Everything WRONG With Modern Television

[Captain Steel]

I don't even know where to start... I could write a book on this topic. (Maybe I will.)

Remember when the concept of "Pay" TV (what we now call Cable or Satellite television) was that when customers are paying for television there will be no need for sponsors and thus no commercials? That's just one issue to start with.

Then there are content issues - like when people say, "800 channels and nothing to watch."

Can anyone tell me why, in wee-of-the-morning hours, cable TV reverts almost entirely to info-mercials? Specialty channels that we PAY for, and which are supposed to serve up a genre of programming (whether it be comedy, science, drama, old-time programming, news, etc.) serve up nothing but advertising from 2:00 - 7:00 in the morning! This is really unfair to shift workers.

But one of the most unforgivable scourges inflicted on modern TV audiences is advertising on the screen DURING your show. And it's everywhere - pop-up ads; ads telling you what's on next; ads telling you what you're watching right now (instead of letting you watch it); giant pop-up banners that cover a third of the screen selling something or other; screens within your screen showing movement in advertisements while you're trying to watch the only thing that's supposed to be on the screen.
They even have on-screen ads with sound that plays during your program!!!

One of the ironies I find perplexing are network logos (some are more intrusive than others). The only time they MIGHT be at all helpful is during commercials - to let you know what network you're tuned into, and yet (and I know you saw this coming from a mile away...) the ONLY time they are NOT on the screen is DURING the commercials!!!

Modern TV has become ridiculous and I can't understand why the populace stands for it. Everything from cutting off the ends of movies for commercials, to minimizing credits so you can't read them, to covering captions and sub-titles with logos & ads telling you what ELSE is on that network.

[gbgoodies]

I agree with EVERYTHING you said.

I think they're just trying to get us to buy the TV shows on DVD so we don't have to watch the pop-up ads, and we can watch the credits.

[AdamUpBxtch]

While I do agree with what you are saying I do not fault them that much. It is a BUSINESS. There's only a few shows I actually watch on tv the night it airs, most I'll either watch online or on Netflix where there aren't commercials. And many may agree with me when I say this, TV shows are starting to become better and more high quality than many movies out there these days. While most of the high quality shows are on paid channels (HBO, Showtime, etc) and on Netflix but you still get those shows (The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Person of Interest, etc) that really do shine on cable. Television is bigger now than it ever has been so I can see why they do it, now do I like it? That's another story all together but there's nothing we can do about it, except maybe to stop watching tv but that is never gonna happen.

[gbgoodies]

While I do agree with what you are saying I do not fault them that much. It is a BUSINESS. There's only a few shows I actually watch on tv the night it airs, most I'll either watch online or on Netflix where there aren't commercials. And many may agree with me when I say this, TV shows are starting to become better and more high quality than many movies out there these days. While most of the high quality shows are on paid channels (HBO, Showtime, etc) and on Netflix but you still get those shows (The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Person of Interest, etc) that really do shine on cable. Television is bigger now than it ever has been so I can see why they do it, now do I like it? That's another story all together but there's nothing we can do about it, except maybe to stop watching tv but that is never gonna happen.


"Person of Interest" isn't on a cable channel. It's on CBS.

[Sedai]

I have pretty much stopped watching live TV, except for of course a football game here and there. I like to catch up with shows on streams or DVD at this point. I agree with much of what OP says.

[Captain Steel]

This is really a deeper issue. Why do we, as a society, as a culture, allow it?

Like, do we ever get to a point where we realize a sit-com we're trying to watch is not funny anymore when we've had four commercial breaks, had subtitles spoken by a foreign character covered up by an ad (so we missed the joke), and had to stop 11 times to read something that appeared on the screen that has nothing to do with our desired half hour of "entertainment"?

I understand it's business, I understand it's capitalism, but at some point a society HAS to draw a line.
We all know that being surrounded by marketing and consumed by commercialism is not healthy for anyone, Being barraged with advertising non-stop, day and night, in almost every environment, is no way to live - it is not mentally healthy.

Even if you make the proactive decision to turn your TV off, you still can't escape the bombardment (unless maybe you go live in the woods). Which may be why there's so much emotional instability, mental illness, and general messed-up-ed-ness in the world today.

[foster]

We are in the golden age of television right now. Studios are investing more in TV shows than in films.

As far as commercials, I pretty much watch everything with DVR so I can skip all of the commercials.
Not a bother at all for me.

[Sedai]

We are in the golden age of television right now. Studios are investing more in TV shows than in films.

I just want to clarify. As far as the content itself is concerned, I must also agree with Foster. So many amazing shows on right now. It's really the medium of live TV itself, with all the pop up reminders and commercials that drive me away from watching on-air TV.

[Captain Steel]

Here's another gripe - the increasing length and / or quantity of commercials & commercial breaks.

One day I was visiting the parents and thought my mom (83) would like to watch The Chronicles of Narnia, which I saw was coming up on a channel she had. You know, it's a fantasy, based on a classic she might be familiar with, (and it wouldn't have sex scenes), etc.
So I put it on for her so she could watch it from the beginning.
Now Chronicles of Narnia IS a long movie: 2 hours and 23 minutes to be precise.
My parents didn't have any of the "premium" movie channels and this movie ran for (get this) FIVE HOURS!
Five hours to show a 2 hour & 23 minute movie!
When my mom found out she'd have to commit 5 hours to watch a movie, she turned it off.

