[teeray]

I don’t find live-read ads nearly as offensive. They at least have some personal touch to them and they often vary each time (they are live, after all). I tend to listen to those in podcasts when they are truly one-off live reads (TWiT has historically done pretty well at this, for example).

What are terrible are the tone-deaf pre-packed injected ads that blare out of your speakers into your skull.

[paulryanrogers]

> I tend to listen to those in podcasts when they are truly one-off live reads (TWiT has historically done pretty well at this, for example)

TWiT uses pre-recorded ads pretty often, and has admitted to trying AI-read ads which mimic the host. I prefer either to the meandering before and after banter that bookends the off-the-cuff ad reads. Thankfully it appears their paid Club TWiT excludes both ads and annoying wind up / wind down around them.

(Full disclosure, I work for a company that facilitates ad-free podcast offerings)

[sheepybloke]

100%. A couple of the podcasts I'm listening to are moving more towards pre-packed ads and they are horrible. I think what advertisers don't realize is how much more the live ads are worth. I'm much more likely to listen through the hosts riff while doing an ad read vs someone who sounds like they are talking through a forced smile.