Geez it does have ads in it… This is WORSE then when they added the Trailer Ads Hub.
Add an option to disable this please… people who pay for this should not have Ads.
So the response to adding an option to turn it off is: (from the blogpost)
Currently in the news settings you can toggle on or off promoting My Newscast to the Plex home screen. The News navigation item currently cannot be removed but we are working toward even more granular control for users in future releases.
I really hope they add an option to at least hide it. The way it’s implemented on smartphones is good…if you don’t use it you can ignore it. However on Apple TV (my main plex device) News popped up right beside my libraries, which makes not using and ignoring it a bit trickier. Honestly this annoys the hell out of me.
The worst thing is even time ago when we complained abut a UX change element we got ripped another xxxxx saying we knew nothing about UX design. News does not belong on top of everything in the dashboard HOME does, news should be on the bottom maybe because on the dashboard is everything related to MY server and that annoying news thing has nothing to do with my server. It belongs in the channels as a plugin called plex news or spinning orange circle news. Totally wrong UX design this time, plex remove it or at least give us that option.
I also demand that i be able to disable this News “feature”. I have no interest in US news and use Plex specifically to avoid such crap. The new user agreement is very slimey. Allow me to disable it or I’m out of here.
This is depressing. I might download Emby and give it a spin…
Another piece is that the content owners are most probably paying Plex for placement in this feature but I guess that could be included in the first statement.
I highly doubt Plex is being paid for placement by content owners and find the news updated as predictable and unexciting based on the investors at Plex. If we do a little research on the Plex website we can learn alot. The current list of investors they have published include Tribune Media (soon to be Sinclair broadcast?), DigitalNEWSVentures, Mcclatchy, and Knight Foundation. All of these investors have heavy investments in News and Journalism, we should expect a lot more development around news going forward and it will always be in the spotlight as long as these investors are present expecting anything else would be foolish.
Plex at one point was a small start up and was focused strictly on the user and providing a niche software solution for media. It has sense transitioned to a large company with more than 15 million users/customers* and fiduciary duties to their investors. I would also assume they are collecting demographics details of the customers to achieve their targeted goals set fourth by their major investors and board of directors. As a way to provide additional services and to diversify revenue streams to remain soluble relevant company in a rapidly developing market they have branched into the news realm right or wrong that was not our decision. I do not understand where the sense of entitlement and demands come from the average user. We are simply customers of a FOR PROFIT proprietary company, the fact we are able to voice an opinion to help steer the direction slightly is a privilege not a right. If don’t agree with the direction plex is headed to I would recommend voicing your opinion or moving away to another service, however if you want an open source non-profit, I would go back to XBMC. I saw a few posts about some Emby apps being closed source and them heading in that general direction, so good luck with that. Source Code & License - Web App - Emby Community
*based off the Privacy policy email which stated 15 million emails being sent to users. Number of actual servers is probably less but there is no metric or data at this time to track it. https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-policy-changes/
Get to know plex and its investors:
https://www.plex.tv/about/#investors
https://www.mdif.org/our-approach/digital-news-ventures/
http://www.tribunemedia.com/our-brands/tribune-broadcasting/
It would not be that bad if the news was actually in HD…I can watch HD news from my off air antenna
Come on man, now I’m forced to learn the Roku API.
F it, as long as ads are not in my face I be cool. Take what you want from me Plex but DON’T display ads. AND BY GOD, IF YOU DO, IT BETTER BE PORN!!!
needs an option to disable, this is the absolute last thing I want on my media platform…
@fecaleagle said:
This is a ridiculous feature and clearly a money-grab. The privacy policy changes last month made me less inclined to look for other options than this does. Live TV/DVR still has a long way to go, and now they act like it’s time to move on to the next big thing and spring this crap on us that literally nobody asked for. I use Live TV/DVR primarily to consume news on CBS and PBS, but this really confirms that we’re headed in the wrong direction.
