[jbm]

Let's not forget that so many advertisements are for things that are objectively damaging to you. "It's good for the economy and OK for you" school of advertising.

High interest loans, fast foods, cable channels (with more advertising), sports gambling, et cetra.

I still cannot understand why I paid to get a specific streaming service (Sportsnet) and had to sit through Wayne Gretzsky ruining his legacy by selling sports gambling to my 3 children.

[joeythedolphin]

It's shocking, these days you can even buy a paid service and still be forced to watch ads (Hulu)

[sujinge9]

Not sure why it's shocking. In the same space, you pay for cable and still are shown ads. Same for movies at the theater. Though most of the ads are for new shows/movies to encourage recurring usage/payment.

[paulcole]

Yeah it’s crazy. You’d think that magazines, newspapers, and cable television would’ve thought of this model.

[squaresmile]

The ads could be worse: drugs that treat cancer, diabetes in 1 month, supplements that cure Hepatitis and so on. If YouTube can show fast food and gambling ads instead, that would be a nice improvement.

I assume because the ads are in language and region Google don't care as much, there's less priority or resource to filter them out. Maybe they should ask Meta how to do it since FB and Insta ads are way more "reasonable".

[mcpackieh]

What good are ads for cancer drugs? If I have cancer then I'll go to a doctor who should know the relevant drugs. If I don't trust my doctor, I'll get second opinions from other doctors. If I don't trust any doctor, I'll hit the books and start doing searches of the academic literature. At no point is it rational for me to turn on the television and see what cancer drugs are being advertised on it.

[KMag]

I believe the GP is saying that in their language, they're getting advertisements for over-the-counter cancer "treatments".

Sure, if everyone is smart, well-educated, rational, and has access to affordable licensed doctors, there isn't much harm in such garbage advertising. However, the problem is that these advertisements are being displayed to people who live in the real world.

[joeythedolphin]

The Doctors are being privately lobbied behind the scenes. Then the patient comes in with the idea for the drug. A preemptive match is already made in heaven. It's capitalizing and profiteering off medical conditions. What they do to Doctors is probably far worse than their idiotic ads warning you of sudden heart failure, stroke, etc.

[jasonlotito]

> I still cannot understand why I paid to get a specific streaming service (Sportsnet) and had to sit through Wayne Gretzsky ruining his legacy by selling sports gambling to my 3 children.

Why did they do it?

Money.

They wanted more money and you wouldn't stop watching your sport.

It's not a surprise. If given the option, people will actively shop to get the best bang for their buck. Given two options, they will opt for the one that gets them the most of what they value.

Why did you do it?

Because you valued your viewing habits over other things.

It's all really simple.

[jbm]

Actually I cancelled it after a month. I had moved from Tokyo back to Canada and didn't realize how far things had gone.

Your point stands in general.

[paulddraper]

How much do I have to pay them to not?

[joeythedolphin]

I had to turn off the sports. Used to love NHL (and TV), but it was not worth the dark destructive undercurrent in my life. It really robbed me of happiness and potential. It became much easier just to turn hockey off. If a service does not have an ad-free version, it is simply not available to me.

[jbm]

The irony is that, in Japan, the NHL offered a service with no advertising for a fair price.

I assume making a decent return off a large number of people is of less importance than fleecing true fans.

I used to think the Japanese baseball league was insanely commercial due to it using corporate sponsor names instead of the city name (Hanshin Tigers, Yomiuri Giants, etc..) but in retrospect, the commercialization was only skin deep while the NHL is completely and unapologetically corrupted.

[8note]

Local sports is a good option - to see it in person

Lesser leagues are more fun anyways

[teddyh]

You can’t. To believe that everything has to have some sort of grass root, personal choice-based solution, is a fallacy¹. You could not boycott your way out of Standard Oil.

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36031458

[mrguyorama]

Stop paying them anything. Get everyone you can to stop paying them anything.

The transphobic fiasco with bud light made it pretty clear that boycotts WORK, if only we had the balls to do them, and maybe endure minuscule """suffering""" to continue them.