11 Minutes of Content ...19 Minutes of Commercials...

[rsmith6621]

....in an average TV show according to my stopwatch....not only has corporate America been able to buy political candidates by the Supreme Court ruling allowing them to contribute to political campaigns they are now invading the average television show more and more as compared to 10 years ago..

FRUSTRATING

[missheidi]

1. I know!

My mother just called me to complain about that...all the commercials during Rachel's show.

[Towlie]

13. And MSNBC uses that deceptive trick of coming back on for 10 seconds to get you to unmute early.

[mwb970]

33. MSNBC is one of the worst offenders.

I sometimes watch the clock and simply marvel: "Now there's been eight straight minutes of commercials....now there's been nine straight minutes of commercials..." How many people do they think actually sit there for 10 minutes watching 25 boring commercials in a row with a hundred other channels available and a remote at their fingertips? It boggles the mind.

Sometimes all of the news channels take their mega-breaks at once. Time for C-SPAN! The Weather Channel? HGTV? There's always something else to watch while the endless corporate ads play out on MSNBC.

[Jkid]

39. TechTV does the same thing in their original non-reality programing.

[Zoeisright]

47. Bravo does that too. I hate that.

It's gotten to the point where I'll TIVO a show rather than watch it live, to save time and avoid the frustration of mindless commercials.

[MorningGlow]

51. I haven't watched a show live in ages

Okay, except for when my son wanted to see the new iCarly last Saturday--didn't want to wait for it. At the most, I'll wait 10 or 15 minutes and then start watching a TiVo-ed show while it's still recording, staying one jump ahead of the commercials. Otherwise, I watch my shows on the TiVo the next day or the day after. Commercial-free bliss.

And I really enjoy it when my mom complains about some annoying commercial and I can honestly say I've never seen it. :D

[Hannah Bell]

19. & that's *cable*! you're already paying for it once!

[Fumesucker]

2. Which is why so many people are turning to DVRs and similar sorts of things..

As well as getting a lot of video content online..

You can't completely eliminate commercials online but so far they are much less of an intrusion than they are on TV..

[Poll_Blind]

3. I gave up TV years ago. It's just a waste of your time. The Internet is the way to go.

Give it a shot, you'll be surprised how easy it is to let go of.

PB

[RKP5637]

4. I hooked up a Roku unit to the TV for everything and have never looked

back toward traditional TV. After you have a Roku unit you realize how bad traditional TV is... roku.com

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

10. Yeah, I've got one of those too. Love it! nt

[madrchsod]

16. i`m buying a roku.....that looks really cool.

[RKP5637]

21. Yep, it is. I have the basic one and I'm always impressed with what it can do. And all

of the stuff besides Netflix. The downloads are fast and you sure can't beat the selections. Here's another site that has some information http://www.thenowhereman.com/roku/

[madrchsod]

30. thanks.....

[Merlot]

23. I hooked my computer up to my TV and have never been happier

Was going to get a roku then figured out with the right cable I could use my laptop in the same way as the roku. That and netflix and I am COMMERCIAL FREE! yippee!

[hendo]

41. Yup, i cant believe that people buy new boxes like Roku

when a computer can do the same thing and soo much more. FYI, http://www.google.com/tv/

[RKP5637]

46. I think it really depends your setup and who is there. My computer systems here are too active to

tie them up with a TV, so Roku comes in handy for that. About $60 for a Roku unit is pretty cheap.

[hendo]

68. hmm, never bothered to look into them

a decent homebrew tivo type box will run $150 - $300 depending on the amount of storage required and access to an OS.

[mahina]

62. so what programs and sites do you reccommend? Hulu and ?

Thank you very much...I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that.

You still need cable though, do you? Or you can shake that too? I sure hope so~

[Merlot]

67. I have netflix and high speed internet. No cable needed!

plus I can unplug the laptop from the tv at any time so it's still being used as a laptop 90% of the time.

[hobbit709]

31. That's fine if all you want to watch is movies.

But a lot of what I want to watch isn't available on Netflix, etc.

[myrna minx]

37. I love my roku as well.

Best thing I've purchased in a very long time.

[kenny blankenship]

49. I've got two roku

or ju ni.

[RKP5637]

60. I've been thinking of adding a second one. Roku far surpassed my expectations. We

dumped all of the premium channels and the digital tier after the Roku unit came and worked so well. Also dumped the cable boxes they make you rent. Renting cable boxes used to drive me up a wall, as well as the premium channels. Digital tier here used to be good, and then those channels started getting crappy too. Basic cable is still hooked up, but I've been thinking of dumping that and just using digital air for local stuff.

