ABC Says People Wouldn't Mind If TiVos Can No Longer Fast Forward
from the did-Jamie-Kellner-get-a-job-there? dept
It was about four years ago that Turner Broadcasting's chief, Jamie Kellner, made his famous statement about people who channel surf during commercials or who go to the bathroom are "stealing" television. He was eventually ousted from Turner, but it sounds like his spirit lives on at ABC. Slashdot points out that ABC TV execs have been talking about ways to ban people from using their DVRs to skip commercials. Of course, if they did so, they'd probably have to license the patent from Philips. What's amazing is that ABC execs actually think this is a reasonable strategy. In fact, ABC's head of ad sales actually claimed that consumers don't really care about the commercial skip feature:"I'm not so sure that the whole issue really is one of commercial avoidance. It really is a matter of convenience--so you don't miss your favorite show. And quite frankly, we're just training a new generation of viewers to skip commercials because they can. I'm not sure that the driving reason to get a DVR in the first place is just to skip commercials. I don't fundamentally believe that. People can understand in order to have convenience and on-demand (options), that you can't skip commercials."Apparently, he wasn't paying attention to the backlash Philips got just for patenting this idea (even with no intention of making a product). How many times does it need to be said that pissing off your users is the worst way to build a business these days -- especially in an age where there are many, many, many more choices for someone's time and attention?
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i use Sage TV as my PVR and I don't even have to ffw, it has a plug-in that identifies commercial segments and automatically skips over them during playback. even if i watch something "real time" i start watching 20-30 minutes late, so i can skip commercials and end up at the end of the show at the same time...
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what the f...
Am I the only person that remembers that most VCRs had (have) a commercial skip button that essentially does the same thing, only lo-fi? That wasn't attacked by the network hoo-dee-doos was it?
Hey, ABC (and other network wanna be's); stop wasting my time and start doing product placements. I barely watch your network anyway, so what do you have to lose?
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Re: what the f...
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On principal, I don't mind commercials
Having said that, advertisers really need to improve their standards. I’ve seen funny, entertaining commercials. They can be done. But most just leave me fast forwarding through them, as they are hideous. When you have a live, captive audience, maybe you can get away with it. Now, you simply can’t.
And regardless how good the commercial is, if you show it 10 times in an hour long show, people are going to hate it by the end.
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Re: On principal, I don't mind commercials
2) TiVo customers pay still more.
3) No matter what they may think or say to the contrary, Network execs cannot MAKE you watch their ads.
Look what happened when theaters started advertising before the movie... people started deliberately turning up late to avoid them.
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Re: On principal, I don't mind commercials
Now viewers have choices. Many watch cable TV and won't watch the broadcast networks at all. I go even further, I don't watch the boob tube at all - ever. If I want entertainment, I go to the theater. But most folks have VCR's and/or TiVO's and programming choices that don't include commercials like HBO. The point is THEY get to decide what they want to pay for and what they don't want to pay for.
The old-school networks are in the same sinking ship as the old news media rags like the New York Times. Their audiences are shrinking and they haven't a clue what to do about it.
One last point. If you think for one second that the advertisers are paying for commercial time - take a basic business course. They pass that cost on to ... guess who? That's right - you and me. And the advertisers don't really care if you saw their ad or not. You still get to pay for it in the increased price of their products.
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Re: On principal, I don't mind commercials
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Re: On principal, I don't mind commercials
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Re: Re: On principal, I don't mind commercials
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The main issue though is how many commercials they inundate us with now. A 60 minute show now has 40 minutes of content and 20 minutes of commercials. It's ridiculous. If it was something more reasonable like 5 minutes of commercials in a 60 minute show then I would maybe not bother with skipping them. But there's no freakin way I'm spending 1/3 of my time watching commercials.
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My wife and I HATE watching "live" TV - if we have to watch commercials now, we'd rather not watch the show at all.
Move to a different model - one that's not 50 years old ... look at The Apprentice - the whole show is about corporate sponsorship - how much do those corporations pay to have the Apprentice teams do this or that for them.
