How to Know If It Is Worth Paying to Get Rid of Ads
It appears that people using ad-streaming TV support are split in half – 49% of subscribers said they were “very happy” with it in a recent survey , while 54% of those same respondents said they plan to move to ad-free levels. streaming TV in the “next 2-3 months.” This suggests that many of us are still deciding whether it is worth spending a few extra dollars each month to get rid of ads once and for all – so how can you decide which path to take?
Compare your tolerance for streaming ads to cable TV
A good starting point is watching cable TV, which averages 12 minutes of commercials per hour. Considering that a basic cable often costs between $ 45 and $ 130 , you are already spending more on faster ad serving speeds compared to ad-streaming TV, which runs around 5-10 minutes of ads per hour. Here’s a comparison of some of the main services:
- Hulu Basic costs $ 5.99 per month and has the highest ad cost among the services listed here: about 10 minutes of ads per hour of streaming content. It has fewer advertisements than cable TV, but it can still be frustrating to run a must-see ad ten times in a feature film. On the other hand, Hulu has a vast catalog of shows and movies to watch, compared to other services like Peacock.
- HBO Max With Ads costs $ 9.99 a month and the company promises no more than four minutes of commercials per hour of streaming content. This is one of the lowest ad serving rates, but it is also the most expensive service on this list (and does not include recently released movies).
- The Peacock costs $ 4.99 a month and has about five minutes of ads per hour of streaming content, which is still far better than what you would get with cable TV. However, this ad rating seems to reset if you skip ahead or switch frequently between shows. Compared to Hulu, it has less content but also less ads. It’s worth noting that at the Peacock premium tier, advertisements for a limited number of shows periodically appear.
- Paramount + has an ad support rate of $ 4.99 per month and has an ad load of around 4 minutes per hour of streaming content.
- Discovery Plus delivers about four minutes or less of ads per hour of streaming content. You will see approximately three short ads in 60 minutes. They are usually less than one minute long and are usually displayed during the video.
- Tubi has about 4-8 minutes of commercial breaks per hour of streaming content.
- YouTube is not a streaming service in the same vein as the other services on this list, but it is very popular as a replacement for TV. While the exact number of ads per hour is not entirely clear (it varies), you can expect to see a 15-20 second ad (or two) every few minutes of streaming . This means about 5-8 minutes of ads per hour of streaming content.
Consider cost and content
Most ad-free levels will cost you an additional $ 5-6 per month. Whether or not it is worth it will depend on your advertising tolerance and overall viewing habits. For example, I’m a casual Peacock subscriber as I only use it from time to time to watch old sitcoms, so I don’t need the premium service. But YouTube? I use it a little more, sometimes up to three to four hours a day. That being the case, I’m more than happy to spend twelve dollars on YouTube Premium to avoid watching 20-30 minute ads (you see, life is short).
Of course, your advertising tolerance will vary. And if you’re in doubt about choosing between a paid or an ad-supported service, it doesn’t hurt to start with an ad-supported version and decide to upgrade later.