
Amazon Developing a Free, Ad-Supported Version of Prime Video - elsewhen
http://adage.com/article/digital/amazon-developing-a-free-ad-supported-version-prime/311273/
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lucaspiller
I wonder if this will cause any changes to the existing adverts paying
customers see. At the start of each episode they often play adverts for their
other shows and devices. Ok it’s not an advert for toilet roll, but still,
adverts are what I wanted to avoid by paying for TV.

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mdasen
If done right, I think those ads could feel more like previews at the movies.
I think the problem that Amazon gets into is that they show the same one over
and over and it feels like an ad.

How would I fix it? 1) create a setting that allows people to turn it off. 2)
Don't hide or delay the skip button. 3) Make them really previews. Previews do
a good job of intriguing and entertaining. Some of Amazon's ones just feel
like ads which more just tell you that something is available - I'm thinking
of _The Tick_ ones in particular. 4) Don't repeat a preview within a 36 hour
window. When a preview is new, it can be interesting. Even an ad can be
interesting once. When I see the same ad over and over and over, it gets
ridiculously annoying. One of the worst things about online video ads is that
I can watch a show and get the same ad 10 times in an hour. I've watched HGTV
and gotten the VW-man-cave ad literally twice in a row during the same ad
break. The ad stops and then it starts again because it's the next ad. Amazon
isn't as bad as that, but I don't want the same ad for the same content
starting every episode I watch. I've seen it, don't beat me to death with it.
5) Also mix in some previews for non-exclusive content. Amazon has Indiana
Jones. Throw in a preview there. Show people your library.

Still, one ad for another piece of content doesn't feel the same. Once in the
program, there's no interruption. Amazon isn't making money by you watching
more content (unless you count continuing to pay for Prime because of its
value).

I often appreciate good previews. It's something I think can be missing. How
do I decide to try a new show? I really want a good preview that gets me
interested. Shows can start slow, but a preview can show me that I should try
it.

Again, I think there are some adjustments that could be made to make them less
annoying and possibly even welcome for most people. I think the biggest
problems are the annoying ad-like properties - delaying the skip button,
repeating the same preview over and over, etc. And I think if you allow opt-
outs, that's more than fair.

If I were guaranteed not to see the same preview more than once in a 36-hour
period and there was no delay on the skip button, I'd keep them.

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bob_theslob646
>[Update, 5:03 PM ET – Amazon has now denied AdAge’s new report, as
well]([https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/13/reports-of-a-free-ad-
suppo...](https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/13/reports-of-a-free-ad-supported-
amazon-video-service-resurface/) )

According to Techcrunch, this is false.

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spystath
I wish they made their existing service work the same on all platforms. HD
content is practically not available on Linux (HDCP issues) and half-works on
Windows (works on my desktop but not on my laptop although both should be HDCP
compliant).

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simias
I have a prime subscription but I hardly use the video streaming service for
this reason. It's just too crappy and user-unfriendly, especially on Linux.
And like with all video streaming services the selection is not good enough to
be my "go-to" provider to watch shows and movies.

So instead I keep torrenting everything I want to watch (using a RSS feed to
download TV shows automatically) and I end up with better usability and a much
better selection than legitimate services for zero kopeks. No DRM, no shows
randomly made unavailable (or missing seasons) because of licensing
shenanigans. No need to worry if it'll be compatible with $device.

I even torrent shows available on Amazon Prime Video because I can't be
bothered to use their crappy webplayer instead of kodi. One day I'm sure we'll
have a "spotify for video" and I'll subscribe to it. In the meantime I can't
be bothered.

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bobajeff
I like Amazon Prime Video's exclusives but their service as it is now shows
videos you have to purchase seperate to view.

Contrast that with Netflix where if the videos not available on streaming you
can usually get it in the mail as a DVD.

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discreditable
When will they develop a version that works with Chromecast? I have Prime
Video but the easiest way for me to get Prime content on my TV is to pirate it
and stream it.

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dingo_bat
This is kind of fucked up. You bought a locked down dongle that works only
with Google services. You can't even play your own media on it[0]. Now you
expect every service to support google's dongle?

Here's what you should have done: get a TV or a dongle with DLNA support. Then
your PC will show up as a source and you can play any goddamn thing you want.
Or you could have got a TV or a dongle with android on it, then you could have
just downloaded Amazon's app.

[0]no "official" way at least

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lightbyte
>You bought a locked down dongle that works only with Google services.

What? Pretty much every other video app/player I can think of works with
chromecast.

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inasring
> did you mean youtube?

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singularity2001
'free' as in 'you are paying with our attention and your nerves' (in this case
too: and your privacy?)

~~~
simias
I doubt you have much better privacy with the paying service. It's amazon
we're talking about, they probably collect as much data as technically
possible.

~~~
a-priori
(Disclaimer: I work for Amazon but this is my opinion.)

While it's true that Amazon collects about as much data as it is able to,
there's a big difference in their intentions when compared to someone like
Google or Facebook.

In the end, it's obvious what Amazon's motives are: they want you to buy more
of their products, or more of other people's stuff from their store. The data
helps them improve their products and services so you pay them more money.
Personally, I'm okay with that because their incentives are aligned with mine:
if they make more stuff I want, then I'll pay them for it.

Note that I'd argue the same way about Apple and Microsoft.

On the other hand, it's not clear what Google or Facebook want from you. Their
incentives are not aligned with their users because their money comes from
advertisers. It's the advertisers that are their customer, not the users. So
I'd put Amazon in a completely different class from the Google and Facebook.

But this ad-supported Amazon Video starts to change that, because any money
they get from this is shifting their interests towards advertisers and away
from customers.