If you don’t like the new “News” feature just ignore it and don’t use it; nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use are they? The thing is that there are some people that will like it, and use it, which is rather the point I guess.
@per_PLEX_ed said:
Please allow me to disable this. It’s right at the top and I keep clicking it, and it starts playing right away with sound! Not liking this at all
Then to stop “clicking it” is the answer surely?
@ghj290 said:
@fecaleagle said:
This is a ridiculous feature and clearly a money-grab. The privacy policy changes last month made me less inclined to look for other options than this does. Live TV/DVR still has a long way to go, and now they act like it’s time to move on to the next big thing and spring this crap on us that literally nobody asked for. I use Live TV/DVR primarily to consume news on CBS and PBS, but this really confirms that we’re headed in the wrong direction.If you don’t like the new “News” feature just ignore it and don’t use it; nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use are they? The thing is that there are some people that will like it, and use it, which is rather the point I guess.
The point here is that Plex Media Server needs to have an option to disable this feature.
Control over your own PMS doesn’t seem to be in Plex Inc. grand master plan.
- No manual connection to your local server as it’s easier to log in to your Plex account, ideally using Facebook or Google
- No opt out of data collection and because you’re logged in there’s not much you can do about it
- No ability to disable content we are going to send you, whether you want it or not
No Plex 
@ghj290 said:
If you don’t like the new “News” feature just ignore it and don’t use it; nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use are they? The thing is that there are some people that will like it, and use it, which is rather the point I guess.
Would you think the same if your favorite webbrowser suddenly got all kinds of new bookmarks and toolbars (you didnt ask for), taking up screen-estate? Would you be fine with that, and just think “well, I don’t use it myself but I guess some people might so that makes it ok”?
@ghj290 said:
If you don’t like the new “News” feature just ignore it and don’t use it; nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use are they? The thing is that there are some people that will like it, and use it, which is rather the point I guess.
Like you have said,I think there will be people that will use it and others won’t.
The best possible outcome is to have a disable/enable option for both parties.
Everyone wins.
@mickeldaelmans said:
@ghj290 said:
If you don’t like the new “News” feature just ignore it and don’t use it; nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to use are they? The thing is that there are some people that will like it, and use it, which is rather the point I guess.Would you think the same if your favorite webbrowser suddenly got all kinds of new bookmarks and toolbars (you didnt ask for), taking up screen-estate? Would you be fine with that, and just think “well, I don’t use it myself but I guess some people might so that makes it ok”?
I do see what you’re saying but there has always been a “Channels” icon/button in Plex; I’ve never used, and never wanted to use it, but I’ve not asked for a way to remove it from the GUI. I just ignore it.
@ghj290 said:
I do see what you’re saying but there has always been a “Channels” icon/button in Plex; I’ve never used, and never wanted to use it, but I’ve not asked for a way to remove it from the GUI. I just ignore it.
yes, but Channels has a valid, logical function, it’s Plex’s version of plug-ins, and there are many plugins available and in use by the Plexcommunity. I do agree that it should be able to be hidden for users who don’t have use for it.
@ghj290 said:
I do see what you’re saying but there has always been a “Channels” icon/button in Plex; I’ve never used, and never wanted to use it, but I’ve not asked for a way to remove it from the GUI. I just ignore it.
Exactly. The few channels I tried, that would actually work, were full of ads, so I don’t see the News section as anything different. Having said that, I would prefer that both “Channels” and “News” get moved to the bottom of the list, being at the top is an annoyance.
@leelynds said:
I would prefer that both “Channels” and “News” get moved to the bottom of the list, being at the top is an annoyance.
Google would not allow it.
Soon the news will be part of a home page.
@ghj290 said:
@per_PLEX_ed said:
Please allow me to disable this. It’s right at the top and I keep clicking it, and it starts playing right away with sound! Not liking this at allThen to stop “clicking it” is the answer surely?
I wish. It’s right next to the home key. All I ask is the option to hide it under channels, or better still, disable it altogether. Surely that is not too much to ask.
