Cutting to a boisterous, tone-deaf commercial mid-scene, mid-game, or mid-sentence would have sent a 90s television enthusiast into a fit of rage and confusion. While TV ads have always been a bit disruptive, at least in the past, advertisers had a sense of decorum, protecting the sanctity of the show-watching experience with a backbone of production standards, implicit distribution guidelines, and thoughtful ad timing. Back in the broadcast days, there was an unspoken set of rules the networks adhered to, but now, modern streaming platforms have thrown advertising etiquette out of the window, hurling viewers into an unsettling loop of overly repeated pharmaceutical commercials and ear-splitting department store ads. Once-adless streaming services have created the most disruptive ad experience possible, completely ignoring the unspoken rules and etiquette of TV advertising’s past.

That is, unless viewers are willing to pay an extra $15 per month for so-called «premium service,» which essentially only mirrors the streaming experience of the ad-free, high-quality entertainment of the early 2010s. We didn’t know how good we had it back then…

Via u/Pete’sBasement