One thing with cable was that there was never a feasible way to offer separate packages with and without ads. (Yes, there were specific channels that didn't have them, but there was never a technically feasible way to do that across all channels.)

With streaming, we can avoid this because it's possible offer packages:

Price X includes ads

Price X+Y has no ads

As long as Y is something enough consumers are willing to pay, you can always price yourself out of the ad-watching category by paying more. The trouble with out conventional "freebie" internet services as we know them is there aren't enough people willing to pay the additional Y.

They are already doing that. Amazon Prime Video annoys the shit out of me with those stupid ads for other shows shown before a series episode actually starts.

It is just a small step from this kind of self-promotion to showing ads for stuff on Amazon. After all, they have my purchasing and article browsing profile and could easily try to find articles that I might be inclined to buy. I would put some bucks on the line betting that we will see something like that in the next 5 years.