This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Their catalog is so shit that I don't even know what plays on Amazon. Back when they refused to make an Android video app I just got all their crap from other means. I've had prime for years just for the shipping I've never watched a video through their service.
Oh well.
I
hate
ads. I will gladly let go of anything I lose when I drop it.
Ads have been designed by psychologists to be as Intrusive and stimulating as possible.
I barely watch anything anyway, so good bye TV, I've suffered thee long enough
Bummer. Not because of the extra $3, honestly I'll probably just pay it. But because until now Prime programming has been able to operate with a certain freedom. I know 0 people with prime for the video (as opposed to the free delivery) so they were willing to take risks with the shows.
Solos and Tales from the Loop are both amazing works of art that would never have shown up on network TV, or Netflix which would much rather make cheap mass appeal shows with little depth. Even more shows with wider appeal (e.g. The Expanse) might not survive the TV Executive mindset now that they have a reason to care about the number of views as a primary metric, over user happiness.
And honestly, it all baffles me, I will gladly subscribe to a streaming service for one great show. Produce 3 or 4 a year and I'm subscribed for good. If I wanted an endless string of medicore baking reality shows, I'd get cable again.
Pirate services are cheaper and have better apps
The moment when pirating a movie gives you better experience than actually paying for it.
Capitalism marches onward.
Enshitification continues to march ever boldly onward.
Probably going to work. Just another company trying to wring money from their user base since they can't reasonably grow. So many people were like "oh I'm cancelling Netflix if I can't share it" and then it was record sign ups for them and overall more money.
They are doing this right before The Boys comes back on and somewhat during Invincibles part 2 airing. People will be annoyed and pay the upcharge.
And like me pirating those still won't change much since I already was.
And bring that keg of mead on board with ya, ya dastardly scallywags 🏴☠️
As soon as I saw this I cancelled immediately. I’ve been a member since, um, ever?
Man, the enshitification is really taking over.
Well, they can fuck right off.
So for those who don’t know, this happened with cable back in the day. No ads was part of the pitch, then they were slowly introduced, the appeal of the product fell, and, at least in my circles, fewer held on to the product over time.
Amazon Prime currently costs $14.99 each month or $139 annually. (Prime Video can be subscribed to individually for $8.99/month.) The new charge for ad-free streaming would bring Prime to just under $18, and would push standalone Prime Video to just under $12.
So you're going to pay for ads? Why even sell such a service?
Great. You pay for prime but seems like it isn't enough for amazon.
Remember when Prime meant same-day shipping? Now it just means somewhat better terms than the stingy rabble.
Sounds like a great time to cancel.
If Video is the reason you have prime, sure. Personally the shipping is still the reason I have it. I don't really use the video service at all. Frankly I wish they'd unbundle all of the stuff and let me pay for just shipping.
Even though I don't have Prime, Amazon's moves are making other sites more attractive. Walmart has been pretty good recently, offering 2-3 day shipping at no additional cost in my experience, along with a better app UI/UX. Now that Amazon has upped the minimum for free shipping, the only edge it holds over Walmart is the wider selection.
Amazon Prime Podcasts wants you to know that ads are bad and they offer them as free*. But here they are talking out the other side of their bean counters saying that ads aren't a problem.
Sail the seven seas!
The shitshow of video streaming continues!
