Over the last couple of weeks, Google has really stepped up ads on YouTube for possibly every video I watched. This was especially so during the holiday weekend.
The ads were not just on videos with political content. They were even on videos without political content, like some video game playing. One that I enjoy watching is chuckaaconroy (YouTube — chuggaaconroy). He has a very endearing personality—very enthusiastic—with his games. I was watching him play the 2010 Nintendo Wii game Super Mario Galaxy 2. Ads were there right at the beginning. (I will post three videos at the bottom; two are from Super Mario Galaxy 2, which chuggaaconroy started publishing a month ago; one is from the Nintendo 3DS game Animal Crossing: New Leaf, released in Japan in 2012 and the U.S. in 2013, which chuggaaconroy began publishing in 2013.)
These ads are often about five minutes in length. Some ads I have come across, not just in the recent days but from months prior, are not advertisement. Some of infomercial-type content. They are inserts. I have come across, as I am sure others have, of Prager University. I have come across ones of Ben Shapiro. And those have been ads not just five minutes in duration but ones which would last around 30 to 45 minutes. (I may underestimate. Perhaps they were 50 to 60 minutes in running time.)
Google LLC has been the owner of YouTube since 2006, one year after it was founded. I thought to look into subscribing to YouTube without commercials. I forgot about this option. So, I was thinking $5 per month. Well, it is YouTube Premium (formerly Red). And it is plenty more than $5 per month. It is $11.99 per month. Call it $12 per month. For a family membership rate, it is $18 per month.
Those prices are ridiculous. They are on par with a premium-movie programming subscription from the likes of HBO, Cinemax, Starz, and Showtime. Those premium-movie programmers have costs to their programming. Content published to YouTube does not compare.
I want to see a competitor rise, catch on, and surpass Google’s YouTube.
No comments:
Post a Comment