[kenny blankenship]

64. I love it, but I really hope Netflix will expand their Instant view catalog quickly

Yes, some of the greatest films are already on their list: Ugetsu Monogatari, La Dolce Vita, Children of Paradise, The 400 Blows, Tokyo Story, The Rules of the Game, almost every Kubrick title, almost every Coen Bros. title, some early Hitchcock and classics by Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges. But I need more. MORE. And soon. How about some Teshigahara, Netflix??? How about some Naruse? You've got just about every one of Suzuki's fun pulpy crim-edies on tap, so it's not obscurity that's holding you back. Nobody knows Suzuki's Tattooed Life, but you've got it - even though nobody really needs it since we have Tarantino and Kitano to know it for us. And does everybody really need to see all of Kurosawa's films, but not Teshigahara's Woman In the Dunes?? Or Naruse's When a Woman Ascends the Stair? Come on already! And why isn't every Indie DVD title already in your Instant catalog? Don't low circulation films of merit need this exposure and aren't their distributors clamoring for it? You're KILLING me, Netflix!

I'm wise to you, Netflix. I'll know you're serious when I can pick up my Roku remote and watch Pepe Le Moko, The Unknown, or Even Dwarfs Started Small, anytime I want.

[MichiganVote]

5. United States of K-Mart, tv, radio, phones,internet,mail,shopping receipts

Its impossible to get away for one fucking moment from sales in the country. Everybody's sick to death of it but NOBODY does anything about it.

[ipaint]

6. No TV here either.

If they want me to watch their obnoxious adds they can pay me for my time.

[Initech]

7. What is pissing me off is some shows are commercials themselves.

[metapunditedgy]

8. Even baseball games are on pay-for cable now. TV is a terrible waste.

I recently bought a TV monitor and watched a few hours of TV in my home for the first time in about 10 years. Sheesh, it's even worse than I remember it.

Doesn't help that sports are "legal" monopolies and TV stations are propaganda/merchandising outlets.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

9. I only watch stuff on netflix these days...

so I don't see commercials anymore. I sometimes hear them on the radio when I am driving, but I tend to switch stations when the commercials come on so I probably miss a lot of them.

[Jamastiene]

11. I remember when it used to be 23 minutes of content

and seven minutes of commercials. I thought that was too many commercials even then.

Now, I cannot watch a TV show as it comes on. I forget what I was doing and my mind wanders off. I have to record it and fast forward through the commercials. I just don't have the attention span to sit through that many commercials. It has gotten to the point that it is ridiculous.

[mwb970]

34. Are you kidding? I remember *one* commercial every half-hour.

When I first watched TV in the 50s, there was a one- or two-minute commercial break (featuring a single commercial) at the top of the hour and one on the half hour. That was it. Two commercials per hour. Now there are tiny slivers of programming surrounded by endless commercials, dozens in each break. It's absurd and counter-productive. Welcome to America 2010.

[RKP5637]

48. Yep, that's the way I remember it too... too many people have gotten sucked into

this ridiculous TV today wherein they are basically sitting in front of a TV programming them to buy buy buy. It's sheer nonsense. And I think many don't even get what's happening to them. And the Fox viewers are being programmed to be RW.

[RKP5637]

45. I don't even make it though KO or Rachel Maddow anymore as there are so

many commercials. It seems the last half hour of their shows are all commercials. I usually get distracted during the commercials and go off doing something else. Generally I end up using the Roku unit. roku.com You can also see their shows there, for example, w/o the commercials.

[newspeak]

52. well, if I'm watching a program and a commercial comes on

I usually go do something, like take the clothes out of the washing machine or start washing dishes until the program comes back on. And, if an Angle commercial comes on, I automatically mute it before leaving because I don't even want hearing her voice.

[RKP5637]

55. Yep, Angle = LOL !!! n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. That's why I hardly ever watch a dramatic series on commercial TV anymore

I watch the DVDs or...use my brand-new Roku to stream them.:-)

The advertisers have overreached, and they are losing their audience.

[SoCalDem]

27. I DVR them, and then whiz through them when I want to

I can watch Morning Joe in about 45 minutes:)

[Bill McBlueState]

14. which shows did you average?

I don't watch much TV, but I don't think I've ever seen a half-hour block with 19 minutes of commercials.

[Egnever]

15. Sadly the internet is getting more and more infested with it as well

hulu started out with 10 second commercials and now we are up closer to 30 40 seconds. Not nearly as bad as commercial TV but they are worming their way in more and more.

[dgauss]

17. Even with a DVR movies on major stations are mostly unwatchable now.

I would occasionally see a movie coming up on one of the big stations like TNT or something and think I could record it and watch it later but damn, 8 minutes movie 5 minutes commercials - even with the FFW it is unwatchable.

It makes me think of airline travel, pushing things to some ultimate point of profit, destroying the experience for most people but apparently it still adds up on some cost-benefit analysis, at least for the short term.

[unblock]

18. mrs. unblock has the whole tivo/fast-forward thing down to a tee

i haven't seen an ad in years!

but yes, they've been putting in more ad breaks and more ads in them precisely because of how easy it is to avoid them with tivo/dvrs and fast-forward and such. each ad is less effective, so they need more of them to get the job done.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

44. I haven't either.. I record everything I want to watch.

You learn the commercial patterns pretty quickly so you know how many times to hit FFWD when one starts.

[Mimosa]

20. ITA. We're getting ripped off since most pay for cable TV

I recall when cable TV was relatively low in commercials.

Now we pay for cable and get inundated by commercials. And so many cable channels show 5 year old shows over and over. And late at night about 20% of all cable channels (with Comcast) get turned over to paid infomercials. Does anybody watch those things?

