Serious Question: Why does TNN have the black bar? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Dahl]

Hi all,
I too have been disgusted with the black information bar at the bottom of the screen. My question, without the flames, bickering, or complaining, is simply: why?
The people at TNN aren't stupid. They must know that the vast majority of viewers find the black bar both an insult and irritation. Does anybody have a serious answer, or better yet spoken with the station, to explain their rational?
I am truly baffled by this. I have tried to look at it from their point of view and figure out what benefit it provides, yet am unable to. Help.
Dave

 

[Robert F. O'Connor]

I think they are theorizing that people surfing by might see a random image of a show and not recognize it as something they like. If the name of the show is sitting there on the bottom of the screen all the time, maybe you'll stop and watch because you recognize it as something you like (or used to like, given the most of the content).
Of course, if that is the case, they are shooting themselves in the foot (feet?) with all the commercials they shove into their programming breaks. And I wonder how many minutes of these shows are sacrificed to make room for all those commercials?
Whoever is running this network is just shooting for the lowest common denominator and screw the "elitists" who complain. Joe Sixpack doesn't take the time to e-mail or write letters.
-Robert

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The whole reason why bugs began to be used is because when people would go to different cities or areas. They wouldn't know what station was what on the cable box. Of course, they also liked having their brand on screen 24/7 TNN's black bar is something for channel surfing, but you know what? My VCR and most digital cable boxes ID the program and channel when you switch! HOW BOUT THAT?
That said, the black bar HAS TO GO
Jeff Kleist

 

[Mark_B]

But when your out of town and don't know the station and your surfing, the time you really need the bug is during the commercials. Of course that is when it is never on. When the show is on you pretty much know what station your on.
Mark

 

[Adrian_N]

But when your out of town and don't know the station and your surfing, the time you really need the bug is during the commercials. Of course that is when it is never on. When the show is on you pretty much know what station your on.

I agree!! That's why I always thought "bugs" are stupid during the program. If I see "Law and Order", or "Star Trek", or "Dukes of Hazzard", I'll stop flipping channels and watch it. I never flip to find a network, but to fins a show. Also, I flip during commercials, and many stations have their commercials on about the same time. How many times does a station lose my viewership because they don't display what was showing? If TNN put the black bar at the bottom of the screen during commercials, that would be a great idea! But turn them off during the program so I can watch the program.

 

[Derek Miner]

You want to talk insulting?
Guess who DOESN'T get a black bar?
WWF Wrestling!!
= Derek =

 

[AdrianJ]

My VCR and most digital cable boxes ID the program and channel when you switch! HOW BOUT THAT?

Yup, but what about when you are watching on another TV set that doesn't have the cable box on it? In some ways they are nice since the death of TV Guide stations.
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Adrian Jones

 

[TomRS4]

In some ways they are nice since the death of TV Guide stations.

Bite your tongue! Bugs are always bad! There is no excuse for inconveniencing the rest of us because somebody may be from out of town or is too stupid to know what channel their local stations are on.
When the first bug was used, it was done because they could, but nobody stopped to consider if they should.
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Tempus Fugit

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Tom, I don't think it was should or could, but had to. If my memory serves me correctly, NBC copped some news footage from CNN, and did not give them any credit for it. CNN was pretty pissed off, and thus started it off.
Glenn

 

[TomRS4]

NBC copped some news footage from CNN, and did not give them any credit for it.

I don't buy it. This may have happened but this in no way translates to "everytime I watch a program there's this PITA bug in the corner".
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Tempus Fugit

 

[Anthony Hom]

The bar is there as a test to get people used to what will come next:
The bar will eventually be filled with continous banner ads as you watch the show. The goal will be to evetually switch out commercial breaks with banner ads.
I know that sounds extreme, but think about it:
when HDTV comes out, and 4:3 shows still get shown, they will have black bars on the SIDE of each screen. With digital TV they will have the ability to drop banner ads on each side of the show you are watching. At least it will reduce burn-in problem people complain about when watching non-anamorphic widescreen movies.

 

[TomRS4]

With digital TV they will have the ability to drop banner ads on each side of the show you are watching.

That would definitely get me to matt my screen!
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Tempus Fugit

 

[Jack Briggs]

But Jeff Kleist is correct in noting that station bugs exist primarily for branding purposes--and, eventually, continuous advertising. As I've asked before here, if the networks are so concerned that channel surfers know which channels they're looking at, why don't they run their fucking station-bug logos during the commercials? Of course, we know the advertisers would be deeply offended. But what about the rest of us?
Well, I'm not watching TNG on TNN. I am content to wait for the DVDs.
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[Craig_T]

"The people at TNN aren't stupid."
I disagree.

 

[TomRS4]

Would I care if the bugs were run during commercials? Not at all. Commercials are almost always a waste of my time anyway, and I don't care what they do during the commercials. It's BS that goes on during the show that pisses me off.

The people at TNN aren't stupid.

Of course they are! If they weren't, there wouldn't be a black bar or bugs. (Yes, that means any station/network that uses an ID bug is stupid, and the more obnoxious the bug, the worse they are.)
Continuous advertising? That's a bonehead idea. I wouldn't watch the station, wouldn't buy the product, and would probably write to the station and the advertiser and tell them why. It's the same for telemarketers: If you are a whore (telemarketer=solicitor=prostitute=whore) and call me up at home I will not buy your product or shop at your store.
One question: I don't watch TNN (mainly because of the bar), but when the bar is there do they crop the picture or do they mess up the geometry?
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Tempus Fugit
[Edited last by TomRS4 on October 10, 2001 at 05:50 PM]

 

[Anthony Hom]

The black bar and station bugs are definitely annoying, but what about split screen credits? All the stations seems to have latched on to those and they are just as annoying.

 

[Mike Soltis]

...when the bar is there do they crop the picture or do they mess up the geometry?

TNN's black bar just goes over the bottom portion of the picture, obscuring whatever's there.
Unlike ESPN, when they do their score ticker updates, they shrink the picture so as to not obscure any.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Also a cruel injustice is the syndicated syndicated cut (no, that is not a typo) of STNG - the digital editing of jump cutting frames in order to shorten the episode for more commercial time is annoying! There are times when everybody's movements have marionette quality - at least it's not as bad as when they ran ALICE and sped up the videotape so that everybody had verbal diarrhea...
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[Edited last by Keith Paynter on October 13, 2001 at 08:54 PM]