Here's an idea - sell TV shows the same way you sell pay per view movies. I'll pay a couple bucks to watch Lost. I don't give $.02 about the other 22 prime time ABC shows.
Good shows = $$.
ps. Take away my fast forward, I forget to watch your network at all.
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Ford to eliminate the trunk.
This is ridiculous, of course, and illustrates that ABC's "Ram it down consumers' throats" actions will only work if the other networks push it, too. If the other networks do not do this, ABC's ratings will plunge. If they do, we will be stuck. It's fine to say "I won't watch," but the vast majority of weak sheeple will watch. And so will you, probably.
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Re: Ford to eliminate the trunk.
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Re: Ford to eliminate the trunk.
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I hate commercials...
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It's particularly laughable coming from ABC...
Not "specials", you understand, but just several ad breaks in a half hour comedy spot to remind you that comedy show is on every day - in fact, you're watching it now! (Or at least you would be if the d*mn commercial would end...)
So, as far as they are concerned, skipping over reminders that the show you're watching is likely to be on tomorrow too is "stealing television". Boo hoo.
Their most infamous moment was a couple of weeks ago when they managed to slip two ad breaks into "Commander in Chief" *before* the titles!
Thank G*d for my PVR.
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is this guy on drugs?
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This statement would be true IF the DVR didn't have a fast forward button already, and/or if the DVR was given to the viewers for free. Otherwise, it is not so much a trade-off as it is "We're going to take this away from you and you don't get anything out of it"
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Well said, Coward!
I agree that the "main" reason people buy DVRs is not for the ability to skip commercials, but once you have it, it's difficult to give up. I even had to have it on radio, that's one reason I got Sirius: it also rewinds and fast-forwards.
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Re: people like you frighten me
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Purpose of TV
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Re: Purpose of TV
I don't know where you're from, but I'm moving there. It's cheap! I pay $5600/year. :-)
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Re: Purpose of TV
$50/mth for ABC??? Yeah, right. Evangeline Lilly in a weekly lesbian orgy wouldn't be enough to justify that price tag.
But to your point though, I'd be perfectly happy to see commercially sponsored TV gone forever and only have paid content. I have no problem paying for HBO (and it costs a lot less than $50/mth, BTW) because I think the quality warrants the cost. Better yet, give me a pay-per-episode option too. Channels with a lot of good content will get my monthly fee. Others that have mostly crap with one or two good shows I'll just pay for those episodes.
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Re: Purpose of TV
Speaking of Philips /Norelco I personally have found their http://shaveanywhere.com campaign hilarious! I have never seen a Shave Anywhere commercial on TV, (mostly because I have stopped watching regular TV...the only thing we watch these days is HBO and I still have to pay for those incompetent-every-other-show-is-a-"reality"-show that come in basic cable) and I don't even know if they have one.
I agree with Mike, "...advertisers need to improve their standards." Execs shouldn't be dictating the technology.
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Dear ABC:
The two main reasons I have a recording device is that life is too short for your damned commercials (back when I bought my VCR, I chose a model that would mark and skip commercials automatically, and if I can ever find a DVR that does that, I will buy it), and I like being able to time-shift so that I can watch the very few obscure things that I'm actually interested in. I can easily live without your service -- in fact, my satellite service went out of order sometime back, and I didn't notice for a week. When I discovered that I wasn't getting any signal, I called tech support, and then went back to my reading.
And when I can't skip commercials, I won't bother watching at all.
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commercials on TV
Although there are more and more channels and more and more ads, tv quality has been declining - in part to entice viewers to watch more ads. I think they can only save themselfs by reversing the trend - show less ads and charge more for each ad and keep content independent from advertisement (i.e. no one-laugh sit coms).
Ok, I know that is not going to happen, so four years ago I gave up on TV and started watching just DVDs. The picture quality is much better (we got a projector hooked up to an AIW card 1024x768 on 7'x5' screen), 5.1 sound, no ads and best of all I get to watch what I want.
Oh, and with less remote control convenience by hunting down those dvds I actually get to spend much less time in front of the screen, which is great.
News, info and sports are all on the internet much better then on TV nowadays and I save the money for cable, too.
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Its not Stealing When...
