I just wonder if the advertising system in Plex can be made less annoying because I’m now at a point that I don’t enjoy watching free movies and shows on Plex. And I actually rather pay you guys 5 or 10 bucks a month. I get that Plex isn’t Amazon or Google, they also offer free movies on Freevee and YouTube but those ads are less annoying.
My biggest gripe is that ads on Plex are too random. Sometimes you get to see ads for 60 seconds and another moment you get to see them for 3 minutes. Why not make it so that you will get to see 60 or 90 seconds of ads every 10 or 15 minutes? This should also be visible on the controlbar, like Freevee does. And no ads when you start a movie. What would be acceptable for you guys?
The example here is Hulu, which has both an ad tier and an ad-free tier. They actually make a lot more money from ads than they do from subscriptions, so don’t look for Plex to get an ad-free option any time soon. The money is too good. Also, don’t expect it to get too consistent or creative because their priorities are NOT to make things better for the end user.
Is this really true that Hulu makes more from ads? It’s hard for me to believe this. But the thing is, you also need to find a balance, because make things annoying enough and you will actually loose viewers, so why would anyone place ads on such a service?
Like I said, at the moment I often find myself switching back to Netflix and Prime Video, because I can’t deal with the ads on Plex. Actually, YouTube is starting to get annoying too, it’s too erratic, ads pop up from out of the blue, and you can strangely enough skip them, but there doesn’t seem to be any logic behind it.
Same with Plex, sometimes you get to see 60 seconds of ads, sometimes 240 seconds. Sometimes you get to seem them at movie start, sometimes not. And sometimes you get to see them when you switch subtitles on or off, I mean seriously? It doesn’t make any sense, so that’s why I advice to take a look at Freevee.
Cool, but this sounds a bit annoying too. I just checked out their catalog and they also have many B horror movies, so I guess this is cool. But the reason I’m on Plex is because they have movies that can’t be found on Netflix and Prime Video.
And Freevee is cool too, but I have not found a way to watch all content via a VPN (I’m from Europe), I guess I need to buy an Android TV or media player, because with LG’s webOS it’s too tricky. For example, I can’t watch US content on Prime Video and HBO Max, but strangely enough only a couple of Freevee titles are somehow available via the Prime Video app.
Netflix works like a charm though with a VPN, but I still need to test Disney+ and StarzPlay. But anyway, my point is, Plex has got a lot of great movies from back in the days, but the way that ads are implemented ruins the whole thing. I rather pay Plex even $15 dollar a month!
Seriously guys, wasn’t Plex owned by Crackle which used to be a paid streaming service? I’d like to pay you guys to get rid of the ads, it’s just too annoying. There are too many of them. And it’s crazy, because who says that people are actually watching these ads, perhaps they are on their smartphone waiting for the movie to play again. We need to get rid of ads, that’s why Tivo and DVR’s were invented, and now they are back again? Oh hell no!
I’m not going to complain about ads in free content, I just refuse to watch any of it
Free YouTube - ads
Youtube Premium - NO ads
Free Plex - ads
Plex Pass - ads
Sounds like a pretty good deal for someone
The contracts they signed out of desperation to get that content were probably so lopsided that they don’t even have jurisdiction on what they can and can’t do
I’m only concerned with the quoted section, that there were contracts signed out of desperation. Such extraordinary claims generally require evidence. Your other statements from the post I partially quoted are facts; nobody can call them into question.
Our goal is to bring a wide assortment of content—from big studios, independent producers, and more—from around the globe to you for free. In exchange, we’re asking for a bit of your time to watch some ads. Even so, you can expect a notably lower ad-to-content ratio than you’d experience with typical broadcast television.
Since ad revenue is how the studios and distributors get paid, having a Plex Pass will not remove ads or reduce their frequency.
Does having a Plex Pass change anything?
To be clear up front, having an active Plex Pass subscription does not change what content is available on the free service in any way. You don’t suddenly get access to more or newer titles.
