Skipping Commercials is Stealing ha ha ha (1 Viewer)

[Robert Ringwald]

I'm just shocked at how much time commercials take up now.

in 1994 when My So Called Life was on, the episodes ran about 47:30 - 48:00 minutes long. Look at the hour long shows now. 41:50-43:00 on average.

At this rate, in thirty years we'll tune in for 10 minutes of The Simpsons 42nd Season, and 25 minutes of Buffy re-runs....

 

[Brian Lawrence]

I don't think the advertisers need to worry too much, I would say that most people still watch their favorite shows as they are airing. Sure some of us use various methods of time shifting which allow us to zip through the ads, but their are a great many people whom still have their VCR clocks blinking at 12:00

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

I dunno, talk to Lloyd.

 

[MickeS]

Brian, I agree. I do that when I'm taping something else on another channel, like on Thursdays I taped "Friends" and watched "Survivor". That doesn't make it any better, should they piss people off just because they can? It's like they're pushing the limits constantly just to see how much we can take. In the end we'll be happy when there's "only" 45 minutes of ads in an hour.
Jason, I'm not advocating that there shouldn't be advertising. It's an integral part of the financing system for TV and all other medias, and I think it works. The thing is, it's really starting to go too far. Did you see the ball drop on New Years Eve? In that case, you no doubt saw the huge "Discover card" sign right under the ball. Good advertising? In one sense, it was probably a good return on investment. In one sense, I think many people felt as disgusted as I did. Couldn't they have waited til the ball was down? Couldn't they have turned it off right as the ball was ascending? No, their greed was bigger than their willingness to let at least one second of that event be advertisement free. It's all about the bottom line. "Sure, we piss people off by having 17 minutes of advertising in an hour, but hey, we make 2.1% more money that way".
I also don't believe that TV would all of a sudden become much worse if there was less advertising. Has anyone noticed an increase in quality when advertising increases? Does anyone think "Friends" is better now than when the cast and the writers were paid much less? (Sorry for picking on "Friends", but it's such a good example ).

 

[Kevin M]

Not to sound callous, but who cares? That's the networks problem, not ours

Yes, but with the oncoming Digital revolution we may see Broadcast & Cable Networks having more control over what we can & can't fast forward through...at least if they get their way in the courts and the political arena, look at what they are currently attempting (and, it seems, succeeding) with HDTV broadcast "recordability" that flies in the face of most home recording rights.

 

[Travis Hedger]

If skipping ads is stealing then I must be a master criminal.

I watch TV for the shows, not the Ads for Oxi Clean or Lesko's free government money.

Since before I had Tivo, (read 5 days ago) when a commercial came on I would either go get something to eat, go to the bathroom, check email, open a book/magazine and not pay attention to them. Is that considered stealing as well?

Also, since I PAY for satellite, how would skipping commercials be stealing?

 

[BobV]

This is how I see it... I am giving the networks the privilege of having their show on in my home. I am giving them the privilege of offering advertizers the capability to showcase their product in my living room. I retain the right to take that privilege away whenever I deem so, at my whim and decision.
If anyone's stealing, it's the networks, only I'll be nice and call it 'taking what I've given them'.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Make the commercials entertaining, and I'll watch them!

BTW, anyone seen that new Miller Lite ad with the 2 guys on a double date with 2 incredulous ladies, and all the guys can talk about is busty ladies getting into fights over "Great Taste, Less Filling"?

 

[Ken Chan]

Yeah, funny commercial, and in widescreen too. "Let's make out!"

Does anyone think "Friends" is better now than when the cast and the writers were paid much less?

If they weren't paid more, there wouldn't be any more Friends; it would have ended after the second season (or whenever).
What economic model do you suggest? Actors and athletes should say, "No, I make enough money. Turn whatever extra you would have given me into [whatever] so that you can keep the costs down." I'm surprised the internet reaches your planet
//Ken

 

[BobV]

"I am giving the networks the privilege of having their show on in my home"

"Yeah, but don't you also get some entertainment value out of those shows?"

Irrelevant. The TV show is only a medium to entice me into watching the ad. I've given them the privilege to try to entice me. If I decided to watch their TV show, and hence give them a market for the ad, my not watching the ad does nothing but negate their advantage of the market of my living room. They then have a decision to make... is it worth it spending the money to keep my 'living room market'?

 

[MickeS]

Sort of, yeah. It would be pretty refreshing to see someone say "No, I actually think $500,000/week is enough, I like this project enough to do it for that". It would also be refreshing to see the studio bosses say "Take a hike. We'll create something new instead". If "Friends" had ended after the 3rd season because they refused to pay more, there would have been some other show we'd have watched.

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

"Squeezing" the credits over to put in more ads is stealing credit from the people who actually worked on the show.

Placing ads and logos at the bottom of the screen (and squeezing the credits) during a show is stealing screen space from me, too.

 

[RobertW]

and cancelling my favorite shows is stealing my entertainment away from me as well.

 

[Kevin M]

and cancelling my favorite shows is stealing my entertainment away from me as well.

Yeah, ABC has stolen so much from me in the last three years that I don't watch it at all anymore.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Geez, when the commercials come on, I usually start flipping the damned remote, but I keep seeing more commercials. I must be stealing by the boatload!!

How can you steal something you've already paid for, but choose to ignore? That's why it's called PAY TV.