All of those cord cutters who fled cable TV years ago to avoid commercials are in for a rude awakening. Most of the major streaming services are now adding advertisements, even for subscribers. This has prompted some some critics to declare the dream of cheap, ad-free streaming TV is dead. "Several of the big major streamers right now have already flipped to using advertisements, and just this past week Amazon said you know what, we're going to start inserting advertising into our subscriptions," says High Tech Texan Michael Garfield.
The Amazon Prime plan will add advertisements unless subscribers pay an extra $2.99 per month. Amazon says it will help them "continue investing in compelling content." Garfield says these services have essentially become mini networks, with exorbitant programming and production costs for many of their most popular shows. "They're facing a lot of subscriber churn, and it's tough to grow subscribers, and so they're looking for more revenue," he tells KTRH. "And it's easier to just start charging advertisers to place ads, and that's exactly what they're doing."
What all of this means to subscribers is a creep up in costs if you want to avoid the trappings of traditional TV (like ads). "Think back to the days when you had cable...you would pay $150 to maybe as much as $250 per month," says Garfield "Well what are you paying now? Because if you have several of these streaming services, along with the internet connection, you may be paying the same, if not more."
Garfield recommends taking a close look at what you're subscribing to, and how much you're paying. "If you don't watch a lot on one of the services, go ahead and kill it," he says. "Stuff like that adds up."
"Don't just start subscribing to these streaming services just for the sake of it, make sure you actually use them."
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