[RKP5637]

54. It seems like here at late late night just about every channel has an infomercial on. I think

I've only watched an infomercial once. I just can't believe people sit around listening to these things late at night, but some must otherwise they wouldn't be doing them, I guess.

[Divine Discontent]

22. yikes! and, I deleted a whole slew of Ipod free apps after I made the bad choice of "updating" them

only to have nearly every app I used have a bunch of new advertisements on the screens, like google ads. So, I just went ahead and deleted them all. I don't want ads in my face.

[Better Today]

24. I seriously question your timing then, or could you clarify which shows?

I don't have cable so I watch a lot of shows on the internet, where the length of the show and/or each segment is clearly marked. Most 1/2 hour shows are 20-22minutes of content, most 1 hour shows are 41-44 minutes of content. Since I only watch a few shows, ColbertNation, the DailyShow, and a few others, perhaps I'm just not seeing the shows you're discussing.

[anarch]

25. what I find extra hilarious is that I will never, ever buy any of the crap that's being peddled

I actually sort of enjoy some of those car insurance commercials (more than some of the shows they interrupt), but I've long since given up hope that I'll ever be able to afford to buy a car, so I don't need their product.

And then there's all those car commercials...

And a bunch of mysterious commercials for various medications that I certainly couldn't afford, even if I "needed" them...

I haven't been able to afford anything much beyond the bare necessities for a long time now, and I'm one of the lucky ones who has a job. What's going to happen when the middle class is done dying off, and nobody but the rich can afford anything at all? Even more commercials, probably.

[RKP5637]

53. Yep, I've often wondered the same thing. Who eventually is going to buy all of

this endless crap, and much of it is pure crap.

[yellowwood]

26. Stop Watching TV News

Truly. You will be surprised to learn that your mood changes.
TV news, even the better ones, shape your attention. They tell you what's important. And isn't it almost negative?
I get the news I need from the Internet and NPR, and I choose the content.
Seriously, I recommend a TV news furlough.

[Codeine]

28. You need a new stopwatch.

I've never encountered any program with anywhere near that ratio of ads to content.

[hayu_lol]

29. Gave up on tv over 20 years ago...

don't miss it at all.

Ads, right here on DU are miserable. At this time, multiple ads feature the Repugnant candidate for OR governor...Dudley. Why does DU allow Repugnant ads?

[Codeine]

43. DU doesn't control the ads. They are fed in automatically.

Use Adblock or - even better - donate a few bucks and you won't see ads.

[DCBob]

32. stop watching that crap.. it will turn your mind into mush.

The effect of watching repetitive TV adverts is much like brainwashing.

[lunatica]

35. Pretty soon they'll have one little corner for the show and the rest for commercials

[RKP5637]

57. LOL !!! I've said similar many times. On some news shows now the bottom and

top of the screen is filled with useless crap.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

36. We invested in a DVR, you know, to record movies and watch at a later time,

now I record a lot of shows I watch.

[superduperfarleft]

38. Why is that surprising? You think TV shows are there to entertain you?

No, they're there to distract you so that you'll watch the commercials.

[jpljr77]

40. Echoing: you're wrong. Either you mistimed, mistyped, or are fibbing.

Also, you can thank "corporate America" for the free TV content. Even if you don't have cable, all you have to do is pay $150 for a TV (with a digital antenna, of course) and you have free entertainment/news/information. If you want to invest $500, you can get it all in HD.

Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

[ThatsMyBarack]

42. I invite you all to join me at....

http://forums.commercialsihate.com/

See ya there! :hi:

[RKP5637]

59. +1, n/t

[felix_numinous]

50. All the interruptions, loud volume and flashing lights

really affect my brain function--Gods I sound like an old fart here: "These newfangled machines give me a headache!!" --But I really do value my long attention span and have noticed better sleep, less anxiety and feel more informed since I shut off cable TV.

[Taitertots]

56. What shows? That is not right for the shows I watch

I know because I get the DVD box sets. I have not seen a single show that was under 20 minutes of show for a 30 minute time block.

[mwb970]

65. They don't always show the whole program on TV.

After watching Columbo episodes on A&E and other channels for years, I finally got the box sets. Every episode had footage I had never seen! It seems that they carved out space for more commercials in syndication by eliminating parts of the program. What a scam!

[Matariki]

58. Simple solution: TURN OFF YOUR TV.

put in a video or catch stuff on the interwebs. Easy.

[ThatsMyBarack]

66. No....

I just want TV like it used to be.

[Liberal In Texas]

61. I see you've noticed the effects of deregulation.

It didn't used to be this way. There were strict rules about the number of commercials minutes/hour the frequency of breaks, the length of a break the number of spots in a break, etc.

Thank a repuke because that's where it all came from: DEREGULATION.

[mahina]

63. My French prof, who moved here recently, said he was stunned

at how much advertisements there are on our tv programming.

I guess other parts of the world don't have this problem, or not to the degree that we put up with.

We pay for the cable, then we pay with our time to be interrupted...and WE are the product that is being sold to advertisers!

Not good!