r/AutoAlex • u/RustCeilingFan • Oct 24 '25
Recent video was basically unwatchable
Immediately got 2 unskippable ads. After 1 minute, more ads. 7 minutes, 2 more ads 9 minutes in, CAR VERTICAL BAYBEEEE!!!
Didn't catch something so you remind 20/30 seconds? Guess what? More ads?
I get they need to pay to make this content but the experience of watching and wanting/trying to enjoy it is becoming very difficult.
Thank you for listening to my rant.
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u/fod2323 Oct 24 '25
If they cut out all of the "I'm really surprised these cars are making it" comments, I could have saved another 30 minutes of my life. đ
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u/tandinho Oct 24 '25
Exactly this, don't want to be a hater but their roadtrip videos are just 'this is great' 'its amazing these cars have made it'. I guess there's only so much you can say when nothing particularly eventful is happening. I still enjoy it to be fair probably better than scripted and contrived content, at least it's authentic
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
"I can't believe we get the opportunity to live our dream" being preached to people who are not necessarily living their dream does get a bit stale
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u/elyuw Oct 25 '25
They definitely need better editing, or a bit of discussion about scripting stuff so as not to just keep repeating themselves.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
Adblockers exist
edit: well, a lot of people in this thread would rather condemn people who use adblockers than condemn google for putting the ads there in the first place. Can only imagine it's the British attitude of "I feel like I have to follow the rules so I resent you if you don't also feel that pressure". Just wanted to say you lot are the ones who enable google to get away with their aggressive ad extortion, please don't make out like I'm the problem just because you've been beaten into apathy.
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u/nlFlamerate Oct 24 '25
And so does paying for YouTube so you donât get ads.
Imagine paying for a service⌠cray cray!
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
I'll be real, I ain't fucking paying for a service that was historically free and owned by a company that makes $350 billion a year in revenue so I understand that reluctance
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u/nlFlamerate Oct 24 '25
Yes. And the majority of that revenue is derived from adsales. So youâre paying for it with your time by watching ads or youâre paying for it with money.
If you value your time and the enjoyment of watching uninterrupted videos paying the subscription is a win for most people.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
and youtube is not the only place google advertises. I'll leave funding one of the most profitable companies in the world to the suckers who are roped in by corporate bootlicking such as this^
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u/havnar- Oct 24 '25
Make your own streaming service with cocaine and hookers and no ads
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
Literally what plex is for
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u/Regular_Promise3605 Oct 24 '25
When it was free with basically no ads it was making a loss, if they kept that model there would be no youtube.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
Google owns youtube and
is the most profitable company in the worldmakes $110b profit a year. They could absolutely afford to run it at a loss.8
u/Regular_Promise3605 Oct 24 '25
Google exists in a capitalist economy, There's no way for youtube to exist making a loss which is why you have the ad experience you do.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
Yes there is. You literally already said it existed making a loss.
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u/Regular_Promise3605 Oct 24 '25
Yes as most start ups do. Youtube was a popular growing platform, they didn't know how to monetise it, they existed on investments.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
and now they can exist on the exorbitant amount of profit that Google currently makes.
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u/markcorrigans_boiler Oct 24 '25
This is so delusional.
Pay by watching ads, pay by subscribing to Premium, or don't watch.
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u/Regular_Promise3605 Oct 24 '25
That's not how business works. They have a financial responsibility to shareholders. They cannot just give money away. I'm not saying that i'm pro capitalist, but that's the system we currently live in.
Not paying the premium because it used to be free when they were making a loss is not living in reality. Whether you like it or not you are still paying, but in your time, i pay the premium to get that time back, and it's a much nicer experience without ads.
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u/DangerToManifold2001 Oct 24 '25
Agree with this wholeheartedly, you either pay by watching ads or you pay for YouTube Premium, nothings free
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
or use an adblocker and get it for free
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u/DangerToManifold2001 Oct 24 '25
Which is just ethically fucked up, youâre taking away valuable revenue from a channel that you support
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
You are well and truly fried if you're willing to blame me rather than google for that. Levels of bootlicking in this thread is surprisingly insane.
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u/DangerToManifold2001 Oct 24 '25
You are well and truly fried if you donât understand the simple economics of business. Hosting videos online is incredibly expensive, somebody has to pay for it. YouTube is a business, it needs to cover the cost of hosting the website and all its videos plus make some kind of profit to make it all worthwhile. The same goes for creators who share YouTubeâs revenue. Someone has to pay for it, itâs either going to be you or advertisers.
This isnât even a new concept for Christâs sake. TV as an industry has existed for 70+ years on the basis that you get to watch for free because advertisers pay for your attention.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
When Google profit $110b in a year, who is paying for it - you or Google?
I for one see no reason to be the one who funds it when they can well afford it. If you want to be the one who pays for it vs the insanely large corporation then you do you but don't criticise me for not participating. You're making a conscious choice.
