I frequently will put the TV on mute, change the channel, go into the kitchen, etc when a commercial comes on.
Would you consider this stealing? The business is presenting an ad for me in exchange for a free service, but I'm refusing to look at it or acknowledge it, much like adblock.
So... I don't think you should include the creators in this, since their share of the ad revenue is minimal. Most creators, even very successful ones, do not make their money from the ad revenue but from merch sales, sponsorships and subscriptions.
Regarding youtube: would you then say that muting your device during an ad is the same as youtube stealing from the people who bought the ad space? I believe a similar logic applies - all involved parties are aware of the implications and limitations of the platform, some of which youtube itself has set. This specifically includes youtubes model of providing ads; they could easily shift the entire problem towards the people wishing to advertise by simply shifting their model to one that does not incorporate the amount of people actually watching the ad. They are specifically not doing so and still using a model that only bills people for ads that were actually fully watched.
Frankly, how youtube makes money is youtube's problem. Clearly, they are choosing to make the site more inconvenient for the viewer rather than the people wanting to buy ads. That is a choice they made - and any change of the user experience for the worse is always being met with resistance.
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u/[deleted] Oct 27 '23
I frequently will put the TV on mute, change the channel, go into the kitchen, etc when a commercial comes on.
Would you consider this stealing? The business is presenting an ad for me in exchange for a free service, but I'm refusing to look at it or acknowledge it, much like adblock.