More Fire TV ads, Netflix’s ad-supported perks
This week on TechHive: Fire TV’s expanding ads
Amazon has come up with more ways to stuff advertising into the Fire TV interface.
The Fire TV’s top feature carousel, which until now has only promoted streaming video content, will soon show ads for physical products such as earbuds and apparel. Amazon is also bringing ads into its search results pages, where they’ll appear alongside organic search results.
Fire TV devices are already heavier on display advertising than other streaming platforms, with sponsored screensavers and banner ads that get in the way of navigation. The new formats will make Fire TV feel even more like a billboard in your living room.
Read the full column on TechHive →
Weekly rewind
Netflix’s ad-supported perks: Netflix is trying to make its $7 per month ad-supported plan more tolerable by adding offline download support. Subscribers on this tier will get up to 15 total downloads per month on phones and tablets, which is far less than the 100 active downloads per device that Netflix allows on ad-free plans. Still, this makes Netflix the first streamer to support downloads on an ad-supported plan, and it could compel other companies to follow.
Netflix is also working on a sponsorship model that gives viewers an ad-free episode after watching a few ad-supported episodes in a row, though it’s unclear when this initiative will actually launch. The company says its ad-supported tier has 15 million subscribers globally, up from 5 million a year ago, and has previously noted that it makes more money per subscriber from this plan than from its Basic ad-free tier. Netflix stopped offering that tier to new subscribers in July as it tries to get more eyeballs on its commercials.
Max’s videophile tax: When HBO Max rebranded as plain old Max back in May, Warner Bros. Discovery gave customers a six-month grace period, after which they’d have to pay extra for 4K video and more than two simultaneous streams.
That grace period has now ended. Starting December 5, Max’s $16 per month ad-free tier will top out at 1080p video and two simultaneous streams, down from the previous three. Subscribers who want 4K HDR video and four simultaneous streams will have to pay $20 per month for Max’s Ultimate tier. It’s yet another luxury tax for cord cutters who want the best viewing experience possible.
Hockey’s OTA power play: As the regional sports channel model implodes, local teams must make a tough, but fundamental decision: Do they put their games exclusively behind expensive paywalls or try to reach as many fans as possible?
The Las Vegas Golden Knights took the latter approach, making a deal with Scripps to broadcast local games for free over-the-air. Now, Scripps reports that ratings are up 135% compared to last year on cable. (The team does also have a paywalled streaming option at $70 for the season.) I’m not sure if that makes up for the easy money that regional sports networks provided, but it’s definitely better for building a fanbase. (In case you missed it, here’s my list of all the regional sports streaming options.)
More catch-up
- Disney is finally buying out Comcast’s share of Hulu.
- Plex wants users to share their viewing habits with friends.
- Fubo says its bundle isn’t really about saving money anymore.
- Newsmax kills its free streams and throws up a $5 per month paywall.
- Did you have buffering issues with YouTube TV or NFL Sunday Ticket last week? You’re not alone.
Save more money
Now that the NFL season is about halfway over, it makes sense that YouTube is cutting NFL Sunday Ticket prices in half. The service, which offers live, out-of-market NFL games on Sundays, now costs $224 for the remaining season via YouTube, or $174 when bundled with YouTube TV (which itself costs another $73 per month). Adding NFL Redzone costs an extra $20 for the season in both cases.
Other notable deals:
- The Chromecast with Google TV is back on sale: $20 for HD, $39 for 4K.
- The latest Paramount+ codes are SOUTHPARK, WANTMORE, and INK. Learn how to get it for free.
- See more ways to save on the Cord Cutter Weekly website.
Thanks for reading!
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Until next week,
Jared