Another Way To Get Around TiVo Users Fast Forwarding: Really Interrupt Your Shows With Ads
from the ugh dept
Reader DEF writes in to point us to an interesting catch from Jason Kottke. At least some broadcasters seem to have taken things to the next level in trying to get people to watch ads without fast forwarding through them with a DVR: they literally have an overlay ad "pause" the TV show. You pretty much have to watch it to understand it, so here it is: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.
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Filed Under: commercials, dvrs, interstitials
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DVR
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You got to be kidding
The moment the powers-that-be start realizing that content can be monitized like DVDs without the need for advertizing revenue, people will come back. People don't have 2 or 3 hours extra per day to dedicate and plan around the tube's schedule.
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Aweful
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at least they pause
I have recorded episodes of Stargate Atlantis with advertisements for Ghost taking up about 30% of the screen. I have episodes of Code Monkeys with "Midnight Spank" at the bottom and a G4 bar with stupid YouTube videos at the top and an RSS feed.
I've taken to downloading shows from Europe because they don't have the adds yet.
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Like putting out a grease fire with water... just makes things worse
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Holy Jeebus!!!
Anywho, I have a DVR and must say at first I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But the ads at the bottom half of the screen have gotten ridiclous, sounds an everything, they need to go... I don't buy none of their crap anyway!
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Maybe fix the advertising instead?
people wouldn't skip them as much.
Annoying ads people remember, but that doesn't work
well when they can avoid them. Saturation advertsing
is annoying too.
The ads could often be more entertaining that the
content, it's not much of a challenge. Bring back
premiums and give aways, if you watch the ads you
might win a prize or receive a discount. There are
plenty of hooks available if some creativity is
employed.
The advertiser no longer have a captive audience.
They have to adjust their strategy. Trying to
hang onto the captive audience is a lost cause.
The audience has tasted freedom and consider
their time to be increasingly valuable.
Just as some of the old business models need to go,
so too do some of the old advertising models.
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Luckily Have Not Seen This Yet
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TBS is a terrible station
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http://www.custompcmax.com
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it may sound harsh...
Read a book.
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Ads Encroaching onto Regular programing
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How soon before...?
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Commercial TV
I literally no longer make a point of watching a single TV program. Not that I don't watch TV, but as soon as the commercials start, I am off to the next channel. (Yes, I realize that may be obnoxious for those watching with me, but since I am single, not too many worries).
Or better yet, I will watch a movie on DVD or On Demand.
Commercials are killing TV, and rather than trying to remedy that, networks just make them MORE intrusive & prevalent!
Talk about short term thinking.
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How soon before...?
I'm also tired of frame-pop-ups that prompt me to thumbs-up if I want to learn more about... well, its almost always penis drugs. Large ads appear in the TiVo menu as well, so it is only feasible that somehow the ad firms will find new and sickening ways to force me to watch their ads. I expect that there will be 10-15 seconds ads that freeze the show you've fast-forwarded back to, as you hit "play", before TiVo continues. There will be no escape.
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Intrusive adverts
P.S. I use the hell out of my library card. Books = No Ads!!
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However....
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same reason I don't rent dvds anymore
now I go to the dvd rental shops only to see what I need to torrent on the weekend.
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Overkill
If commercials were more interesting, they would be watched more. I like watching interesting one.
Robert
http://www.thebestdwidefense.com
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Sigh
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and, what about 30-second skip?
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Re:
How do you play your Wii?! TVs are still good for DvDs/etc.
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Re: However....
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Re: Commercial TV
If you're actually interested in watching TV, I recommend a DVR. You can watch the shows you want to watch from start to finish without watching the commercials. Or if you're not that interested in TV, I recommend not watching it at all. :-)
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so read
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note what the commercial was
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Pathetic.
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Just like popups - there will be a way around this too...
However, TV is different. It is expensive to advertise, therefore TBS is trying this with their own internal advertisements. I know they will get such negative feedback that they will not be able to offer it to other companies. As I said before, Internet popup advertising is cheap, with an extremely small click through rate, never mind the insanely small conversion rate, but it's cheap - so in the end it is economically feasible, but TV is different. It is more expensive, there would not be enough people to buy a product with this type of advertising.
