Lockout Casualty Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Cable TV is speeding up its shows slightly to show you more ads Commercial time increased on some channels by minutes per hour in the past year. It's not news that reruns of Friends aren't what cable TV really wants you to be watching. Networks make money by showing ads, and for years those networks have been looking for ways to pack in more and more quick spots to get you to buy Charmin, Tide, and Viagra. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that many networks are desperately trying to increase the number of commercials you watch per hour, sometimes resorting to subtly speeding up older shows and reruns in an effort to recapture the revenue from tanking ratings. The Journal notes that TBS used compression technology to speed up the Wizard of Oz during its airing last November, causing pop-culture writer Stephen Cox to notice that the munchkins' voices were pitched higher than normal. TBS, TNT, and TV Land have also sped up shows including Seinfeld and Friends. Speeding up shows isn't the only way networks are trying to fit in ad time. On TNT, reruns of Law and Order have truncated opening credits—once a minute and 45 seconds long, the introduction is now just 24 seconds. “It feels wrong,” Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman told the Journal about the show's “squashed” opening and closing credits. “It is not how it was shot, written, or imagined. It wasn’t meant to be that way, so don’t make it that way." In 2014, A&E averaged three more minutes of commercial time per hour than it did in 2013. The History Channel averaged two more minutes year-over-year. The changes come as cable TV is struggling to maintain viewership and fighting for valuable advertising dollars. Still, packing more commercials in per hour may be self-serving to the detriment of networks' relationships with both viewers and advertisers. Commercial clutter not only makes it more difficult for advertisers to get their message across to viewers, it also turns viewers away from the cable TV experience. “It is a way to keep the revenue from going down as much as the ratings,” a top executive at one major cable programmer told the Journal. “The only way we can do it is to double down and stretch the unit load a little more.” Cable networks have some tough competition ahead. A glut of commercials has turned viewers increasingly to Internet-based subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, and now Amazon. Netflix and Amazon have also made splashes in developing original content, with Amazon also announcing that it would produce 12 feature films for theatrical release. Even traditional cable networks have turned to delivering “over the top” subscriptions, allowing users to forgo paying for a traditional cable package and just buy standalone content via an Internet connection. HBO is the most anticipated of those endeavors—it plans to launch its standalone streaming service in March of this year. Earlier this year, Dish also announced Sling TV, a streaming service for $20 a month that comes complete with over a dozen network channels. Sling TV, however, still delivers those hated commercials, and there's no way to fast-forward through them, DVR-style. Undoubtedly, cable TV providers will continue exploring every avenue to ensure that viewers are watching as many ads as possible. http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/02/cable-tv-is-speeding-up-its-shows-slightly-to-show-you-more-ads/ This article made me think how, in a meta sense we're witnessing the spasms of a dying beast, the Cable TV. In a few decades from now, when history is written about this shift in media consumption, they will point out the petty ways cable companies today are trying squeeze their dwindling customer base. Personally, I haven't had a TV for going on six years now, and I don't miss it one bit. Truth be told, commercials are the most interesting thing on TV when I do watch it at a friend's house. It's just sad scrolling through however many dozen HD channels they have, and finding absolutely nothing to watch. Ancient Aliens, Hillbillies Doing Hillbilly Things, and Storage Wars. No wonder cable is dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Probably.. But there's so much crap on that doesn't interest me. I don't watch TV much anymore either. I watch the news in the morning for a little bit. And before bed. I watched shows like Breaking Bad when it was on. Better Call Saul now. Canucks games. And that's about it. 4 or 5 hours of my week at most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiboynux4lifee******* Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 TV? people still watch that? Internet TV is the way to go step 1- have a legit site step 2 - find a way to transfer your laptop to your tv. Chromecast works step 3- enjoy ? also no commercials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c00kies Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Probably.. But there's so much crap on that doesn't interest me. I don't watch TV much anymore either. I watch the news in the morning for a little bit. And before bed. I watched shows like Breaking Bad when it was on. Better Call Saul now. Canucks games. And that's about it. 4 or 5 hours of my week at most. My family has a PVR (not surprising), and I watch nothing on there. I'll watch the odd show (Mayday, Scam City, etc...), comedy network (stand ups), game shows, and sports. If it weren't for sports I wouldn't need cable. I know you can watch online, and I do that a lot because I don't have Sportsnet, but my computer is poop and I prefer watching on a T.V.