★ Apple Again Hikes Prices for Its Media Services
https://daringfireball.net/2023/10/apple_again_hikes_prices_for_services
Apple Again Hikes Prices for Its Media Services

Of the three component services whose standalone prices went up, TV+ and Arcade seem justified. News+, however, does not.

Daring Fireball
@daringfireball I think you paint a slightly too rosy picture of the Apple TV+ experience. On some shows you have four things to skip before getting to the show (Podcast ad, trailer for some other show, recap and intro). Two of those are reasonable, two are not and definitely cheapen the experience.
@chrisgascoigne @daringfireball Yeah doesn’t bother me either, you can skip the promo or recap if not interested. But try that on Paramount+ — it forces you to watch unskippable promo ads. Awful on an iPad because you can’t swipe or advance, only sit and watch 30-60 seconds of ad…that you paid for!
@delric @daringfireball I know you can skip the ads. I’ve never seen an ad on Netflix after I click play. Watching Foundation on Apple TV+ shows two ads before I even get to the recap/intro. I don’t think being better than Paramount+ should be the bar for Apple. I think it is particularly grating because the Foundation podcast ad is a still image and it gives me flashbacks to FBI piracy warnings on DVDs.
@chrisgascoigne @daringfireball If the bar is “immediately skippable”, I’m happy to have Apple jump it. I find the promos interesting enough usually.