I actually hope they NEVER do this, because I absolutely cannot stand "product placement" ads. I would much rather either pay and not have to deal with that or have them clearly presented as ads. If a teacher genuinely LIKES a product and wants to talk about it, that's fine, but once product placement starts I feel I can never trust that teacher's word on things because I don't know if she's saying it because she means it, or because she has to say it in order to satisfy a sponsor's requirements. That's a sure-fire way to make me stop watching something!
I'm with you. I'm tired of advertising taking advantage of everything. It has destroyed television. There is no truth in advertising; no responsibility, just words. I too avoid it at all cost.
I remember the early days of the free internet when it was such a wonderful learning resource. It still is if you dig deep enough, but there is so much extraneous noise now that it is difficult. Craftsy is a great idea and is done well, but that price is ridiculous.
I don't think the free market will be responsible for reducing prices. Because there is such a deep disparity in the free market, the rich keep wanting more and the poor simply can't compete. I know that first hand these days as a retired person on a fixed income. Need no longer drives spending. Excess abounds. Lots of people have lots of money and spend it without a thought.
Yet, there are still people who enjoy teaching for the joy of sharing what they know through blogs and videos, so I guess there is room for everyone.