Latest news with #advertisements
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
WhatsApp's newest update will only leave customers feeling disgruntled
A corner of your online social world will soon get a little more annoying. Meta says it is going to cram more advertisements into WhatsApp, although not directly into our private chats. Instead, a new tab will appear on the smartphone app, which businesses will use to push paid messages, according to the US tech giant. Fair enough, you might think. The app is free to use, generating a huge amount of consumer surplus, but still costs Meta money to run, particularly with 1.5 billion of us now using it to share videos and make calls. Meta has struggled to monetise WhatsApp since Facebook, as it was, acquired it for $19 billion in 2014, or $42 per user, back when far fewer people used it. Facebook also had to settle out of court with BlackBerry, who alleged that the company had stolen its innovative messaging technology. So it must do something. But getting something for free is a very mixed blessing. Since we're not actually paying customers, we can't take our money elsewhere. The competitive dynamics that spur product improvement are absent here. Think how little Instagram or YouTube have innovated, unless faced with competition from a TikTok or a Snap. It took Facebook a decade before it allowed us to change the default WhatsApp wallpaper from green – which is more time than it took for America to send a man to the moon. WhatsApp has previously angered users with its new AI feature which it previously described as 'entirely optional' – even though it cannot be removed from the app. The Meta AI blue circle with pink and green in the bottom of your chats screen can't be suppressed. It triggers a chatbot designed to answer questions, but it has drawn criticism from users who don't want it and cannot remove it. WhatsApp performs a basic communications utility, and would have been one if not for the remarkable stupidity of the incumbent telecommunications companies. Even when privatised, these giants retained the risk averse mentality of the state owned telecoms they once were. They reacted with suspicion to 'over the top' internet services like WhatsApp and Skype. Even though their engineers were building an all-internet core, the beancounters and executives couldn't let go of their legacy business models, which racked up lucrative profits from termination fees, video charges and picture messages. Once they decided they had to compete with OTT services, they couldn't agree how to. So instead of making a little, indirectly, they got nothing. And they must still carry all the traffic we generate, to boot. The absence of digital property rights also means we can't price our personal data – and with no free market where it can be traded, the price is set by the incumbent middleman, which is Google and Meta. So don't grumble when you see an ad pop-up when you're in a chat – that's what a broken market looks like, run by tech giants who have become as complacent as the telecoms they usurped.
CNET
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Amazon Prime Video Now Showing Nearly 6 Minutes Per Hour of Ads, Double What It Was
Amazon is now showing 4-6 minutes of advertisements per hour on its Prime Video streaming service -- double the ad load from when the companynintroduced ads in January 2024, according to a report from ADWEEK. Amazon notified investors of the increase in ads but has not made a public announcement of the change. according to the report, which is based on information from six ad buyers and documents. Despite initial grumbling from consumers, Amazon introduced ads to Prime Video in January 2024, with ad loads of 2-3.5 minutes per hour. "We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume," an Amazon Ads spokesperson said. "While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we've announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV, and new ad formats—all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike." The higher volume of ads serves at least a couple of purposes -- bringing Prime Video more closely in alignment with the larger amount of ads shown on other streamers such as Hulu, Tubi and Paramount Plus; and it also allows Amazon to sell many more ads in relation to its inventory. It's unknown whether Prime Video will further increase its ad load, but nonetheless ads on streaming channels will be more and more a major space for revenue growth for streaming services. A recent report from subscription analyst firm Antenna noted that "3 in 4 individuals who face an Ad Choice choose ads" and that nearly half of SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) customers are what Antenna calls "Ad Managers" -- users who select both ad-free and ad-supported tiers.
TechCrunch
13-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Amazon Prime Video in India to get ads starting in June
Amazon will bring ads to movies and shows on Prime Video in India starting June 17, over a year after introducing ads in markets including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada. On Tuesday, Amazon emailed Prime members in India to announce the rollout of 'limited advertisements' on content streaming on Prime Video. Amazon originally announced in October that it would serve Prime Video ads in India starting sometime this year, without sharing specifics. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that Amazon is also introducing an ad-free Prime Video add-on at an introductory price of 699 Indian rupees (roughly $8) a year or 129 Indian rupees (roughly $1.52) a month that Prime members will be able to purchase on top of their existing membership. The spokesperson didn't share additional details, however. Last year, Amazon launched a $3 monthly add-on in the U.S. to offer an ad-free experience to Prime Video viewers. That move reportedly helped the tech giant secure more than $1.8 billion in ad spending commitments for its video streaming service. The company revealed this week that more than 130 million viewers in the U.S. are watching Prime Video with ads, up from 115 million last year. Alongside Prime Video, Amazon has MX Player in India that includes ads to help the company generate additional advertising revenue. The service, which Amazon acquired from Times Internet last year, offers a subscription to limit the ads users see. Amazon Prime in India starts at 299 Indian rupees (roughly $3.50) a month and goes up to 1,499 Indian rupees (roughly $17.57). Similar to Amazon, Netflix and Disney+ also have ad-supported plans in the U.S. and other markets.