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Forget ABC
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New Business Model Please!
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Re: New Business Model Please!
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screw abc
then last year i moved in with a girlfriend who insisted on having tv, so we got direct tv with a tivo. i do watch a bit more tv now, but ONLY because i can skip commercials easily. (and we're talking mostly discovery channel and the family guy because it rules)
on the very rare occasion that a show comes on right when im home and willing to watch it, i'll specifically put it on pause, then find something to do for 10-15 minutes just so i can still skip commercials throughout the episode.
i know that i am not alone in this...you take away fast forward and i'll be happy to get my tv in dvd episodes again.
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TIVO and ABC
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This is all about money and product exposure.
I personally don't even watch tv because for the most part it is all one big "plug" for something or other.
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hmmm, maybe a new wave of patent trolls?
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Re: hmmm, maybe a new wave of patent trolls?
i dont know the patent system that well, but perhaps we could start trolling it in order to make patents on potentially crippling tech in order to keep people from making it.
^ That is genius!! I don't really know the patent system either, but its a good start! We can be Rich!
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No worries
The rest of us will ALWAYS have a FF button, because we are willing to pay for them, even when someone is trying to elimiate it.
And listen to the warnings well, because you just might create a world where advertisers get desperate -- who really wants to watch "The McDonald's Dodgers vs. The Burger King Yankees" -- not that baseball isn't boring enough.
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Then commercials crept in.
Then it was extra premiums like HBO. I still see commercials, but mostly about HBO information. Believe me, i know when the Sopranos were on, I did not need to be reminded every 20 minutes.
This is a small reason why I love soccer. Uninterrupted TV. 45 minutes and extra time of soccer and nothing but. Maybe there's a slogan in a corner showing this 45 minutes provided commercial-free by Adidas, or Budweiser, or Kia and that works and I'll drive to the store in my KIA Optima and walk to the counter in my Adidas sneakers and buy...well milk. I don't care for beer at all. Those frogs were funny though.
So this makes it seem to me that TV is affordable without product invations. Discreet, clever, rare drop ins about a product work. And these companies can spend less on advertising, which make the products cheaper...or horde a little more profit from that department instead.
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Right! And no one will mind riding bicycles everyw
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tivo
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Pop ups
I watched the Daytona nascar race last week and timed how much of the race I was able to see. They showed 35% of the race and the other 25% was commericals.
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Re:
Marketing and advertising works - learn about it; it's pretty interesting.
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Pop ups
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They need to make money somehow. If products start to undercut their main source for revenue we will see WORSE TV. That sucks considering the level it's currently at anyway.
Use the MUTE button... the MUTE button...
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Tivo: Long Live the Skip Button!
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who are they kidding?
As someone said earlier, I will start the recording and then start watching 20 minutes later so that I can skip commercials.
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Like I said...
"hey, I really like that Pepsi edition Toyota your driving"
"yeah, but I really wanted the Nike package, I just couldn't afford it. Hey, do you want to go to the game tonight? Big Mac Shaq and the Miami House of Pancakes Heat are playing the Detroit Pizza Hut Pistons -- you get in free if you buy a copy of Star Wars Seven, the Return of the Mc Rib.
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Skip Commercials Button
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Re: Skip Commercials Button
I'm waiting for someone to come up with the idea-I'm not smart enough.
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Re: Skip Commercials Button
Personally, I get pissed that I do not have a skip commercials button on my TIVO. The three seconds it takes to skip through them is such a hassel. How about someone invent something that records the shows without the commercials all together.
Actually, TiVo does have a 30 second skip. You just have to know how to enter a code on the remote. Google it and you'll almost certainly find the information.
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Then I will stop watching TV
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FYI
There is a surplus of the entertainment supply with all the amature generated content these days. Then, because of the exposure of each single piece of entertainment (1 numa numa song can be accessed by the entire world) the market has become saturated. So simply, entertainment has a less assumed price tag; so to the consumer, they are not getting the same value for their dollar as they used to, and by natural instinct they look for the best value for themselves. The record, network, and motion picture associations are blind to this saturations and naturally are looking for anything possible to blame for their falling stocks/value (because it wouldn't be a good idea to admit to your stock holders that they are investing in a dying industry). This also points to the fact that a new business model isn't the solution, a new business is. A new business model can't beat technology that's 20-50 years ahead of the product a company is trying to sell.