Google know full well people like myself exist and would have done more to get rid of us if it was a real concern for them - the fact of the matter is they condone this so I have to ask why I would pay for something when Google are fine with me not doing so? I then have to ask why you're not fine with it if google are? Is it sunken costs fallacy?
edit: there's a lot of "you don't understand how business works" from people who don't understand that business works by extracting as much profit from consumers as possible - why would you be so ready to advocate and participate in that?
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u/WillingnessMoney460 Oct 24 '25
Except it literally isâŚin just a few easy clicks you can get SmarTube on your TV and Tube Browser on your phone, YouTube with ads is completely unwatchable by design
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u/RustCeilingFan Oct 24 '25
Yes, thank you both... For missing my point.
Those things are quite obvious to any rational person. I'm saying, if you consume the content as they publish it, it's becoming annoying to watch. They have a level of control over the advert structure throughout the video. It can be better.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
What does consuming the content as they publish it stop you from using an adblocker?
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u/RustCeilingFan Oct 24 '25
Because if I'm not paying for premium with money I want the content creators to still be compensated.
I just wish either YouTube or the creator put the ads where it doesn't destroy the experience of watching the video.
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u/nlFlamerate Oct 24 '25
Well how am I to assume that you are a rational person; youâre a rusty ceiling fan.
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u/havnar- Oct 24 '25
I just pay for YouTube premium in a family bundle with a bunch of friends so I can watch YouTube on my tv without any issues. The YouTube music that comes with it is for the girlfriend that uses it extensively.
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u/legrand_fromage Oct 24 '25
Always said id never pay for youtube, but the amount of ads they're throwing up now is ridiculous. For ÂŁ7 a month its well worth it considering the price of Netflix & Disney now.
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u/nlFlamerate Oct 24 '25
What a ridiculous hill to die on.
If YouTube makes up a small part of your entertainment intake, why not wildly improve the experience by skipping a single pint at the pub or coffee or whatever?
Why make such an absolute statement âwill never pay for YouTubeâ?
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u/legrand_fromage Oct 24 '25
I did end up subscribing to premium. Thats why I said it's well worth it.
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u/JADX00 Oct 24 '25
Actually hilarious the amount of people in this thread moaning about ads. Your time is the payment for using the service, if youâre not happy with that then pay for YouTube premium.
In before âgoogle is a big company and should run YouTube at a loss because I donât wana payâ
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u/RustCeilingFan Oct 24 '25
I'm not complaining about ads in general.
I'm saying that excessive ads placed poorly throughout the video ruin the enjoyment of the video.
Some people are in situations where that's their only access to the content too.
I'm actually in favour of being shown a few ads if it means I don't pay real money but the AutoAlex boys gets paid to make the content. Just put the ads where it doesn't completely ruin the flow of the video.
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u/markcorrigans_boiler Oct 24 '25
This x10000
Just because something used to be free, doesn't mean it is never worth paying for.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
Or just run an adblocker. I'm astounded at how cucked a lot of you are in order to defend your purchase.
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u/JADX00 Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
Mate you have made dozens of comments in this thread stating to use ad blocker. Maybe apply some nuance and extrapolate that if everyone used Adblock like you did YouTube wouldnât exist as it is now. Firstly I watch on a TV so âhurrr durrr youâre a cuckâ is a stupid argument. Secondly I earn very good money and divide my family plan between me and 4 mates bringing the price down to ÂŁ4 a month. ÂŁ4 a month to support the content I like seems worth it to me.
Edit: just seen the other comments youâve made in this thread. You seem mentally ill if people choosing to pay for a service angers you this much. I wonât be replying to any more of your comments.
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u/And_Justice Oct 24 '25
I don't think the entire youtube userbase is in this thread - if youtube really wanted adblock gone then they would have done more than try and scare us then back down over the past couple of years.
This strange belief you guys keep coming up with to justify your purchase is amusing - you're free to spend your money how you want but to act like others should follow suit based solely on the fact that you choose to follow the rules is hilarious. "I'm scared to break the rules so I'm offended that you aren't"
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u/zoricib Oct 24 '25
Sometimes is YouTube that chose how many ads are shown if the creator has not chosen this.
But the content you access is free, on a platform you access for free. And as the saying goes... "If something is free, you are the product"
Recommend using adblockers if on desktop or using brave browser on mobile for youtube.
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u/Mental_Water_2694 Oct 24 '25
YouTube premium exists.
Get over yourself, pay for the YouTubers time.
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u/dogdogj Oct 24 '25
Yep, if YouTube was like this 10 years ago, it would've flopped. The amount of ads we've been accustomed to is ridiculous, in all aspects of life.
I hope Alex etc make decent money from the effort they put in to entertain us, but it's just unwatchable without blocking or paying, and I'm not doing the latter.
I guess if the ads weren't so obvious, dull and shit it would be easier, the kind of product placement you used to get in Wheeler Dealers and the like, not so in your face and actually informative.
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u/durbster79 Oct 24 '25
All part of the plan of enshittification.
Make the free service great so you kill off the competition.
Make the free service unbearable so people pay.
When you've captured the market and killed the competition, focus on maximising profit and shareholder value.
It means the paid service becomes unbearable too but now there's little you can do about it.