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etsen3 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 As others have said, most of what I see on cable is garbage anyways, so this is probably a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Zamboni Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 if im gonna watch a show on tv, i just hit record and come back in 15 or 20 minutes and start watching so i can skip commercials. i never watch commercials anymore. adblock plus works great for the internet and youtube etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockout Casualty Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 I just torrent the shows. Being on the west coast, I usually watch new episodes in HD before they're shown on TV here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckofSteel Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 TV? people still watch that? Internet TV is the way to go step 1- have a legit site step 2 - find a way to transfer your laptop to your tv. Chromecast works step 3- enjoy ? also no commercials. Yes people still watch TV, I'd rather watch shows that aren't old on live TV but I do PVR them. Commercials don't matter any more since you can skip through them. "Internet TV" is garbage for when you can watch the same thing live but on a much bigger screen, Internet is only good for shows when you don't have that channel or when the show is not on TV anymore. "Internet TV" can never replace watching a live sports game on a big screen TV with surround sound on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 TV needs to catch up with the times. there needs to be app-based channels, where you pay the creator of the content (ie HBO, the New York Knicks, etc.) a direct fee for getting access to their shows/sports/whatever. Sponsors then have some sort of deal with those apps (if it's needed) that has their product advertised before or after the shows, or on the websites, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdatb Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Don't even need cable TV for anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanGnome Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Cable TV is still a thing? Jeeze, I cut the cable long ago. No more commercials for me, except when I have to while watching Canuck games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOgRook Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 What are these commercial things you speak of... Oh yeah those things I fast forward through lol. Even my two year old reaches for the controller when there is a commercial . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Internet TV is the way to go.That would be why the internet providers will be jacking up their rates and charging overage fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etsen3 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 TV needs to catch up with the times. there needs to be app-based channels, where you pay the creator of the content (ie HBO, the New York Knicks, etc.) a direct fee for getting access to their shows/sports/whatever. Sponsors then have some sort of deal with those apps (if it's needed) that has their product advertised before or after the shows, or on the websites, etc. Imagine if cable TV were more like Netflix, except with more selection. You can watch all shows/movies on demand (they would be uploaded the day of release), as well as live options for news and sports. No commercials (or less commercials), you just pay a subscription fee. You can choose each channel individually rather than in packages. This is something I would actually pay good money for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Imagine if cable TV were more like Netflix, except with more selection. You can watch all shows/movies on demand (they would be uploaded the day of release), as well as live options for news and sports. No commercials (or less commercials), you just pay a subscription fee. You can choose each channel individually rather than in packages. This is something I would actually pay good money for. it's only a matter of time, i would think? it's absolutely ridiculous to think that with sports you have live in a specific region, have to order packages, etc. through a middle man (telus, shaw, etc.) in order to watch something. it's 2015, and if i want to watch a basketball team regularly, it has to be the Raptors (yeeech), or I have to get the NBA channel, which is expensive and offers no guarantees of live (or thorough) coverage of the team(s) i want to see. i would gladly pay a monthly fee for the 5 channels i actually want, and the sports teams i actually want to follow. instead, i download everything and pay nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Building Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Just another reason that if I didn't get cable for free I would go absolutely nowhere near it. Commercials are a waste of my time. I don't care that they generate revenue, I care that people can spend over $150 per month and still get force fed 20 minutes of trash for every 40 minutes of content. How is that pilot program going in Ontario for individual channel shopping? if im gonna watch a show on tv, i just hit record and come back in 15 or 20 minutes and start watching so i can skip commercials. i never watch commercials anymore. adblock plus works great for the internet and youtube etc. My DVR is always full of stuff to watch commercial free. I've never tried Adblock before, does it work on sites like Hulu that have commercials built into their streams? edit: I just checked out the website and they claim to block Hulu adds! Thanks for the tip Zamboni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brilac Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I only have cable to watch hockey, which I cancel at the end of June every year. As for commericals, I either change the channel, leave the room, or do something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Industrious1 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 My girlfriend and I use the internet to watch most of what we like...but when we do watch TV (which does happen despite the 'omg watch it all on the net' approach of folks these days) we PVR it so that we just skip the commericals.Seems like that is what most folks would do, so I'm not sure why these companies are trying to cram more commercial time into slots that many are just skipping over anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyBoy44 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 So instead of a 21 minute half hour show they're dropping to a 19 minute half hour show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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