Unauthoritative Pronouncements

Jason Snell wrote about how he rejoined Netflix on the ad-supported tier, and it was a poor experience for him. Not only because he’s not used to seeing TV shows with ads these days, but because Netflix shows aren’t always made with ads in mind.

While the ads played on, I began creating a thought experiment: There’s a $10 difference between the ad and ad-free plans. If Mr. Netflix (he wears a top hat) came to my house and said, “Jason, I’ve got a great deal for you. I’m going to pay you $120 a year, and all you have to do is watch ads while you watch Netflix,” what would I do? When I started thinking about it, I thought it might be an interesting intellectual question. What would I accept in exchange for having Mean Mr. Netflix beam ads into every show I watch?

It’s worth also thinking about every other streamer too. I know Jason’s not singling out Netflix as if it’s the only one doing it, but it certainly charges the highest premium to escape its ads.

I absolutely have to pay for YouTube Premium because the quality of the ads is so poor, not because the cuts don’t fit with the drama. Other people are used to the ads in YouTube because that’s what that experience has “always been” for them.

Also consider the gentle buzzing of incessant ads slotted into old reruns made for ad-supported broadcast and cable TV on FAST and AVOD services. It can have a very different feel because of what your personal expectations are, and your level of engagement with the programming. You’re folding laundry, so who cares how many times that Skyrizi jingle runs on the Gunsmoke channel? It’s very different from a show like Adolescence.

We know Mean Mr. Apple (he has a mostly unbuttoned shirt) might offer an ad-supported tier too, and their programming hasn’t been made with that in mind. The Apple brand isn’t really about advertising other products, companies, and services. I remain curious what that experience will be like one day when a tense moment in Silo transitions to an ad for a local accident attorney or pharmaceuticals.