Ads are creeping onto streaming services that are also increasingly embracing 'pause ads' where an ad appears when you pause the movie for whatever reason.
Hollywood magazine Variety brought attention to this trend, reporting that streaming platforms like Peacock, Disney-owned Hulu, and most recently Max (née HBO Max) have adopted the 'pause ad' feature.
- "This one only surfaces when users stop the action on their own to take a call, grab a snack or hit the bathroom. 'Need a break?' asks an on-screen graphic from Procter & Gamble’s Charmin during a halt in one recent stream. The toilet paper’s colorful bear mascot makes an appearance. 'Enjoy the go.' There are other ads with similar themes. One on-screen entreaty for Hershey’s Kit Kat shows one of the candy bars in pieces and says, 'Have a break'," wrote Variety.
An example of a pause ad on Hulu. Photo: Disney
These pause ads usually do not take up the entire screen with a video. Instead, they tend to be static ads showcasing a product, occasionally accompanied by a QR code, as shown above.
YouTube has been experimenting with the format, which they have coined as the "pause experience."
Amazon and Netflix?
Amazon and Netflix are also making forays into the ad business. Netflix has already rolled out a cheaper ad-supported plans in a handful of countries while Amazon will introduce ads to the normal Prime Video tier next year, leaving Apple TV+ as the only major streaming service without ads.
As of now, neither of them has detailed any intentions to display ads when a movie is paused. However, in light of the current industry trend, it seems like a possible scenario.
The industry is also actively working on alternative "out-of-pod" ad formats that may emerge on streaming services down the line, according to Variety.
- Source: Variety