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TIVO
I SKIP ALL DUMB COMMERCIALS
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How is this different than the old days?
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AFAIAC, they can do whatever they damned well please with DVRs- I won't see the zarking commercials anyway because I haven't had a TV for over six years now and have no intention of ever buying another one.
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!!!!!
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MythTV has a commercial Skip that works
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I haven't heard a great alternative?
BTW, the make better commercials option is a chicken and egg scenario. If I was a corporation I'd be loathed to shell out for better writers/CGI/whatever to make a better commercial without a guarantee on return. The only way you can guarantee on return is to make it so that folks can't bypass your message as easily as most TIVO like systems provide. Get the problem here?
In the end, I keep reading techDirt, waiting to hear about this "new business model" that is beneficial for the corporation and the consumer. The dogma seems to be "corporations need to change how they do things completely, when it comes to ads, and maybe consumers will watch the ads". I'd love to be the marketing guy trying to sell that to the board of directors of any major corporation.
To me, seems like too many people want music or TV or whatever entertainment without paying for it. I know there are those who say "I pay for artists I want to hear or I don't mind ads" but it seems the vast majority of posters are perfectly content to go to bittorrent or morpheus or whatever and not even bother paying for their entertainment fix. The only reason that really bothers me is because although the quality of suych stuff is already barely fit for human consumption, it's going to get worse because corporations aren't going to suddenly go "let's change everything so that people will stop filesharing and ad skipping", their going to go "let's put even less money into our products so that we can make the profit margins better".
As for me, I shell out for cable TV because I too hate ads and think it's worth it to pay to not have them (or at least not as many thrown in with the fact that even basic cable seems to have more compelling programming than broadcast). I still get CD's at the store of artists I hear on the radio that tickle my fancy or I hear good word of mouth about (not as many as it used to be). That way, I never have to lie to myself and say "Im only using bittorrent to get this movie because the quality is so crappy it aint worth buying" or "Ill download all the artists songs for free, and if I like them, I'll go pay to get another copy of them at the store(yeah right)". Most of all though, I find myself reading a lot more books and online articles nowadays because its cheaper and they haven't figured out how to have streaming ads in a book (yet!).
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TV and marketing
If I watched enough tv to justify buying a PVR...I would. AND I WOULD SKIP COMMERCIALS.
Especially those stupid drug commercials where they say, "Ask your doctor about 'XYZ'" and they don't even tell you what it's for. Or if they do tell you, the list of side affect are not what you want to be hearing while you are eating dinner. And the side affects are usually worse than what you are trying to fix. GEEZ.
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Commercials aren't so bad
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I can't believe I'm reading this!
I do it all the time! What are they going to do? Sue me? Forget it.
ABC and other Media bosses: Get a life!
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Someone should remind these F|_|cks...
--Or at least that was the way it was intended. They were allowed to accept commercial sponsorship to cover the expensive costs of production, but the commercial to programming ratio is getting a little too lean lately.
Bill Hicks: "The Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts. No artistic merit, causes sexual thoughts. Hmmm . . . sounds like every commercial on TV doesn't it?"
Money Grubbing Swine.
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dream on, dream on
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just buy shows on DVD
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ABC skips skipping commercials
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Re: Bob is out to lunch
So sorry to inform you, but the big advertisers have information on EXACTLY how effective their commercials are, then they pay the networks or other media EXACTLY what their commercials are worth to them. These numbers are going down - just check the recent Upfronts.
What most of the posters here seem to fail to understand, is that the networks and the advertisers are EXACTLY as smart as you guys are, and they use the very same computers that you do, without the smartass attitude or anywhere near the same level of ignorance of the real world or credulousness.
By the way, to all of you who claim to only watch a few hours of TV per month: what makes you think that anyone on Earth wants to hear your opinion of television? In the TV world, you really do not count.