However, users with an active Plex Pass subscription do have access to higher resolution playback from the service, when available. Specifically, Plex Pass subscribers are able to access 1080p quality streams when one is available for an item in the catalog. Non-subscribers have access to 720p quality streams, at most.
Makes me wonder about how many users Plex has that are actually watching free movies and shows? I didn’t even know that there were so many free streaming services in the US, I’ve read that Pluto TV, Tubi and Freevee are doing pretty good. But here’s the thing, I would actually spend hours on Plex if the ads weren’t so annoying, which would mean I would actually see more ads.
Now I spend only 30 minutes a day before I get fed up with those dumb ads and switch back to Netflix and Prime Video. So it doen’t make any sense, and lot of ads are from Plex themselves trying to promote movies. I would never recommend Plex in its current state to anyone. Which brings me back to my first question and that is: Is Plex really that successful at the moment that they can afford to annoy their users?
And yes, on YouTube the ads are also annoying but you can often skip them and apparently you don’t get to see them when you pay for YouTube Premium. Strangely enough, there is no way to see their full moviedatabase, so why would I then pay for it? Seriously, are all of these companies run by complote morons?
Also why aren’t all of these free streaming services available in Europe? It’s annoying as hell. What’s also annoying is that many of these classic movies can’t be found on Netflix and Prime Video, so you pay them for watching their newly produced ‘‘Originals’’ crap. Which I have almost zero interest in, to me it’s all about seeing my favorite classic movies.
Just started watching a plex movie from my home in Finland and the very first, second and third advert are the same awful republican anti Joe Biden commercial.
Yes it’s crazy. I almost don’t watch any movies on Plex anymore because of too many and too long ads. If they switched to the same model as Freevee then I would probably come back since it’s less annoying.
So it doesn’t make any sense, Plex wants as many users as possible, but at the same time they are pushing users away because of their ridiculous ads-model. And I can’t be the only one that’s annoyed, know what I mean?
I’m watching a film right now, it’s 88 minutes long, there is an ad break every 12 minutes or so. It’s for the same gambling site every time (Mr Green) the break lasts about 90 seconds. Oh an anti Joe Biden promo was in two of the breaks but quite irrelevant to me as I’m not in America. Fewer breaks but longer would work better as would more variety!
Which movie is this? And like I said, I wouldn’t have any problem if they interrupted the movie every 10 or 15 minutes, but then it has to be a 30 to 60 seconds ad. What they forget is that you don’t want to annoy your viewers. And what services like Plex also forget is that 20 second ads are probably more effective than the longer ones. The longer the ad, the less interest I have. So I have to disagree with you michealcarter948.
I have practically stopped watching movies on Plex. And the thing is, I’m not even looking for a free lunch, I would actually be willing to pay up to $15 a month for Plex, since it has enough interesting movies and series. Same goes for YouTube, but I’m not sure if they will remove ads once you pay for YouTube Premium. And you often can’t find these older movies on Netflix and Prime Video, that’s the frustrating part.
The film was Food of the Gods which was terrible! I don’t think the film has any role in how adverts are used. I watched Invasion of the Body Snatchers a few days ago and it might have had two short breaks at most.
If the choice is fewer longer breaks or shorter frequent breaks I’d sooner the former as it disrupts less, mind you the timings are so random the break would still crash in mid-scene or during a line of dialogue! It’s a very crude mechanism.
OK I see, never heard of this movie. But I actually do think that what movie your watching plays a role. Just like how much time you spend on Plex also matters. And it’s a matter of preference, I can’t stand long ads. I rather have small breaks every 15 minutes, like on Freevee, I can deal with that.
I’m pretty much done with Plex at this point. I understand they need to make money, but this is not the way to go forward. My prediction is that they will eventually lose many more viewers, and why would advertisers then still pay?
It’s just like with ads on the web, if they weren’t so annoying, and didn’t try to track you, people wouldn’t use adblockers. So they basically ruined the online advertising industry themselves, how dumb are these people?
