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Comment by foepys | Hacker News Reader

Netflix is going down the same route. They are not interrupting continuous playback yet but they are already promoting their Originals with autoplay ads (sometimes even with sound) in some clients. Luckily their clients' range of functions is horribly inconsistent, so I can still chose different clients to avoid this.

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This is why I cancelled Netflix.

I've switched almost entirely to watching content I own, whether its iTunes purchases or ripped DVDs. I control the entire experience, I don't have to worry about content suddenly vanishing, I don't have to deal with anyone trying to steal my attention.

I feel the same way about dropping Netflix now as I did about dropping cable TV 5 years ago. I'm never going back.

I think it was one of the Barbershop DVD's which had over 20 minutes of unskipable previews on it.

I feel like we're diluting the atrocity of shitty ads when we refer to anything and everything as an ad.

Netflix's above-the-fold, skippable "Now Showing" preview on the homepage can't be compared to the unskippable videos that Amazon and Hulu force you to watch. Hell, it even remembers that you muted it. And it only plays if you sit there staring at it.

Since almost all of Netflix's competitors force you to watch ads after you click play, I'm pretty happy with what Netflix does. Seems like a perfectly fair trade-off to me.

If you don't like it, just add ".billboard-row" to your content blocker. I bet you haven't. I bet you kinda like it. ;)

If it's not aiding me in navigating directly without delay or distraction to what I want then it's an ad. Whether it looks interesting or not is irrelevant.

That's.. not a definition of "ad" in common usage.

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