7 ms·

In the end, we all just re-invented good old TV!

glitchc 3y ago
Surprised? I'm not. Given the history of cable, this was an inevitable outcome. Prime Video also looks very much like plain on cable nowadays, with a subacription only entitling one to basic channels. The rest all cost extra.
- irajdeep 3y ago
  Not surprised at all, maybe mildly disappointed.
standardUser 3y ago
You may be mis-remembering old TV. A tiny number of companies produced a narrow range of programming and if you missed an episode, tough shit. Maybe you'd get a chance to see it in reruns someday if you were lucky. People would actually go out of their way to be home at certain times on certain days to catch the show they liked and were invested in. And of course all of this came with a 2:1 ratio of show to advertisement. And then there was the religiously-dominated abomination that was standards and practices...
- cwillu 3y ago
  > Maybe you'd get a chance to see it in reruns someday if you were lucky. We're starting to come back to this from the long way around, though: I've had several shows and movies I wanted to watch, that I knew I used to be able to watch, which are no longer available on the service that I watched them.
  - d3w4s9 3y ago
    And those "you need to start watching the movie within 5 days after renting it and must finish within 2 days". Might as well bring those DVD rentals back.
    - atlasunshrugged 3y ago
      Yes, just without the trip to the store or the mailbox
- b112 3y ago
  Fairly accurate, except in the hayday, 1:5 ratio at worst. 2 minutes every 15 minutes of ads, was tyoical for first run. Reruns were cut, scenes removed, to allow more ads. The prime stuff was more valuable, so reruns brought in less ad revenue, so they sold more spots.
dghughes 3y ago
Yes I was expecting this not the ads but the multiple streaming services. We used to have TV channels now we have multiple streaming services each is in a way a channel. But it's hard to justify paying for a half dozen streaming services. Plus many push for another layer to pay for. And I swear to god these streaming services monitor what you like and end the series with three shows to go taunt you about buying it. Amazon in particular is bad for user interface and shows disappearing. They have older shows which is nice but the interface, the constant push to buy more, and just overall lack of innovation makes it feel blah. The lack of ads was the only good thing it had going for it! The lack of ads was the only good thing it had going for it now it's toast!
slyall 3y ago
FAST or "Free advertising supported streaming television" sometimes include includes "FAST Channels" which are can resemble old-style network TV channels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_ad-supported_streaming_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_ad-supported_streaming_te...
conradfr 3y ago
At least on TV you can record the program and fast forward the ads ;)
- Dylan16807 3y ago
  Even better, you can keep the recording.

Surprised? I'm not. Given the history of cable, this was an inevitable outcome. Prime Video also looks very much like plain on cable nowadays, with a subacription only entitling one to basic channels. The rest all cost extra.

irajdeep 3y ago
Not surprised at all, maybe mildly disappointed.

standardUser 3y ago

You may be mis-remembering old TV. A tiny number of companies produced a narrow range of programming and if you missed an episode, tough shit. Maybe you'd get a chance to see it in reruns someday if you were lucky. People would actually go out of their way to be home at certain times on certain days to catch the show they liked and were invested in. And of course all of this came with a 2:1 ratio of show to advertisement. And then there was the religiously-dominated abomination that was standards and practices...

cwillu 3y ago
> Maybe you'd get a chance to see it in reruns someday if you were lucky. We're starting to come back to this from the long way around, though: I've had several shows and movies I wanted to watch, that I knew I used to be able to watch, which are no longer available on the service that I watched them.
- d3w4s9 3y ago
  And those "you need to start watching the movie within 5 days after renting it and must finish within 2 days". Might as well bring those DVD rentals back.
  - atlasunshrugged 3y ago
    Yes, just without the trip to the store or the mailbox
b112 3y ago
Fairly accurate, except in the hayday, 1:5 ratio at worst. 2 minutes every 15 minutes of ads, was tyoical for first run. Reruns were cut, scenes removed, to allow more ads. The prime stuff was more valuable, so reruns brought in less ad revenue, so they sold more spots.

dghughes 3y ago

Yes I was expecting this not the ads but the multiple streaming services. We used to have TV channels now we have multiple streaming services each is in a way a channel. But it's hard to justify paying for a half dozen streaming services. Plus many push for another layer to pay for. And I swear to god these streaming services monitor what you like and end the series with three shows to go taunt you about buying it. Amazon in particular is bad for user interface and shows disappearing. They have older shows which is nice but the interface, the constant push to buy more, and just overall lack of innovation makes it feel blah. The lack of ads was the only good thing it had going for it! The lack of ads was the only good thing it had going for it now it's toast!

slyall 3y ago

FAST or "Free advertising supported streaming television" sometimes include includes "FAST Channels" which are can resemble old-style network TV channels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_ad-supported_streaming_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_ad-supported_streaming_te...

conradfr 3y ago

At least on TV you can record the program and fast forward the ads ;)

Dylan16807 3y ago
Even better, you can keep the recording.