Last week Eddy Cue said that Apple has “no plans” for an ad-supported tier of Apple TV, but a new report today highlights the growing trend of ‘pause ads’ at other major streamers.
Netflix, Amazon, Disney, and more are making ‘pause ads’ the norm
’Pause ads’ are on the rise with nearly all the major TV streaming services. In case you’re unfamiliar, these are the ads that appear on-screen whenever you pause a TV show or movie.
Brian Steinberg writes at Variety:
Peacock has offered full screen pause ads since the service debuted, and Netflix now offers commercials after a pause that take up either the full screen or half, with the other half sometimes devoted to graphics that evoke the program being watched. Warner Bros. Discovery, which has only offered pause ads that take up a quarter of the screen and don’t block out the show being watched, is testing full-screen ads around the world to determine subscriber response… Even Disney, which has kept a tight rein on its pause ads, is considering whether to let them do more. The company has begun running pause ads that expand to take up the full screen only if the viewer decides to do so with a click of their remote. This new commercial format, which Disney calls “Pause+,” might let subscribers “telescope” to a new, full-screen experience that could offer a trivia game or the opportunity to send a coupon to an email address.
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, and Peacock are among the biggest streaming services in the market. And they all see value in pushing pause ads on users.
The Variety report mentions both Amazon and Netflix pause ads showing increased user engagement over traditional video ads.
9to5Mac’s Take
This growing trend makes Apple TV even more distinct for continuing to be ad-free in every way. Though that may change eventually, it was good to hear Apple’s services head Eddy Cue reinforce that there are currently no plans to implement ads.
For other streaming services though, pause ads might seem like a no-brainer. If they push users to subscribe to a more expensive ad-free tier, that’s a positive outcome. And if not, the streamer is getting more revenue per viewer regardless.
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