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Re: Re: Bob is out to lunch
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DVR skipping commercials
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There's no point in a DVR or TiVo if it can't skip commercials. If they're going to force consumers to watch commercials with a dvr, they might as well pirate. Or ninja... if that's how you roll.
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ABC ANAL BASS-TARDS
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how is not watching commercials stealing? If anything, seeing commericals for non-free tv is robbing you of your money by showing you commercials
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Vive le Tivolution!
When I got my Tivo, I thought I'd have more time to do other things because I could skip the commercials. In reality, I've found that there is so little quality programming that I care to record, that I hardly use it. So to me, the real solution is get rid of commercials forever by turning off the cable service, using my TV only to watch rented movies (with commercials, aargh!) and spend more of my time reading books, being more physically active and spending quality time with family and friends.
What now ABC? You gonna insert product placement in my books to keep me in reach of your advertisers? F. You!
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ABC's head of ad sales actually claimed that consu
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What's next, we can't skip the end of a crappy show and move on to the next.
FYI, ABC, it's my TV!
HBO and CNN are only a click away. Soprano's > Supernanny, CNN/HeadlineNews > Nightline.
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I realise that networks need to make money, but surely there is a less vapid alternative, especially when the current system is so clearly hated by a lot of people (if you take this comments list as an indication...).
So here's a plea to the country whose media models are being copied around the world: please leave my Internet alone and please leave my freedom to choose what I can watch alone. Thanks!
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DVD Commercial Skipping
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tv
our tv just broke, the great part? no tv! the bad part? we have a warranty so it will get fixed.........
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ABC is Right
This is true. The ability to skip commercials is an added benefit, but it's not the *reason* that people buy DVRs.
True statement.
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Re: ABC is Right
You can distort what they said in a slanted article, but the basic statement that ABC made is that people don't primarily buy DVRs for the ability to fast forward and skip commercials. They buy it to timeshift.
This is true. The ability to skip commercials is an added benefit, but it's not the *reason* that people buy DVRs.
True statement.
I'll grant you timeshifting is the key reason I got my TiVo. What you don't seem to realize is skipping commercials IS timeshifting. Skipping commercials speeds up the shows I bother to watch by about 30% on average. In addition to watching what I want when I want, I now do it faster.
The other benefit of TiVo for me is that my son is no longer subjected to marketing brainwashing when watching a kid's show. Heck, the entire freaking show is just a commercial for the merchandising now; why should we see extra ads between all of that?!
If they manage to force TiVo to disallow skipping commercials somehow then both TiVo and my cable provider will lose my monthly fees and they'll have zero viewing from my household. The drivel on ABC isn't something I watch anyhow and I can always find other things to do with my cash. Heck, an extra 7 books a month or so will just about make up the few hours a week I already burn on TV.
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I don't find myself skipping through HBO programming, but then I pay for it.
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Re:
Without the fast-forward button how will I skip some of the mundane programming ABC and the other networks put out? I use it for a lot more than skipping commercials.
I don't find myself skipping through HBO programming, but then I pay for it.
HBO doesn't air commercials in between shows you idiot. Besides, HBO only showcases their programming, which chances are if you're watching HBO at all, you either already watch or will be interested in. It's called PREMIUM CABLE. Say it with me now...
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Effective Marketing
Marketing and advertising works - learn about it; it's pretty interesting.
I think you posted that comment on the wrong web site. By looking at the comments here, it's obvious that the people here have a mind of their own, and have made it up when it comes to advertisements. They suck. They're annoying, obtrusive and sometimes even offensive. Now you to come here and tell us that we buy into it whether we think we do or not. How exactly did you determine that? Were you in my head when I made the concious decision to buy whatever product is cheapest that fits my needs, despite what their marketing budget is?
Whether or not they make you remember their company name (or even their product which can sometimes be hard to discern), isn't important. I remember a lot of commercials I have been heard before, and I usually make it a point to steer clear of those products. The more annoying the ad, the more likely I will never buy that product, and even tell others to do the same.
