• flop_leash_973@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Once ads are allowed into a platform they will ultimately be what destroys it eventually.

    Might take a week or a decade. But the lust of that easy ad money will ruin the thing they were put there to fund in the end.

    • GeneralInterest@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I don’t think that’s necessarily true - maybe it depends on (a) the owners of the platform and/or (b) whether there are sources of funding besides advertising

      E.g. here in the UK, the BBC and Channel 4 are both broadcasters owned by the government, and both are funded at least in part by adverts. But I think both of them are relatively healthy and aren’t on the brink of destroying themselves.

      I think most of the BBC’s funding comes from the licence fee (British people pay for a TV licence) but they make some money from ads shown to international audiences. Channel 4 is solely funded by adverts I think, but it’s owned by the government and I think they have to abide by certain rules and targets.

      • Hamartia@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        In the UK the BBC only has advertisements for its own content, nothing else. As bad as its got since Tony Blair and David Cameron both undermined its independence and quality, at least there are no ad breaks in its shows.

        • GeneralInterest@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          True, they don’t show commercial adverts in the UK, but they do to other countries. People outside the UK can access the BBC website but they’ll see adverts on there, and apparently BBC America (shown in the US) has commercial adverts

          And Channel 4 of course does show commercial adverts in the UK, but I think they still make some decent content, and I don’t think they’re on the verge of self-destruction

          Maybe the real problem is when an entity is chasing profits, because Channel 4 isn’t a normal for-profit business, since they’re owned by the government, and I think they have to abide by some rules

          • Hamartia@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

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

            • GeneralInterest@lemmy.world
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              1 month 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@lemmy.world
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                1 month 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@lemmy.world
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                  1 month 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@lemmy.world
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                    1 month 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.