SIGforum
Ad free video cost is increasing

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/1310019915

March 13, 2026, 11:20 AM
konata88
Ad free video cost is increasing
Seems like Prime Video ad free cost is increasing to $5/mo from the current $3/mo. It supposedly adds more UHD content but I don't need it / benefit it. I watch more 'old' content (series and movies made between, say, 1940 and 1980. Including a lot of classic B&W stuff. I don't need UHD.

But seems like it's all or nothing. There is no SD/HD ad free level, only the UHD level starting next month. Even most new movies / series, I don't really need UHD / Atmos. I'm going to be paying extra for something I don't need / can't use (I don't have Atmos setup).

Assholes.




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
March 13, 2026, 11:26 AM
BigSwede
Yes, pretty soon I will have to get rid of a couple streaming services, they are nickel and diming me to death

Netflix without ads is up to $25

We watched and really liked The House of David season one on Prime. Season two came out and we went to watch it, fuck you, subscribe to the Wonder Project streaming service to watch it. $8.99 a month.


March 13, 2026, 12:45 PM
RogueJSK
It sucks that they don't have a cheaper option for those that don't want/need the 4K/Atmos support.

But personally, I'll gladly pay another $2 a month for better picture and sound quality.

quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
We watched and really liked The House of David season one on Prime. Season two came out and we went to watch it, fuck you, subscribe to the Wonder Project streaming service to watch it. $8.99 a month.


That's on the studio, not on Amazon.

MGM did the same thing with SAS Rogue Heroes. Licensed the 1st season to be distributed through Prime Video, but then after it became a huge hit, spun off their own streaming service MGM+ to capture more of the profits from their streaming content for themselves, so you then had to subscribe to that to watch Season 2 when it came out.
March 13, 2026, 12:50 PM
Rey HRH
Yeah, I don't like paying for "ad-free." And I don't. I have Prime Video because I have Prime. I try to catch special deals with limited time. Then I binge as much as I can. Right now, I have several months Apple TV at a discount and I'll drop it when it reverts to regular price. At which point, I'll pick up Paramount plus with their veteran discount. That may make it permanent for me same as Fox Nation but that's only $35 a year.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
March 13, 2026, 01:45 PM
BigSwede
quote:
That's on the studio, not on Amazon.



Wut? We watched it on Amazon. What is Studio?


March 13, 2026, 01:53 PM
hberttmank
Yep, I dont like it but I have a nice 4K TV and a Atmos sound system, so I will pay the extra couple bucks.



"But, as luck would have it, he stood up. He caught that chunk of lead." Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock
"If there's one thing this last week has taught me, it's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it." Clarence Worley
March 13, 2026, 02:13 PM
RogueJSK
quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
quote:
That's on the studio, not on Amazon.



Wut? We watched it on Amazon. What is Studio?


The Wonder Project is the TV and film studio that created and filmed House of David.

Wonder Project spun off their own streaming service after Season 1.
March 13, 2026, 02:31 PM
HRK
quote:
I'll pick up Paramount plus with their veteran discount. That may make it permanent for me same as Fox Nation but that's only $35 a year.


FYI if you have WalMart + you get Paramount+ or Peacock TV for free.
March 13, 2026, 02:56 PM
TomV
quote:
Originally posted by HRK:

FYI if you have WalMart + you get Paramount+ or Peacock TV for free.


Paramount+ seems to have even more commercials than network TV.
March 13, 2026, 03:04 PM
Prefontaine
quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
Yes, pretty soon I will have to get rid of a couple streaming services, they are nickel and diming me to death

Netflix without ads is up to $25



I 100% agree. Each of them keeps raising the price every year. Amazon is pissing me off with this and Netflix is infuriating. Netflix to get 4k I have to pay them for 4 TV’s simultaneously or whatever. Can’t you have a 4k option for 1 TV only?

Satellite service became way too expensive. Now streaming is turning into the same thing but I knew this would happen and talked about it years ago. Rotating them is going to be the only solution I think. Pay for something for 1-2 months, watch what you want, cancel, rotate, etc.



What am I doing? I'm talking to an empty telephone
March 13, 2026, 03:32 PM
TigerDore
We have Prime, we have Paramount too, and we have at least couple of other "premium subscriptions", but when I am scrolling through my viewing options and I see something that interests me, I often find that I have to pay another fee in order to watch it, even though it is in my already "premium" list of shows.

Then, on top of that, I am told that if I pay even more, I can watch a program without ads.

It's almost like we purchased premium tv programming, and paid out the nose for it, in order to provide the programming revenue to channels in place of the ads that we always saw on the broadcast networks and basic cable.

I was obviously mistaken.

So why are we paying a large monthly fee while the streaming services are collecting ad revenue too?


.
March 13, 2026, 03:40 PM
BigSwede
quote:
Originally posted by RogueJSK:
quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
quote:
That's on the studio, not on Amazon.




The Wonder Project is the TV and film studio that created and filmed House of David.

Wonder Project spun off their own streaming service after Season 1.


Oh, got it


"Rotating them is going to be the only solution I think. Pay for something for 1-2 months, watch what you want, cancel, rotate, etc."


We do that with Hulu, I get the $90 package for college fooseball and turn it off when season is over


March 13, 2026, 03:43 PM
konata88
My impression is that they are charging more because they are creating more and more content rather than just streaming content provided by others. Problem is that much of their in-house content is crap - not all of it, but it's rare that I want to watch something they've produced.

I'd rather just have base content be free and ad-free like it used to be and then pay for subscriptions. This makes the pay to view more effective - I pay for the type of content I want rather than pay generally for a lot of content I will never watch.

I'm already rotating providers; I'll pay for one or two any given month (prime, nf, apple, various subscriptions under apple, viki).

I'm actually also trending back to just reading books rather than watching videos.




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
March 13, 2026, 05:02 PM
bryan11
With the commercials on prime, I'm looking more at free options. Internet Archive has many movies available, plus Kanopy through a local library card has many less common movies for free.
March 13, 2026, 06:08 PM
Pipe Smoker
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
<snip>
I'm actually also trending back to just reading books rather than watching videos.

I’ve been 100% books, 0% video for decades.
I do pay for Amazon Music.



Serious about crackers.
March 13, 2026, 07:35 PM
SigJacket
quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:

We do that with Hulu, I get the $90 package for college fooseball and turn it off when season is over


Now $99. I’m considering YouTubeTV next season. Or Taco Mac. I think the price would be a wash.


--
I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is.

JALLEN 10/18/18
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...610094844#7610094844
March 14, 2026, 09:43 AM
stray dog
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
My impression is that they are charging more because they are creating more and more content rather than just streaming content provided by others. Problem is that much of their in-house content is crap - not all of it, but it's rare that I want to watch something they've produced.


That's their claim. And like you, I find most of what they produce themselves unwatchable. I won't be paying them an additional $5 a month.