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Comment by letmeinhere | Hacker News Reader

Apparently some of these series are going to be re-licensed to ad-supported networks. [1]

I don't think this undermines the premise of this article, that the current crop of streaming execs are moving TV backward to a more ephemeral medium. It's gonna be essential for independent archivists to preserve assets that are being discarded.

[1] https://www.polygon.com/23513277/westworld-hbo-where-to-stre...

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Yeah, that doesn't make me feel any better. Generally I have zero interest in watching quality shows with interruptions by ads, but on streaming networks they're especially bad. It's not like they bother putting them in at scene changes, they just jam them in anywhere.

Just one anecdote: The Roku Channel (on their free website) is streaming Seasons 1-8 of Great British Bake Off with ads. But with an adblocker, magically there are no ads.

Also they have such terrible ad inventory that even their top-tier programming gets the same ads at each interval.

The ephemerality seems like a side effect of the underlying “problem”: Media consumers want what’s new and hot, that’s where the audience and money are.

Prestige TV imported the creative standards and financing levels of Hollywood films into dramatic television. Now, just like the movies, it’s become hit-driven.

At least HBO releases their shows on disc. Other services that only offer streaming are more concerning.

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