Recently, the iQiyi app became a hot search topic on Weibo because basic members cannot skip the 120-second advertisement at the beginning of the video, which once again aroused users' attention to the video platform's advertising. Many users said that the membership fee of the video platform has been rising year by year, and advertising But there are more and more advertisements interspersed with them, and it is difficult to guard against them.
A reporter from The Paper found that although most video platforms can skip the pre-roll ads after recharging as a member, even if they recharge as the highest-level members, they still cannot avoid the 60-second advertisement after the pre-title song and various in-film ads. , barrage ads...
Some platforms separate sports channels into separate categories. Users who purchase video VIP membership cannot skip the 95-second pre-roll ads on the sports channel. If they want to skip it, they must purchase another sports channel membership.
In addition, some users reported that advertising supervision on video platforms is lax, and vulgar, vulgar, and shocking content frequently appears in advertisements.
membership fees are being increased layer by layer, coupled with various paid screenings, direct endings, and the "matryoshka" style charging of the video platform, which not only increases the cost for users to watch dramas, but also reduces users' trust and patience in the platform. Worn out.
can avoid the pre-title ads, but cannot avoid the ads after the title song
Mr. Meng is a visually impaired person and an old user of Youku Video app. In the past three years, he has recharged Youku annual membership membership intermittently. Mainly because of the "advertising privileges" function of VIP members.
"In February this year, I saw a recharge activity jointly with Youku Video on Alipay, so I spent 98 yuan to renew Youku's annual VIP. In the past, there were almost no ads after recharging the membership, but now there are more and more ads. There are dozens of seconds of commercials after the opening credits of every TV series,” Mr. Meng said.
In addition, the frequent pop-up advertisements on Youku video pages also hinder Mr. Meng’s normal use. “I usually use screen reading software. The software will read the information on the screen through voice, including pictures, texts, icons, etc. But every time I open a Youku video, a pop-up advertisement pops up, interrupting screen reading, which has a great impact on the accessibility experience of the visually impaired."
Avoiding advertisements is one of the purposes of many users purchasing memberships. However, reporters from The Paper tested multiple video playback platforms and found that there are many types of memberships. Even if you purchase the highest-level membership, you still cannot avoid all types of advertisements.
For example, Tencent Video is currently broadcasting the popular TV series "Sauvignon Blanc 2". After recharging svip membership, you can skip the 120-second pre-title ad. But even if you have an SVIP membership, after the opening song of the TV series ends, there will still be 60-second advertisements, a total of 7 advertisements, including milk powder, batteries, cosmetics, etc.
Tencent Video svip members will still see 60-second pre-title ads
In the middle of the TV series, 38-second ads will also appear. A 10-second commercial will also appear after the TV series ends and before the ending song starts. Therefore, a 40-minute TV series is preceded and followed by 108 seconds of advertisements, with as many as a dozen advertisements.
On platforms such as iQiyi, Mango TV, and Youku Video, you can skip pre-roll ads after purchasing a membership. However, after the opening song of the TV series, 15-35 second ads will also appear, and there is no way to close or skip them with one click. However, users can only skip through the progress bar. If they are not careful, they will skip part of the main plot. When an advertisement appears on the mobile phone, if you accidentally touch the mobile phone screen, it will jump to the shopping page of other platforms.
Pop-up advertisements interspersed in TV series have also troubled users for a long time.
When The Paper reporter watched the 2024 new drama "Forensic Qin Ming" on Mango TV, he noticed that within 3 minutes of the beginning of the main film, three pop-up advertisements for Weibo, scanning the screen, and drinks appeared, which greatly affected the viewing. experience. On social platforms, many users have reported that pop-up ads affect the viewing experience. As can be seen from user screenshots, some pop-up ads can occupy one-third of the screen, or even block the protagonist and plot.
"In the past, if you didn't recharge your membership, you could just watch the pre-roll ads. Now that you have recharged your membership, there are more and more advertisements of various types. How can we make people watch TV well?" Some users said that the advertisements are getting longer and longer. And it is interspersed in the front, middle and back while watching the drama, which greatly affects the experience.
The Paper reporter noticed that iQiyi, Youku Video, Mango TV and other platforms have launched "advertising privileges" for members. However, you can only see by clicking on the "Rights Description" that the so-called advertising privileges only reduce the pre-roll of the video. During advertising time, different types of advertising services will still be presented during movie viewing.