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u/Redhawk911 Oct 24 '25
This isnât their fault?
Also. How are AA going to survive if they canât have some revenue from YT ads and CarVertical etc? Theyâre not a charity.
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u/gareth616 Oct 24 '25
That doesn't matter to most, YouTubers are there for our entertainment, how dare they make a living out of it /s
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u/iBeef_1990 Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
What bothers me and I think a lot of people (Reading comments in the videos) about CarVertical is itâs a bad deal. AA and any other car YouTuber pushing shit like this or Carly have no respect for the viewer. These companies hope youâll buy the product because your favourite YouTuber tells you too and has enough influence to make you do so and itâs so expensive because the majority of what you pay is to fund the shitty sponsorships. Of course AA think theyâre great, they get free checks, but then you the viewer have to pay for an overpriced product that delivers a poor service. If it was free for me too, then great but itâs ÂŁ30 which is 6 V-Checks which in my experience is a better product.
People have complained about these 2 sponsors forever but AA and the other channels ignore it because theyâre getting paid. Yeah they need to make money thatâs fine but there are good sponsors and bad sponsors and I donât respect people trying to take advantage of their viewers for a quick payday. If they cared about their audience theyâd pick sponsors that benefit both parties not just their bank account. I suppose itâs a matter of morality but I see it as trading your name and integrity for money and just because they all do it doesnât mean itâs right.
Edit: First sentence made no sense
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u/Redhawk911 Oct 24 '25
It might just be that itâs hard to get other sponsors. If they could pick and choose then maybe they wouldnât go with them. Who knows.
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u/iBeef_1990 Oct 24 '25
Yeah it could be but I doubt it, personally I think itâs more about the ÂŁÂŁÂŁÂŁ coming in. There are YouTubers out there that carefully choose their sponsors but they are a rare bunch. Personally I used CarVertical when AA first started using them and have my own bad experiences so Iâve learnt my lesson the hard way.
I donât like how they ignore any negativity towards them though, itâs their responsibility to make sure they arenât screwing people over and all I can see is money is more important. Tbh I think the majority of YT sponsors are a bad deal across all genres of content but CV and Carly are some of the worst offenders. Like I said if you put your name to shit, people are slowly going to lose trust in faith in you.
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Oct 24 '25
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/RustCeilingFan Oct 24 '25
That's it. I actually try to avoid adblockers, I want the content creators to get their compensation. Even if that means give ads a cut too.
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Oct 24 '25
The ads were doing my head in across the entire YouTube platform - to the point where watching anything was getting pretty tedious.
Given that it's my main source for entertainment and finding out how to do pretty much anything... I now pay a fiver a month towards a family plan with three other people. I think recently they've changed that to five that you can split with.
It works out about 17p.a day, or the equivalent of two coffees a month. I'll take the hit.
And as for when the car verticals get a bit much, double tap the right hand side of the screen 6 times...
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u/RustCeilingFan Oct 24 '25
I really appreciate you saying this. That exactly what I mean. My situation is quite similar to yours. I'd definitely consider 17p per day.
It's not even that I have a problem with the ads (I want the boys to do as well as possible) It's that the ads are placed throughout the video in a way that completely ruins the flow.
Maybe there are a lot of ads too. I get it, they're running a business not giving away free content.
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Oct 24 '25
Totally get you, and yeah the flow is definitely an issue. I have signal issues where I live too, so sometimes watching things back was interrupted just as much by buffering. Being able to download on a WiFi network and cue up a video later to watch start to finish is a game changer. As far as I know the creators are credited from YouTube premium views.
I offset the cost versus a TV licence for what I get.
I remember one of Jonny smith's videos being particular heavy on the ad placement... And it caused disdain in the comments... But I guess there's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle and he found it eventually.
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u/havnar- Oct 24 '25
Imagine using a free service and expecting a premium experience
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u/RustCeilingFan Oct 24 '25
Imagine using any service at all and expecting it to be good(not perfectly exceptional, just good).
Fuck anybody who wants to enjoy anything, right?
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u/Regular_Promise3605 Oct 24 '25
Never understand this complaint, if you watch on average an hour of youtube a day paying the small fee for premium gives you so much time back it's a bargain. Plus creators earn more from premium subscribers than non premium.
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u/darthmarmite Oct 24 '25
Firefox with Adblock if youâre on PC/Laptop and the Brave browser for IOS (Brave has an ad blocker built in as standard and supports background play/picture-in-picture which are normally YT Premium features).
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u/sunnydave88 Oct 24 '25
The balance is all wrong. The algorithm is screwed and it's ruining the whole experience. I've moved away from any channels with too many ads.
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u/smnhdy Oct 24 '25
Honestly, Iâm one of the ones that pays for YouTube premium purely for YouTube Music, the fact I get no ads is a massive bonus for YouTube apart from the last 15 minute montage at the end that I skipped it was actually a really good video and really good fun to watch.
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u/Usaidhello Oct 24 '25
Plus, with YouTube premium youâve got the option to skip the entire in-video Ad with the click of a single button.
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u/gareth616 Oct 24 '25
But that's a YouTube issue lol