So happy I can exist with no subscriptions!
This update brought to you by the letter ARRRR
Pirate your shows. Not just as a defense against ads, but as a defense against Disney throwing plotlines down the Memory Hole
This is what I do:
- Buy a perpetual license to the content I want (usually on Prime or Microsoft Store)
- Pirate it and load it onto my PLEX server.
This is the only way I can actually have control over the content that I fucking paid for. If that makes me a thief, then so be it.
Of course, this only works for PPV content. I generally just don’t watch content that’s available via streaming subscriptions only. I never paid for cable and I’m not paying for cable 2.0.
That’s why I pay for hulu+++×+
It’s guaranteed you’ll never see an ad*
*unless Hulu determines it is justified
Well, it’s ad-free as long as you consume at least one verification can every 10 minutes
You must shout “burger king” loud enough that it’s detected on 3 neighbors microphones
I assume they mean the live TV offerings, and technically the Hulu splash at the start of every episode is marked as an ad.
But it’s still scummy.
They’re modifying a legal document, one of the most detail-focused creations *ever. If they only wanted it to apply to live TV programs, they absolutely could have. When people (or corporations) show you who they are, believe them.
edit: autocorrect
This is the TL;DR of what was updated. This is not the actual ToS.
Not defending, just pointing that out.
It’s… an excerpt, provided by Hulu from the full document, saying what they are allowing themselves to do with our money. It doesn’t have to be the entire EULA, word-for-word…
The Hulu logo preroll/interstitial isnt an ad but it uses the same system. I imagine they only mean ads in live TV offerings.
They’ve been showing ads on content from certain sources on supposedly “ad-free” tiers for years.
muh series
This what we would call false advertising in my country.
You can’t write: “NO ADS!*”
“*actually, maybe some ads, as a treat”
That’s just completely negating the headline claim
Yo ho yo ho
What a wonderful world we live in - boneless chicken with bones, ad-free streaming with ads, unlimited plans with limits… What’s next, Nestle releasing microplastics and cadmium free water (guess what’s in it!)?
Ad free with ads isn’t new to me. Paramount Plus will sometimes show pre-roll ads. They’re usually ads for other shows on Paramount and you can skip it right away, but it’s an ad nonetheless.
I could go without the unskippable 5 second branding bumper though.
HBO does this too, I’ve been told they get away with it because it’s a trailer not an ad, as though there’s a difference, but mate, I’m already watching Star Trek, you don’t need to suggest I watch Star Trek.
This drink cooler will open and allow you to purchase a cool refreshing micro-plastic free water after a brief ad by nestle. Please stare directly at the screen for 30 seconds to unlock the case.
This is some “boneless wings may contain bones” bullshit, fuck Hulu.
The biggest enabler of these are those bundles you get with cable / Internet providers. Do yourself a favor and buy these individually if at all so you can stop the subscriptions at any time without worries.
in Greece at least nobody gives you the option - unless it’s a very pricey service that you can pay as a package
Reminder that whatever your feelings on copyright law are, stealing from Disney is fucking cool
You can’t steal a TV show
Bet
Hasn’t Hulu had ads on their paid tiers for a long time now? I remember that being a big deal way back, so I never bothered with a subscription.
I first time I see an ad on my ad-free subscription, I will cancel like I did with Prime Video.
It’s like they want us to become pirates.
Just a numbers game. More people will absorb the costs than cancel their subscriptions. So these streaming services can keep ratcheting until they hit a breaking point. There’s no disincentive to these behaviors, as long as net revenue increases quarter to quarter.
Piracy requires a certain degree of technical competence and internet savvy that the vast majority of end users don’t have.
Hulu did this shit in 2014. Never used them again. Hulu is crap, you are kinda getting what you deserve.
I would argue all streaming services have gone to shit. I’m not saying I encourage anyone to pirate that doesn’t want to. But I am saying i don’t blame a single soul that does.
As far as I’m concerned all those companies can go fuck themselves. They know that the less technical people will willingly keep paying so the ones they lose won’t matter.