If I really bought into the marketing that is prevalent in our TV and radio commercials, I would currently own:
- an Ipod
- an Apple computer
- a Razr phone
- Insurance from Rock Financial
- a large collection of CD's and DVD's
- a Cable or Satellite connection
- lots of drugs to help me sleep, stay awake, be more active, focus, breathe easier, etc.
I don't have any of these things. Not because I hate the commercials they play (with the exception of Rock Financial), but because when I want something, I research the best products available in my price range and make an informed decision. I know it's hard for a marketing student to hear, but there are still some people out there who don't want to be herded in the same direction as all the other sheep.
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ffw on dvr
Just for the record ABC, If you are successful, I won't even record your channels which means I won't watch your one good show.
CTM
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Canceling Digital Cable and going back to Tivo...
Don't tell me I don't like skipping commercials!
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Re: Canceling Digital Cable and going back to Tivo
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The sad thing is...
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Commercials vs pay
Which is why...the tv networks need to come up with a way to offer both. One version with commercials, one pay per view with no commercials, both streamed and on demand. Google Box perhaps?
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Re: Commercials vs pay
Besides, I never watch TV anyways. I have cable in my room and I never turn it on... it's my parents and brothers that watch it.
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Re: Commercials vs pay
I have bad news for all you "well if they have no comercials they would charge $8 a show" people.
I get 9 channels of HBO, 8 of Stars, 5 of Cinemax, 6 of Showtime, 4 of TMC, 7 of Encore and 1 each of
Sundance and Flix for a total cost of $40 (us) a month.
All 41 are comercial free channels.
So, going by the actual money being spent in the market, a month of ABC should only cost 97 CENTS a month AND be commercial free...
When they are ready to go there, Ill meet them. otherwise Ill keep my ability to skip the commercials.
My other peeve about commercials are that they average 90% louder than the programming, you turn UP the sound to hear the show & then the commercials SCREAM at you.
Ya, Way to get me to watch your sales pitch, YELL AT ME!
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Re: Re: Commercials vs pay
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Re: Commercials vs pay
So, the people paying for the commercials are being charged the number of viewers times $8, huh? (Spread through a show, so divide by, say, 16 commercials for an hour)
That would mean that for an hour-long show, a single commercial spot would cost 50c times the viewing figures. So if a show has a 5 million rating, they're charging $2.5 Million per ad spot.
Oh, but wait... The most expensive Superbowl commercial ever only cost $2.5 Million.
I think your theory that a TV company currently makes $8 per episode from every subscriber is an overestimate at best. I don't have figures to hand, but I suspect that $1 per episode would be closer to the mark. And, for decent shows like "Law & Order" or "The Shield" I'd *happily* pay $1 not to watch any ads. (Or *grudgingly* pay $1.50)
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Commercial Skipping on TiVo
They may WANT to believe we think it's only fair to have to watch commercials, and perhaps we even DO to a certain extent; that's not going to stop ANYONE from skipping if they can.
Stephen Gaydos
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No more FREE TV!!!
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Tivo
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Nothing susprise's me..
Why? Because the american viewers have let them get away with murder for years now.
I HATE watching TV when i am state side due the commercials every 7 to 10 minutes, it's just impossible to get "get into" any program with that frequency of breaks, especially as they generally seem to be put on even in "mid sentence", totally destroying the program for me
Much prefure the english model of about 3 breaks in a hour (instead of the normal US 4 to 6), each about double the length of the normal US break, gives you time to make coffe/go to the bathroom make a tell call or see what else is on and normally they are fitted in around the program not like the US where the program has to fit around the commercials (sometimes really weird watching US programs on the BBC as it has no ad breaks as you can see how the program was written to take into account frequent ad breaks)
As to paying for cable/Sat and getting Ad's? Well more fool you, guess it's true, there is a sucker born every minute.
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Re: Nothing susprise's me..
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Commercials Schmommercials
Every 20 minutes, throw in the quick 30 second spot and no one gets annoyed, TV execs get to charge whatever they want... everyone is happier than a pig in shit.
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ABC Idiocy
1. get me in shape by spending just 3 nano seconds a week ( I do it the old fashioned way, 3-4x per week)
2. clean anything in my home by waving it over the mess
3. be able to retire in 3-1/2 days, just by following 3 simple steps
4. repeat above
One of these days the morons who run the entertainment industry (music, movies and tv) will figure out that if they actually paid attention to what their customers wanted, they might, in the long run make a lot more money..
