Offline
Last year I'd occasionally be irritated when a YouTube video would be preceded by a 30 second "ad", which I could usually skip after five seconds.
In the last several days, I've noticed that nearly every YT video I choose, it's preceded by a one minute ad, with no option to skip.
Being the frugal type (!), I checked into YouTube Premium (which used to be called YouTube Red). It's $12 per month. Benefits last year included "no ads" - but didn't say if that meant no "preceding video" ads, or just no static ads on a page.
I just read on several tech sites, that YT is now going to push ads onto many more videos, whether you're on YouTube Premium or not. This is nuts for us lowly YT viewers - but YT admits the Premium service brought in only 1.5 million subscriptions, so they need to increase revenue by putting in more ads regardless.
My choices: join YT Premium at $12 month and *hope* the video ads disappear.
or
Stop using YT completely except in time of dire need!
Edit: wow, I just chose a YT video on the latest Windows update. In addition to a 30 second non-skippable ad for an "fake IP" service, when the actual video started, I got two more popups covering the video. One for "Join this channel cheap!" and the other "Membership fee reduced - click here!"
Good grief.
Your thoughts?
Thanks.
Tom M.
(Really, folks, with the evening TV news being 17 minutes of news and 13 minutes of commercials, and with websites including popups with "subscribe to our email newsletter!" and "take a survey!", none of which can be stopped with an ad blocker ... this is getting ridiculous. Idiocracy's ad-dominated TV and internet rides again. Printed news on a sheet of paper gets more and more appealing; print ads don't pop up on top of the article you're reading.)
In the last several days, I've noticed that nearly every YT video I choose, it's preceded by a one minute ad, with no option to skip.
Being the frugal type (!), I checked into YouTube Premium (which used to be called YouTube Red). It's $12 per month. Benefits last year included "no ads" - but didn't say if that meant no "preceding video" ads, or just no static ads on a page.
I just read on several tech sites, that YT is now going to push ads onto many more videos, whether you're on YouTube Premium or not. This is nuts for us lowly YT viewers - but YT admits the Premium service brought in only 1.5 million subscriptions, so they need to increase revenue by putting in more ads regardless.
My choices: join YT Premium at $12 month and *hope* the video ads disappear.
or
Stop using YT completely except in time of dire need!
Edit: wow, I just chose a YT video on the latest Windows update. In addition to a 30 second non-skippable ad for an "fake IP" service, when the actual video started, I got two more popups covering the video. One for "Join this channel cheap!" and the other "Membership fee reduced - click here!"
Good grief.
Your thoughts?
Thanks.
Tom M.
(Really, folks, with the evening TV news being 17 minutes of news and 13 minutes of commercials, and with websites including popups with "subscribe to our email newsletter!" and "take a survey!", none of which can be stopped with an ad blocker ... this is getting ridiculous. Idiocracy's ad-dominated TV and internet rides again. Printed news on a sheet of paper gets more and more appealing; print ads don't pop up on top of the article you're reading.)