The only type of advertising that really works our products & services that integrated in the TV show. For example, showing (and giving away) free GE appliances on Top Chef to the winner of a challenge. If anyone saw the new Knight Rider movie you undoubtedly saw the amount of advertising from Ford that was not only shown during the commercials but integrated in the movie. Ford went so far to put in specific writing in the movie script. They discussed that KITT was actually running on gasoline, and KITT told him he wasn't running on another fuel because (I'm paraphrasing now) - sometimes simple is better.
Yes - I hate this new form of "paused" advertising but I guess they have to at least try it out. It wont' get very far.
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Re: so read
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TV is a commercial medium
A recent move left me without cable television. Initially, this was due to cost - how the hell can they charge these rates [Rogers Cable in Canada] to deliver content that they already get paid for?! Since making that decision, I haven't even thought about getting cable.
There's still good television content being produced, but it's so rare that I'm missing nothing by not being able to receive it live and subsidized.
Sad, though it is - television has always been an ad-supported medium. 'This hour of the Steve Allen show is brought to you by Wheeties". Programming used to be shill first, entertain second. Of course, it was so novel, people ate it up.
Well, times have changed - so should business models. Until then, they'll get little from me... now where'd I put my keys? I want some wheeties!
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Commercials thing of the past
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Continuance: Ads = Content
I warned you that if Corporate America finds a way to "merge" the two, consumers lose and this example is perfect.
(Who's willing to sit and FF these snippets all show long? I sure won't! I'll simply find something else to watch.)
And it's going to get worse. If you think those ad overlays that take up 1/3 (or more!) of the screen are bad, just wait. Eventually you're going to start seeing split screen displays where ads run CONCURRENTLY with the show.
Try fast forwarding that.
Note: Currently, the latest trend is to start a program .5-1 minute later than expected start times to push more ad space and to throw off DVR scheduling, more often cutting off the end of shows. NBC is notorious for this and ABC has caught on real damn quick. Not sure about CBS as I never watch the station enough (Big Bang Theory is it).
Moreso, cable stations are also doing this but worse: They're literally cutting parts of the show to shove in more advertising space.
Oh, and for those who are interested in watching A&E's new adaptation of "The Andromeda Strain", I recommend you do so via On Demand.
The show is only 3 hours (ad free!) but if you DVR it, you'll endure 1 hour of commercial fast forwarding.
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Re:
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Boycott Target Practice
Should you be boycotting the shows you mentioned, which were advertised using the banners? Or should you be boycotting the network that chose to advertise it that way?
Seems that in your case, it should be the latter. It's not the shows' fault, but the channel's.
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Re: so read
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WTF, TBS?
I love Family Guy, but I will *NOT* watch TBS any more, nor will I even try watching "The Bill Engvall Show". How's that for advertising, TBS?
First "half hour" shows are constantly getting shortened to fit more commercial time. How long is a "half hour" show now: 17 minutes? 15 minutes?
Then, networks have to "overlay" commercials for other shows in the lower part of the screen. First, it was a sliver of the screen, but now it has be at least 1/3 of the entire screen!
Then, channels like the Discovery Channel use 10% of the screen on the right to show a rocket blasting off. If the network is going to cover 40% to 50% of the screen, just cut the show and run a commercial instead.
But what is up with TBS? They use both of these "techniques", but they also bleed the end credits of one show into the opening credits of the second show. This, of course, further shortens the show and opens up room for more commercials!
Geez, why don't they just put us out of our misery and show 30 minutes of commercial??
As for the Knight Rider "movie" a few months ago: I don't even consider it a movie. It was some kind of a story to interrupt the commercials. Literally (and yes, I timed it), every 9 to 10 minutes, there would be another commercial break. So, just about the time you were getting back into the story... yep, another commercial.
And like the above posters said, Knight Rider was such a shill for Ford, that it was basically like watching a long GM commercial. The only thing missing was an actor saying (while in character) "Buy this Mustang with KITT accessories at your local GM dealer. Financing is available!"
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Did EVERYONE miss the big problem here?
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you could
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intrusive
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Ads on TV OVER THE CONTENT
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Oh yeah
So give it up morons!
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TV very educational
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Re: WTF, TBS?
SACRILEGE!
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