A recent article from Cord Cutters News, "75% of Streamers Have Tried an Ad-Supported Plan, Report Shows," really got me thinking about my own long history with ad-supported television, and why, unlike some, I've always been pretty comfortable with commercials. You can read the article here.
My Lifetime of Ad-Supported Television
I grew up watching TV in the 1960s and 70s, and back then, there was really only one type of TV experience: over-the-air, via an antenna, and it came with commercials. That was just how television worked. Ad-supported viewing was the norm; it was simply part of the package.
Even when cable TV started to become common, most of what we watched was still ad-supported. I remember getting channels from Savannah and Jacksonville, Georgia, and they all had ads. The early "superstations" like WTCG out of Atlanta (which eventually became WTBS, then TBS), WGN, and WOR/WWOR were brought to cable nationwide, and they always had commercials. Truly ad-free viewing was rare, reserved for premium movie channels like Showtime.
My personal journey to cord-cutting began in January 2011 with a clear goal: to save money. And I'm happy to report, it's been a successful and rewarding journey ever since.
The Early Streaming Headaches (and Modern Improvements)
When streaming started to gain traction, there were definitely some early headaches with ad-supported services, particularly on-demand ones. I specifically remember the "It's been 10 minutes, so here's an ad" problem. Characters could be in the middle of a sentence, or a scene could be at an intense climax, and suddenly, there was a commercial. That was incredibly frustrating and felt like a step backward from traditional broadcast TV, which generally placed ads at more natural content breaks.
Thankfully, the industry has learned a lot since then. Most on-demand streaming services today are much better at finding proper content breaks for ad insertions. Even when I watch British programs, which famously don't have commercials in their home country, the streaming services here manage to find good spots for ads. I suspect that British producers might even build in natural fade-outs or scene changes, considering their shows could eventually air in markets like the USA where ad breaks are standard.
My Pragmatic Acceptance of Ads (and Confusion about Others)
Despite those early frustrations, my core stance has remained firm: while I'd always prefer no ads, if there's a cheaper or free option that I get by having commercials, I'm absolutely okay with it. In fact, commercials do not bother me at all. That's why FAST TV (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) is often my go-to choice for content.
For me, the transition from cable and TiVo to early Hulu was incredibly easy. I viewed Hulu as my "cable company with a DVR." I was already used to recording shows with my TiVo and watching them hours or days later, skipping around the ads if I wanted. Early Hulu felt no different; it was just a cheaper way to watch my favorite shows on my schedule.
What always baffled me was the strong resistance from some people. I heard so many complain about ads in streaming programming, arguing that if they were paying for a service, it should be ad-free. This was, of course, before ad-free tiers became common, and well before any vMVPD services like Sling TV existed. And here's the kicker: these same folks would often still be paying $200 a month for cable, which showed NBC, ABC, and Fox programming with commercials! They wouldn't drop their expensive, ad-filled cable service for a much cheaper, ad-supported on-demand service like Hulu. Perhaps in some cases, someone else in the household was footing the cable bill, which might explain their indifference to the cost, but even then, the principle of "no ads if I pay" seemed to vanish. To me, that logic just never quite added up from a financial perspective.
Full Circle and Embracing the Future
It's clear that my journey with television has come full circle. Today, I continue to watch TV with ads, just like I did when I was younger, whether it's over my antenna or through various streaming services. For me, ads are simply a part of the viewing experience, a small and entirely acceptable trade-off for the significant savings that cord-cutting provides.
My Streaming Life continues to be about smart, economical choices in home entertainment, and embracing ad-supported content is a key part of that strategy in my home.
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