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Originally Posted by passingbat
Ok, fair enough.
So, out of interest, and separate from any previous context, do you think all services (subscription services such as Netflix etc.) and linear channels will have to include advertising at some point in the future?
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Well, all linear broadcasters already do, with the exception of the BBC. Personally I think the BBC will become the principal beneficiary of a broadcast precept on council tax, once the licence fee becomes untenable (and the earliest that will happen will be the charter renewal in 2026). Depending on what proportion of that precept the BBC gets, it may or may not have to start running limited advertising. I think they will try to avoid doing it as hard as they can though, as the ad-free thing is their USP. Only if the BBC completely loses out on any kind of compulsory levy, will it have to re-model itself after ITV in terms of how it raises revenue.
One thing I am absolutely confident of, however, is that the BBC will not ever lock itself behind subscription. That model simply doesn't work in the UK for mass-audience broadcasting.
As for the non-linear content providers, well I believe that market forces will compel them to run adverts eventually. Once they reach saturation point in terms of subscribers, it is the only easy way they will have in order increase revenue. Services that have made a virtue out of not running adverts may hold out for longer, but they will do it eventually, and they will use customer profiling to try to soften the blow by making their ads 'targeted' and 'relevant'.