.99, are you getting prime enhanced, Prime Priority, or, maybe Prime Prime?

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by LuvNH

$3 a month well worth it. I sat through 7 ads on You Tube the other evening.

$13.99 a month, or even less if you subscribe annually to eliminate all ads on YouTube. If you are a prolific YouTuber like I am, it’s well worth it. Just be sure you subscribe at YouTube’s website via a computer browser or you’ll be charged $18.99/month via Apple subscriptions. I was doing that until my young adult son set me straight. Apple was robbing me blind, lol.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by EzHighway

That's for Prime members with a business account!

Not true! I have a regular family Prime membership, and I received the email yesterday telling me about the ads and the extra monthly fee to be ad free. It’s for all members.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

Amazon Prime is an awesome service, but the streaming video service that comes with it is grossly inferior to Netflix and some of the others. I wouldn't pay for it if it wasn't free.

If you watch a lot of Prime streaming, it's worth paying the $3/month IMO, otherwise, for more occasional use, I'll probably just deal with the commercials.

Agreed! It’s the least used of all of our streaming services, and we have a lot. We even watch YouTube more than Prime video.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Definitely a pattern there. But this is not new. I recall back in the early 70s when Cable TV was in its infancy, at least in our neck of the woods. Gone were the annoying rabbit ears and the spotty reception. We now got TWELVE channels instead of two, sparkling clear on our little 19" black-and-white TV. And all for only $9.99 per month. Big selling point was that since we were now paying for what was formerly free, there would be no ads to contend with. I think that lasted two years before the ads appeared, followed by a "premium" service (a bit more money per month) that offered ad-free TV on the premium channels.

Same w/YouTube. YouTube Premium offers ad-free service. But the FREE service is increasingly peppered with increasingly long ads.

I guess the Amazon move is nothing to get your undies in a bundle about. Normal progression of events and all that. Also, Prime is a great service overall and $3 is less than pocket change.

We get no ads ever with our Premium YouTube subscription, and we (mostly I) watch it daily.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I agree. But I also pay YouTube to get it ad-free. Well worth the money.

Yep! Me too. Just be sure you’re only paying $13.99/month, not $18.99 through Apple iCloud subscriptions. Or for even less per month pay annually. I believe I’m paying $11.99 per month by paying annually.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Justputt

Seriously folks. Remember B&W TV, all the commercials, etc.? Yes, we all have a lot more road behind us than ahead of us, and a race to the end is not my goal. I'll stroll, as I've learned the end is THE END and I can wait!! Commercials are just the time to refill a drink, dispose of a consumed drink, grab a bite, or actually talk to the people around you (my favorite)!!

Or look at our phones, lol. If only commercials weren’t deafeningly loud, or almost all drug related, I’d be less annoyed by them.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by flsteve

My wife and I have PAID FOR Disney, Prime, Paramount+, Netflix, and YouTube. We have had others previously as well. Oddly enough, the paid platform that I like the very most is YouTube. The content is extremely useful, varied (even with the subjectively controlled content), and is virtually infinite in subject matter.

Same here! YouTube for the win.

[LuvNH]

Originally Posted by DennisDee

Lately, the content on Prime Video has been horrible and is no interest to me. $3/month is minor for good content. Paying any extra $$$ for something of zero value is ridiculous!

I watch YouTube as my daily TV and Prime for my relaxation at night. I open all the stuff Amazon sends into my mail box and almost every week they are showing new shows. Plus I get my PBS Passport, BritBox and Acorn through them. There is not enough time in the day for me to watch all the material they are streaming.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Cliff Fr

Netflix is still ad free

Only the premium plan. The bare-bones plan has ads. They're few and far between, though. I've been binging on Madame Secretary and have had two interruptions per episode; one is usually 15 seconds, and the second is usually around a minute with 2 ads splitting that minute up.