Everyone hates ads. Whether it's real life, YouTube, anything, really—what's more annoying than pandering?
Well, being pandered to when you specifically pay not to be. According to Dexerto, a recent Disney+ change has caused a furor after changing exactly who can see ads.
They sent an email out to subscribers clarifying a change in their policy. "Changes to your Disney+ Subscriber Agreement include, in summary, the following (though we do encourage you to read the new Subscriber Agreement in full):"
"- We've clarified that all Service Plans may include: (i) promotional content, (ii) sponsorships, and (iii) advertisements before/after playback of Content and in channels, live/as-live, special events, and any third-party services content."
To distill that from legal jargon into something more understandable: no matter whether you subscribe to an ad-free tier of Disney+ or not, the new rules mean they have the power to serve you those three things.
Disney+ themselves have promised consumers that this isn't a new provision. They say that these terms have been present before within their agreements, and "the update does not change the viewing experience for Standard or Premium subscribers."
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Internet Went Crazy at Disney+
Of course, such a change is bound to be controversial. People online jumped at the chance to take shots at Disney+.
Several people suggested that they would switch to piracy rather than face the possibility of ads. One commenter posted "Time to set sail" alongside the logo of the Pirate Bay, a popular pirating website. Another wrote, "This is why sailing the high seas will always be the best solution for corporate greed."
Other commenters explained that they'd already cancelled—and this spurred them on. "Cancelled them eons ago," one wrote. "They really have nothing worth a subscription". Another wrote, "I cancelled after their first price increase."
This comes after some previous ad troubles with different streaming services. Back in April, YouTube started experimenting on their TV port by sending out a torrent of 90-second unskippable ads.
But things feel a little different here—people are specifically paying to avoid ads, and the possibility that they might still get them feels unsavory, to say the least. What do you think?