Whew ok rant over
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ABC Idiocy
1. get me in shape by spending just 3 nano seconds a week ( I do it the old fashioned way, 3-4x per week)
2. clean anything in my home by waving it over the mess
3. be able to retire in 3-1/2 days, just by following 3 simple steps
4. repeat above
One of these days the morons who run the entertainment industry (music, movies and tv) will figure out that if they actually paid attention to what their customers wanted, they might, in the long run make a lot more money..
Whew ok rant over
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1984 !!!
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ABC is dumb
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Executive thinking, or How Big Business Wants to R
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loud comercials
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Commercials
I am not saying that it is ineffective advertising, the advertisers do what they can to keep you glued to the TV. Sadly, they do such a good job that the commercials can be more entertaining than the show they interrupt. Either way, it has a feeling of being shoved in your face - an interruption in your thought process, "What's going to happen next to my favorite character? Will he save the patient? Oh, is it the butler? What? Oh, hahaha a funny talking animated character wants me to buy something. What was I doing? Oh yeah, I'll order a pizza."
No wonder American kids have no attention span. They were raised with interruptions, their cartoons and shows with talking animals are constantly interrupted with more cartoons and talking animals.
Commercials are necessary, they inform people of what is on the market. They get the word out about your cause. There should be a separate channel for them. Or we should be able to choose the ones we want to watch from those we don't, for instance feminine hygiene products, or 15% in 15 minutes, or $19.99 wonder thingy. If cable companies had intelligent people working there, they would embrace DVR and offer commercial categories. Like a phone book, pay to be placed - can't gaurantee they'll call or even look at your commercial. But the choice would be there for us, instead of force fed and interrupting.
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dumb and dumber
NO FAST FORWARDING = NO ABC
They don't have the guts to go through with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are all talk.
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here's a new model for you
How would this work? The cable companies would provide ONLY an "on demand" interface. There would be contextual ads playing on the side while I go through the list to find something I want. When I find what I want, I hit play and the show comes on. During the opening credits, a "brought to you by" ad rolls by, say, the bottom of the screen. Who watches opening credits anyway? I watch the show and then at the end a commercial for the next episode in line comes on (because if I watched it all the way through, I probably want to watch the next one - and while they're at it, provide a link to auto-load the next episode if it's out). Again with the ad on the bottom of the screen during the ending credits. That is all.
For each minute I spend watching the show, the cable company pays a small FLAT fee to the network. So if I spend 40 minutes watching Lost, ABC gets 20 cents out of my subscription fee. The cable companies can then offer, based on the flat fee + profit, different tiers of subscriptions by time. If the flat fee is half a cent per minute and another half a cent per minute goes to the cable company, I'd be paying $12/month for 20 hours of commercial free (but not entirely ad-free) cable access. Crappy shows get less money and good shows get more money, and the crappy-ness of a show is judged by ACTUAL viewing time instead of by random ratings samples. Sounds reasonable to me.
On top of that, they can add Tivo-like features such as a suggestions list on the side while looking at episode lists and a favorite shows/networks/categories menu. They could allow people to share playlists. Don't tell me they don't have the technology to do this. On Demand is offered by Comcast but it sucks because the selection just isnt there. If everything were (reliably) On Demand, people would have no reason to be downloading things from BT or even a reason to Tivo.
Of course, many people would complain because they are used to being fed channel lineups and they wouldn't have an option to "surf" anymore. TV would act more like Google than anything else. And we all know how many people know how to "google" properly. Until the "sheeple" decide that they've had enough, we techies and semi-techies will adapt by using various DVR systems.
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TIVO
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Tivo
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Ad-free: The costs
The BBC also find enough surplus money from that to fund some of the world's most used message board systems informational websites and a news infrastructure that's considered by many to be one of the best in the world.
