CBS All Access follows in Hulu's footsteps with more expensive 'ad-free' option

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion
CBS on Wednesday announced a new tier for its All Access streaming service, allowing people to watch TV shows without commercial interruptions -- in most cases.




The new option is $9.99 per month versus the standard, $5.99 "Limited Commercials" plan. That makes it a dollar more expensive than Netflix's standard tier, but $2 less than Hulu's ad-free option. Hulu offers content from a wider variety of sources -- including movies -- and none of Netflix's tiers have advertising.

CBS warned that Commercial-Free subscribers will continue to see ads when watching live streams from local affiliates, and even in "select on-demand shows." Hulu likewise inserts ads into a few higher-profile shows despite people paying to remove them.

CBS All Access is available on a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV. Notably CBS charges extra for in-app subscriptions on Apple platforms, presumably to compensate for the latter's 30 percent revenue cut -- subscribing on the Web offers regular pricing.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,958member
    Nothing is ad-free forever. As soon as it gains traction, ads will follow. I am old enough to remember the advent of FM radio. Why go out and buy a new set that got FM? No commercials like AM. Also, early FM had mostly "serious" music: classical and jazz. But within a few years, commercials crept in. Then there was UHF TV. Why get a new TV set that had a UHF tuner? Right, no commercials. Today there are hundreds of UHF channels and all have commercials. (Yeah, I know, UHF and VHF are hardly even broadcast anymore--everything is by wire.) Which brings me to my last example: cable. Why pay for cable when broadcast is free? You guessed it. Today, all cable channels have commercials, even the ones you pay extra for. Don't get me started on Sirius XM. 
    edited August 2016 bdkennedy1002SpamSandwich
  • Reply 2 of 14
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    with the new Apple TV I've tried many of the network TV channel apps....the experience is maddening -- many 2-3 minute commercial breaks, which apparently they can't sell ads for and so cram them with THE SAME ADS over and over. often repeating immediately!! it's aggravating and insulting. if they can't sell ad slots to multiple advertisers, then they need to reduce the breaks in frequency and length. no F'ing way am I going to submit my brain to this repetitive nonsense. 
    bdkennedy1002RealdfwCapriguy
  • Reply 3 of 14
    mrboba1mrboba1 Posts: 276member
    I wonder how many people actually buy CBS content for $6 (or 10) when HBO or Showtime only costs 10 or 15? Do they really think they are worth that much?
  • Reply 4 of 14
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    CBS is not Hulu. So, one strategy works for Hulu not necessarily works for CBS. In fact, CBS is like ABC/NBC national channels over the air free so should make it ADs based but free.
  • Reply 5 of 14
    michael scripmichael scrip Posts: 1,916member
    How many shows are available on CBS All Access?

    And how does that compare to something like Netflix... at the same price?


  • Reply 6 of 14
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    How many shows are available on CBS All Access?

    And how does that compare to something like Netflix... at the same price?


    According to CBS, 7,500 episodes on demand. 
    edited August 2016
  • Reply 7 of 14
    michael scripmichael scrip Posts: 1,916member
    How many shows are available on CBS All Access?

    And how does that compare to something like Netflix... at the same price?

     According to CBS, 7,500 episodes on demand. 
    Thanks!

    And how does that compare to something like Netflix... at the same price?
  • Reply 8 of 14
    xixoxixo Posts: 449member
    Notably CBS charges extra for in-app subscriptions on Apple platforms, presumably to compensate for the latter's 30 percent revenue cut -- subscribing on the Web offers regular pricing.

    I thought this was prohibited by Apple's rules, something like "the cost of an in-app purchase cannot be greater than sale price elsewhere online"? 

    Does anyone know if that is true or not?

    FWIW, CBSN is a 'not awful' free source of live news feeds on iOS and all browsers. I don't have a TV so I'm always looking for alternatives.
  • Reply 9 of 14
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Gotta love it...it's a little like paying a mugger "extra" to stop stabbing you...
  • Reply 10 of 14
    snailersnailer Posts: 51member
    Wait a minute. I'm paying $5.99 every month to watch shows that aired for free a few days ago or 60 years ago, and you're STILL showing me ads, and I am also paying for cable, which I have to (excruciatingly) log into every time I watch CBS "All Access"? What a PITA!
  • Reply 11 of 14
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,302member
    I'll stick with HBO/HBO GO, which is commercial free,  and my Tivo which skips over commercials altogether.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I like Netflix, Amazon Prime video and occasionally Redbox. No ads. 
    nolamacguy
  • Reply 13 of 14
    haarhaar Posts: 563member
    Make the shows 4k 15Mbps... And i will think about it. Otherwise OTA, is acceptable... And Netflix tends to carry only the good stuff.
Sign In or Register to comment.