[RHSeeger]

I don't mind watching an ad or two for a reasonable length video. But if I click through to a 5 second video and it has a 15 second ad pre-rolled, I get annoyed. And if your site is annoying enough regularly enough, then I stop caring about whether "making things better for myself" is "in your best interest".

Hulu is a prime example of "too many ads". I just avoid watching videos on Hulu nowadays unless I have no other choice. A 24 minute video with 6 30 second ads (or whatever it is they play) is just annoying.

[bad_user]

You can always subscribe.

[stubish]

No matter how many times that platitude is repeated, it doesn't help. Because lots of people won't subscribe. The business model conflicts with normal human psychology. 'Pay us to stop annoying you' causes people to go out of their way to not pay you, because you annoyed them and they are now hostile to you. Not being annoying and upselling to premium features works better if you have premium features people are prepared to pay for.

[thirdsun]

I think the ad-free content actually is the premium feature most Youtube subscribers are willing to pay for. I know I do. On the other hand I don't think Youtube cares about users that aren't even considering to pay under any circumstances. There's no point in making the service more attractive to users that will only accept free pricing.

[RHSeeger]

My Verizon subscription came with a subscription to the Disney+ package, which includes Hulu. So, as such, I _am_ paying for Hulu. And ads still show up.

[pseudalopex]

You meant YouTube Premium? Is there an anonymous payment method?