Does MyFree DIRECTV come with a huge amount of commercials?
Does MyFree DIRECTV come with a huge amount of commercials?
We checked out several on-demand titles on MyFree DIRECTV to evaluate its ad experience.
MyFree DIRECTV may be one of the newer free streaming platforms out there, but it has hit the ground running. The streamer has an inventory of more than 90 free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels available, and on-demand options to stream as well.
You don’t need a subscription to any paid DIRECTV services to watch MyFree DIRECTV, but if you’re thinking of trying the streamer, you may be worried about the ad experience. I’ve taken the time to check and see what ads on MyFree DIRECTV are really like, and I’ll fill you in on what I saw below!
Everything you need to know about the ad experience on MyFree DIRECTV
What is the ad experience like on MyFree DIRECTV shows?
Since MyFree DIRECTV doesn’t offer original shows, I tested three titles licensed from their rights owners to make sure I had a good handle on the MyFree DIRECTV ad experience. I checked out “The Price is Right” and “Baywatch” — both hourlong shows or longer with ads included — and “Jamie's 30-Minute Meals” as a half-hour show.
The experience was more or less what I’ve become accustomed to on other streamers. A 15 or 30-second ad preceded each “Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals” episode, and then had three to four ad breaks during playback, each around 90 seconds in length. It added up to between four and six minutes of commercials per episode.
Ad breaks were the same length on “Baywatch” and “The Price is Right,” but there were naturally more of them. “The Price is Right” had an average of six breaks per episode, and “Baywatch” had up to eight, though those episodes lasted as long as 90 minutes. In all, hour-plus shows have around eight to 10 minutes of commercials per episode on average.
What’s the ad experience like on MyFree DIRECTV movies?
I ran through two movies on MyFree DIRECTV to see what that ad experience was like: “Braven” and “Hickock.” The length of ad breaks was more or less the same as what I experienced with MyFree DIRECTV’s TV shows: breaks were 60 to 90 seconds in length, and I saw six to eight ad breaks per movie. It came out to a total of around six to 12 minutes of ads per movie, which is decent bang for your buck in terms of ads per hour.
The movie selection may not be as robust on MyFree DIRECTV as it is on other streaming services, but there are still plenty of options to watch on the streamer, especially if you like a good action movie.
Does MyFree DIRECTV have pause ads?
I tested MyFree DIRECTV on my phone, and didn’t see any pause ads there. However, DIRECTV officials confirmed in November that pause ads were coming to the service, so if you don’t see them when watching now, you will at some point in the near future.
Does MyFree DIRECTV have ads with kids’ content?
MyFree DIRECTV doesn’t offer a huge library of kids’ content on-demand yet. However, when I turned on “The Steam Engines of Oz” on the service, it had the same number of ad breaks and the same types of ads that I saw on every other type of content.
Bottom line
In all, the ad experience on MyFree DIRECTV was more or less what I’ve become accustomed to on other free streaming services. TV shows had four to 10 minutes of commercials per episode (depending on length), and movies had between six and 12 minutes of commercials each.
The ad variety isn’t quite what viewers would like it to be; I saw the same ads for Cremo shaving products and NHTSA’s public service announcement about proper car seats several times while testing MyFree DIRECTV. Still, it’s not as bad as some services I’ve tried, and if you’re looking for a new way to watch free TV, it’s definitely worth a try.
MyFree DIRECTV
MyFree DIRECTV is a free ad-supported TV service from the satellite and streaming company behind DIRECTV. It offers over 50 free from popular studios, including Tastemade, The Design Network, Alien Nation, Dove TV, Court TV, and MovieSphere.