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Hulu, AT&T To Test 'Pause Ads' In 2019, Automatically Playing Commercials When You Hit Pause (macrumors.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the ready-or-not-here-they-come dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from MacRumors: Streaming TV services offered by companies like Hulu and AT&T are testing the waters for a new type of advertising called "pause ads." The idea behind pause ads is that instead of facing forced commercial breaks at specified interludes, users would be more accepting of ads that play when they choose to pause a show for a bit while they do something else. Hulu says it plans to launch pause ads in 2019, but not much else was given in the way of details regarding which of its numerous streaming plans will include the new type of commercial. The plan likely to see pause ads is Hulu With Limited Commercials, which interjects a few ads throughout a show's runtime, similar to live TV, but again this hasn't been confirmed.

AT&T cited similar interest in pause ads, stating that it also plans to launch technology in 2019 that plays a video when a user pauses a TV show. For both companies, it's unclear exactly how long these ads will run for, and if you'll be able to immediately cancel them out by simply hitting the play button and resuming your TV show. According to Hulu vice president and head of advertising platforms Jeremy Helfand, pause ads will not be home to longform advertisements, but will instead focus on commercials where advertisers "have seconds" to deliver a message effectively. Over the next three years, Hulu expects "more than half" of its advertising revenue to come from these so-called non-disruptive experiences.

9 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. Can confirm by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    users would be more accepting of ads that play when they choose to pause a show for a bit while they do something else.

    And how much do they expect advertisers to pay for ads that people are guaranteed not be watching - because they're doing something else?

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  2. Why hit puase... TURN IT OFF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They are just wanting to waste your bandwidth and charge you MORE.

    IDIOTS with pointy hats!

  3. So I won't be able to freeze it if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So I won't be able to freeze it if I want to take a look at a shot. Great! Can't wait.

  4. We're going to need a new hashtag movement by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny

    #PauseMeansPause

  5. Seems great until... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You realize half the time you are pausing is for a phone call, or to listen to someone interrupting your show, and all of a sudden now you're turning down/off the volume instead because pausing it no longer helps you hear whoever is interrupting you.

    This seems like a half baked idea from people who don't understand their target demographic, or the technical limitations of their cocaine fueled bad ideas.

    1. Re:Seems great until... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This seems like a half baked idea from people who don't understand their target demographic.

      It's almost 2019. Anyone still seeing or watching ads at this point is a fool, and they know this, so they are going to make up the losses by squeezing those fools even harder.

      They understand the target demographic just fine.

    2. Re:Seems great until... by reboot246 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The other half of the time I hit pause I'm on my way to the bathroom. If they want to play ads while I'm taking a shit, that's okay with me. I'm not interested in anything they're selling anyway.

  6. Non-Disruptive? by DewDude · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Any kind of advertising is basically a rape of the eyes and ears. There *is* no non-disruptive advertising.

  7. Re:Not watching those shows by markdavis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >"I'm not going back to watching ads ever."

    +100

    They need to realize this and QUICKLY. I am fine with manually zooming through ads, sometimes even stopping on one to see what it is. But I will NEVER submit to forced ads, nor "pause ads".

    And when I freeze/pause something it might be because:

    1) I need silence
    2) I need no visual distraction for a moment
    3) I want to examine something ON THE SCREEN
    4) I am leaving momentarily

    An "ad" there is totally unacceptable for the first three.... and those happen A LOT.