Now, the US has a much larger population; I guess you could do something on the same scale for, say, $100/year per family. So why don't you? ;-D
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New Business Model
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Re: New Business Model
My 2 seconds (fastfowrd those also)
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Bunch of Chicken Littles
Because the companies that manufacture DVR hardware know that people want to skip commercials. Unless there is a law put in place, there is simply no way in hell the DVR manufacturers are going to shoot themsleves in the foot by creating a box that strikes down what nearly every DVR user wants. They might as well create a box that "sometimes" records the entire show.
Before I got the DVR I hit mute during the commercials and used that time to talk to the family, open up a book, or hit the bathroom.
We rarely watch anything live now unless we are already recording two other shows :).
And even when we do watch something live, we start 15 minutes late so we can still skip the commercials.
My kids who are 8 and 10 have mastered the commercial skip as well. I think they would burn down the family room if I took that away :)
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People Pay For It Anyways
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I don't watch TV anymore anyway!
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Here's why most TV sucks now (except 24)...
What planet is this guy from? Hiring people like him clearly explains why ABC is in the dumper.
If skipping commercials is not THE #1 reason to by a DVR it's certainly #2. Enough so that NBC shifted their time slots slightly in an attempt to screw up DVR users.
I realize that commercials are the networks bread & butter and that they are desperate.
However, they need to be careful when releasing ignorant comments about what "other people really care about." They clearly don't know what I care about. I hate commercials!!! They annoy me to no end - except maybe during the “stuper” bowl.
It is time for a new business model. In a digital world almost anything is possible. If the people at the networks can't deliver new ideas to change the current model bring in new people who can.
In the meantime ABC, don't mess with us and our toys; it's not your place in this world!!! (FYI - I still use a VCR - for now)
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ABC
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Couch Potatoes, Get a life!
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marketing sales lizards to screw up tv new horizon
Nevermind the commericals that are inappropriate, as I deem, for my children to watch. Don't even think of going toward telling me what I don't want my children to see and how I can go about it: make me not be able to skip the inappropriate parts of a show or a commercial and I'll sell my equipment on ebay and go off the grid of broadcast television and listen to my Sirius satellite radio and save some money in the process. Directv would like to hear that, I'm sure.
My secondary reason for buying a TIVO was to record shows that I want to watch but am not, for whatever reason, available to watch when they're broadcast.
For the ABC ad exec to not 'fundamentally believe' that people use TIVOs to skip commercials is outright short sighted. Maybe if the ad-execs actually put their minds to some more creative thinking in making commercials more interesting then people wouldn't want to skip them.
It is my opinion that they're trying to rob citizens owning TIVO and DVR equipment from our right to avoid that which we choose to not watch, for whatever our personal reasons may be.
Shame on you, ABC, for making so much to do about nothing that should worrry you.
Shame on you, ABC ad exec, for trying to censor my viewing choices in a land of free speech. If you want to control the actions of the people who you 'serve' then go to a communist country. I hear that North Korea is looking for a few good men...
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Re: marketing sales lizards to screw up tv new hor
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you know where this is going...
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Without Advertising, life itself would be impossib
Which geographical areas will anthropologists analyze a million years from now to deduce how this major catastrophe could have taken place? My guess is landfills.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Don't let advertising happen to you!
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TV
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ABC is still around?
Jon Stewart for President!!!
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Box Seasons
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?
And besides the fact I find 75% of commercials offensive, my child should not be exposed to violence, sex, or alcohol during a commercial. So Mr. Lucas Brice, I did buy my dvr for the sole purpose of skipping offensive brainwashing commercials directed towards my kid.
And any Station period that trys to stop my capability from doing that, will just be locked out on my cable box and will not be watched!
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Why do I have a DVR?
I'm thinking of applying for a job with Ford and get in on the elimination of the trunk idea. What a gold mine!!
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Product placement and other in-show ads
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DVDs - yes they are great but SO expensive and you have to wait quite a while for them. If you want to watch it in time to discuss at the water cooler then you have to watch on TV. Not to mention that there are only 3-3 episodes of a show on one DVD. Don't tell me you can't fit more on each disc. I hate spending the time to rip and convert to Divx for easier storage. Why can't they just include a Divx version on the disc?
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