CBS Uses TV Compression Technology To Get In Extra Commercial
from the caught! dept
The CBS television affiliate in Pittsburgh was caught using special TV compression technology to squeeze an extra commercial into a Pittsburgh Steelers game last month. Apparently, the technology tries to take out bits and pieces of the game in an unnoticeable way (it removes very short segments that have no noticeable change in what it's displaying) in order to add an extra 30 seconds - in which the station can broadcast an extra commercial. The problem came when viewers tried to listen to the game over the radio while watching it on the TV. Suddenly things on the TV were happening 30 seconds after they were on the radio. The NFL is pissed off because the station has a contract saying they'll broadcast the game "live". The station has said it was a mistake and they won't do it again.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Implications on Betting?
[ link to this | view in thread ]