"matryoshka" style charging
"I am already a platinum VIP member of iQiyi. My children want to watch the sports competition during the summer vacation, but they cannot skip the 95 seconds of pre-roll ads. They say that they must buy a sports membership to skip. Advertisement. "Recently, user Ms. Wang said that her family has long purchased iQiyi's platinum VIP membership for 30 yuan per month. However, she recently discovered that platinum VIP members cannot skip sports channel advertisements. If she wants to skip advertisements, she has to purchase every advertisement. The "Love Sports Membership" is RMB 9 per month.
iQiyi Platinum members cannot skip sports channel pre-roll ads
The video platform has too many membership levels and "matryoshka-style" charging, which has been complained by many users. A reporter's investigation found that on the iQiyi platform, video membership is divided into four levels, namely basic VIP, gold VIP, platinum VIP, and star diamond VIP. Among them, basic VIP does not have advertising privileges and cannot skip pre-roll ads. Although the remaining three VIPs have advertising privileges, the "description of rights and interests" states that this "privilege" does not include sports video content. It is difficult for users to distinguish if they do not distinguish carefully.
Tencent Video also has a similar setting, selling video VIP and sports VIP separately. Even if the user purchases the highest level svip membership, he still cannot watch the live broadcast of the sports channel, and needs to spend another 25 yuan/month to purchase sports VIP. Or pay extra to watch each show. The sports VIP has been further refined. If you want to watch F1, NFL and other events, you need to upgrade from sports VIP to sports super svip.
In addition, even if users purchase various memberships, the video platform has also introduced restrictions such as "advance screening", "screening ceremony" and "direct ending" for popular TV series and movies. Users who want to unlock the latest plots need to pay an additional fee. One fee, layer upon layer of charges.
In September 2023, the State Administration of Radio and Television teamed up with multiple units to carry out a more than two-month pilot project to control the complex charging and operation of TV "matryoshka" and achieved remarkable results. However, in the field of video platforms, "matryoshka"-style charging has repeatedly caused controversy and complaints, but it has been repeatedly banned.
Data related to Consumer Protection, a consumer service guarantee platform under the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce, show that between 2021 and 2023, the number of complaints on video platforms has continued to rise. In 2023, the total number of complaints reached 11,942, a year-on-year increase of 98.34%. Since 2024, the number of complaints has continued to grow, and the Consumer Protection Agency has received a total of 5,884 complaints from video platforms, involving a total amount of 19.27 million.
Vulgar and shocking advertisements appear frequently
In addition to various pre-roll advertisements, pre-title advertisements, mid-film advertisements, end-credit advertisements and pop-up advertisements, advertisements that appear during pauses in TV dramas also cause users great distress. "Originally I wanted to pause to see the details of the TV series, but as soon as I paused it was filled with advertisements, and the screen of the TV series was zoomed to a corner instead." said a user who did not want to be named.
The Paper reporter saw through Tencent Video, iQiyi, Mango TV, and Youku Video that large or small advertisements will appear on the above platforms when watching movies are paused. Some dynamic advertisements will fill the entire screen, replacing the original plot scenes. Zooming to a corner, users can only manually close the ad before they can see the paused plot.
On social platforms, many people pointed out that the suspension of video app advertisements not only affects the viewing experience, but also lacks supervision of advertisements, resulting in vulgar advertisements. Some parents said that when their family was watching the TV series "Sauvignon Blanc 2" through Cloud Audiovisual Aurora (Tencent Video TV version), advertisements with indecent language and gestures would appear every time they paused, and there were certain pornographically induced behaviors. "It happened that the child was watching I'm playing next to you and you ask me, this aunt, why I'm kneeling here. It's too vulgar."
Vulgar advertisements appear when Tencent Video is paused.
Youku Video has also been accused of popping up advertisements that are inappropriate for children.Some users said that when they were playing cartoons to their children using the mobile Youku video app, a vulgar advertisement popped up in the lower right corner of the video. When the child clicked to close the advertisement, he mistakenly clicked on the advertisement screen, causing the page to jump to another URL and various dialogue advertisements to pop up. box and cannot exit, "like being poisoned."
A vulgar advertisement pops up when a Youku video is playing a cartoon, and children accidentally touch it and jump to a vulgar web page
In addition, some users said that when watching a movie on Galaxy Kiwi (iQiyi TV version) on TV at home at night, it paused midway When I went to the bathroom, a full-screen advertisement for the movie "Ghost Wife" suddenly appeared during a pause, with close-ups of scary characters, causing me to be frightened most of the night.
. A scary advertisement appears when iQiyi pauses the playback (white is the remote control covering the scary face)
According to Article 9 of the Advertising Law, obscenity, pornography, gambling, superstition, horror, and violence are not allowed in advertisements. In response to the above situation, relevant personnel involved in the platform have stated that they will report it to the relevant departments for optimization and adjustment.
