• @Hamartia
    link
    English
    22 months ago

    Well the distinction here is that TV license paying citizens of the UK don’t get the ads.

    • @GeneralInterest
      link
      English
      22 months ago

      But then you could look at Channel 4, which does show ads to UK people, but I think Channel 4 is still okay and I don’t think it has been ruined by ads. So maybe a profit motive is what causes enshittification, rather than just ads. I definitely hate ads but maybe ads alone don’t destroy platforms.

      • @Hamartia
        link
        English
        22 months ago

        You won’t get any disagreement from me on the corrosive effects of advertising.

        I do think that Channel 4 used to regularly produce greater content than it can now. But that probably is more to do with advertising revenue being leeched away to online platforms and the growth of its direct competitors.

        • @GeneralInterest
          link
          English
          12 months ago

          Interesting, maybe the content has changed, I probably don’t watch enough TV to have noticed. But I think Channel 4 news is pretty good, and I liked their Paralympics coverage.

          • @Hamartia
            link
            English
            12 months ago

            They’ve still got a good reputation for news. So good that after a few combative interviews with Tory MPs (back when they were in power a few years ago) the Culture Secretary wanted to sell the channel off.

            Don’t get me wrong they can still produce the occasional good comedy or documentary but they used to do so consistently.

            • @GeneralInterest
              link
              English
              22 months ago

              True, I remember the government trying to sell off Channel 4. Anyway I guess my point was that ads don’t necessarily ruin a platform if the platform has a decent purpose other than just profit… although I definitely do hate seeing any ads, even on Channel 4 or anything else.