What the Tech: How much time do you spend watching ads?

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Many of us cut the cord a few years ago to avoid commercials. But now, whether you’re watching on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video, you’re seeing more ads than ever.

Netflix launched its ad-ed tier roughly three years ago, and it’s one of the platform’s fastest growing options. That $8 a month option comes with about 4 to 5 minutes of ads every hour.

Amazon Prime added commercials to its standard plan in early 2024, promising a limited number of ads at the beginning of a show, and 2 minutes of commercials per hour.

But according to Adweek, Amazon quietly doubled the ads, and you’ll see up to 6 minutes of commercials per hour.

Hulu shows the most commercials, around 9 minutes every hour on its basic plan, which is close to what you find on cable TV channels.

What’s so bad about the ads is that they’re inserted at awkward times.

You can be in the middle of a car chase or dramatic moment when suddenly, Bam, a commercial break.

And even though you’re paying for those services, the ads can be more disruptive than on free platforms like Tubi, Pluto, and the Roku Channel.

So, where does that leave viewers? If you want to dodge the ads, you’ll need to pay up.

Ad-free plans are an extra $10 a month on Netflix and Hulu.

And even if you’re already paying $140 for an Amazon Prime subscription, you’ll have to shell out an extra $3 a month to remove the ads on Prime Video..

And as these services look to make more money to create and produce more shows, you can expect more ads.

The question is, when does it become too much?

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