Hey, I’m curious to know, but… Is Plex inserting “sponsored” content into the discovery feature?
I really REALLY just hope that they happened to pull a poster into their DB for that movie that had the sponsored label burnt in.
Why would that be a problem? It’s trailers for upcoming (or recently released) movies.
These are “trending” trailers, meaning they are for trailers that are increasing in popularity. Inserting one that might not be trending is against the spirit of the category.
I was hoping that this would spark a discussion on whether the discover feature is intended to be purely based on user views (trending, most watchlisted, etc), or “whether big-media” promotional materials are acceptable.
For me “sponsored” is just another word for advertising and I hate having ads added to a product I already bought a license to being told it doesn’t come with advertising. I would really hate that!
It’s part of “Discover.” You can turn it off.
I can turn off Discover altogether but not the sponsored content alone. That’s not the same!
I don’t get the outrage? The entire Discovery concept is one big advertisment section for Plex Movies and TVs plus their partners, just like any other service that is offering a way of tracking your viewing habits. There’s no expectation of no adds when you use it, is there?
Maybe you are right. Maybe my assumptions are wrong to start with.
If I pay for something to be ad-free and it has a feature like Discover, I assume that it will try to show me things I might like, based on what I viewed before and maybe based on what others viewed with similar interests than mine. I assume that ‘it’ – be it an algorithm or a human curator – will work in my best interest, not in the interest of the company and definitely not in the best interest of any third party with big pockets.
With ads and sponsored content on the other hand, I assume that I will get a list of things that other people want me to like, like third parties paying for it or Plex Inc. wanting me to watch because it then makes more revenue.
The first mode is focused on my best interest, that’s why it’s okay for me to pay for it.
The second mode is solely based on someone else’s interests, that’s why I don’t won’t to pay for it.
I hear you, but Discover and Plex Movies and TV services are free and not tied to the Plex Pass, anyone can use it, server or no server etc.
So with any free service it comes with what? You guessed it… Ads‼️
Hm, an interesting way to see it. My thought with buying a Plex Pass was not only to get the PP-only functions but to also, somehow, switch the whole thing in ad-free-mode. Looking at it now I must admit that it never says so anywhere (didn’t check it again but I can’t remember reading this).
My gut-feeling is still the same, though. I despise ads and I think there shouldn’t be sponsored content in Discover, at least for PP owners. Just my opinion, no outrage. 
I’m not against this sponsored content particularly (if it is sponsored content, and wasn’t just an image taken from elsewhere with the word “sponsored” baked in). I absolutely detest ads with a passion, as it rarely advertises anything I like and is usually obtrusive with flashing animations or videos. This sponsored content, though, is not only passive and minor, it obviously labels it as “sponsored”, so there is no feeling of trickery. Also, as the content it is among is already an algorithm of “discovery” items, throwing in one more item is fine, I guess.
I think what surprised me most was the fact it exists at all. The discover feature was first designed without any ads at all. It was a simple algorithm to display a bunch of trailers for trailers of movies that are coming out or are suddenly popular. To suddenly see Plex attempt to profit (or simply make some money) off of this feature turns it from a “this was made for you” feature to another corporate money-making intrusion.
I was hoping we’d hear a Plex dev chime in by now to mention that it was either a mistake in pulling in an image with the word baked in, or an acknowledgement that they are accepting sponsorships. I also wanted to know if anyone else has seen this, or if it was exclusive to me.
No outrage here, simple curiosity.
damn, really would be a bad thing to see ads here
I’m still not clear on why the word “sponsored” appearing in a list of trending trailers is a problem compared to the alternatives. Plex is just trying to make a few bucks off this feature.
Online news and social media are supposed to clearly identify ads or other paid endorsements. That lets us make better choices about what to click on.
Yeah, it’d be great if I only saw trailers, sponsored or otherwise, for things that interest me. However, I’m not keen on telling Plex or anyone else that. Netflix can’t even be counted on to do that consistently and they have my watch history.
I think many people here agree with you, and I do too. We partially invested into Plex (money and time) to avoid commercials along with full control of our media.
When “Discover” first came out there was no opt-out feature. I was ready to jump ship over it and began looking into Plex alternatives. However, Plex did respond to outcry for an opt-out feature and they implemented it as we, the users, requested. I was happily impressed and have stayed the course with Plex.
I do see the attraction of “Discover” but as previously mentioned by another poster, “Discover” is really just one large commercial, IMO, and allows for quite a bit more tracking.
For me, if I don’t have it on my Plex server, it isn’t worth watching.
IMO Everything in discover is a slippery slope to advertisements. Having a sponsored trailer within a trending section goes against what trending should be. If its trending it shouldn’t need published to the front with a sponsored sticker on it!
Plex are testing the waters every few months to see how far they can go. I just wish the whole discover credits could be disabled (you can’t currently) as its my major concern atm but that’s for a different topic.
I do not believe Plex have been anything but transparent with their investors regarding their intentions with Discover, if I recall the implementation of it in itself was obligatory to their partners and investors and caused a huge uproar from users concerning how it was initially implemented. I’m just not surprised, it’s free, not linked to any personal media and works just like any other service that’s helping users track their viewing habits. When you use it I wouldn’t have any great expectations regarding privacy and adds. If you did I’m sorry, it doesn’t make any business sense.
I don’t use discover, never will. It’s the inevitable bleed of this along with ads, sponsored integration etc… into my personal media which concerns me.
They’ve done it already with discover credits and their known for/filmography sections which cannot be disabled nor removed.