I remember once, trying to watch The Jacksons: An American Dream (which is another extremely long movie itself at 4 hours) - it was on a commercial channel with a run time of SEVEN HOURS! I kid you not. SEVEN HOURS!
Who's going to watch a 7 hour movie (3 hours of which are commercials?)

When it gets to the point where Television just doesn't seem worth it because it's become so diluted, so obstructed, so filled with distractions, so sensory-overloaded and so time-consuming to watch just one thing, then what is the point?

[Captain Steel]

We are in the golden age of television right now. Studios are investing more in TV shows than in films.

As far as commercials, I pretty much watch everything with DVR so I can skip all of the commercials.
Not a bother at all for me.

What should be a bother is the fact that you had to buy another device just to make television viewing tolerable.

See? That show's we've gotten to the point of ridiculousness - where we have to go out and purchase more devices to make our former device tolerable. So who knows? Maybe in the near future, you'll have to go buy another device to make your device that makes TV tolerable, tolerable itself. (and so on, and so on.)

[gbgoodies]

Like Foster, I watch all the new shows on the DVR so that I can fast forward through the commercials. For movies, I try to find the DVDs cheap at garage sales or online streaming so I don't have to watch commercials,

[Captain Steel]

I guess my problem is I'm an idealist.
I discern good & bad, right & wrong on principles. And the principle here is this...

See, I'm old enough to remember when we were told that sponsors paid for TV shows with their commercials (so we begrudgingly accepted them).

And then we were told we (the consumers) would be paying for TV directly, but it would be BETTER because there would be no need for commercials since our paying for it supplied the funds for the programs! And it would be piped directly to our sets through cables.

Well now, virtually all of us ARE paying for TV directly and there's more commercials than ever, they're putting them right ON TOP of the freaking TV shows, half the "shows" are just some kind of commercials disguised as shows, and they won't even put any gosh-dang actual TV shows on in the middle of the night!

GOOD GOD!

We've been swindled.

[gbgoodies]

I guess my problem is I'm an idealist.
See, I'm old enough to remember when we were told that sponsors paid for TV shows with their commercials (so we begrudgingly accepted them).

And then we were told we (the consumers) would be paying for TV directly, but it would be BETTER because there would be no need for commercials since our paying for it supplied the funds for the programs! And it would be piped directly to our sets through cables.

Well now, virtually all of us ARE paying for TV directly and there's more commercials than ever, they're putting the ON TOP of the freaking TV shows, half the "shows" are just some kind of commercials disguised as shows, and they won't even put any gosh-dang actual TV shows on in the middle of the night!

GOOD GOD!

We've been swindled.


My parents bought a VCR back when they were a new item, so I'm used to fast forwarding through the commercials. At least now, I'm not connected to the DVR by a long wire. :)

[foster]

There was a 2 year period where I just watched netflix. It was strange because I was completely disconnected from any new movies coming out.

Because there were no commercials I never saw any trailers!
Kind of made me wish there were a few commercials now and then. Funny huh?

[Captain Steel]

My parents bought a VCR back when they were a new item, so I'm used to fast forwarding through the commercials. At least now, I'm not connected to the DVR by a long wire. :)

I know people will say there are ways to beat the "system." (And I'm not faulting anyone for that. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to endure the sensory cacophony that TV has become).

But I'm saying the system should never have gotten to the point where it had to be beat - it started as a free service to anyone who could afford a TV set and remained so for decades.

And, as I just pointed out, we were then told it would no longer be free, but the trade off was that it would be better because there'd no longer be a need for advertising.
And yet, as this thread points out, not only is the advertising more pervasive than ever, but it has exploded to absolutely ludicrous extremes to anyone who can still afford a TV set... and cable or satellite bills that increase by unfounded increments every year... but who maybe can't afford the technology to beat the system - the one we were lied to about out of consumerism and greed.

[Captain Steel]

There was a 2 year period where I just watched netflix. It was strange because I was completely disconnected from any new movies coming out.

Because there were no commercials I never saw any trailers!
Kind of made me wish there were a few commercials now and then. Funny huh?

I'm not even saying there should be no commercials at all (nothing wrong with an intermission or bathroom break) - I'm ranting about the abuse of advertising - that it's on the screen during the show (seriously, there's no need for that). On most 30 minute programs, there is some form of advertising on the screen about 24 minutes out the 30 (that's not counting the network logos which are on during everything BUT the commercials & can sometimes cover captions & subtitles).

I like to make the analogy of paying to go see a Broadway play - now there's an Intermission and they may announce drinks or snacks in the lobby at the start of that intermission, but imagine if you paid to see the play and right in the middle as the actors were performing their lines, a guy with a giant billboard came out, blocking your view of the stage & distracting you from what you'd become interested in, and his sign was telling you what was showing at that theater next month. Then another guy came out and walked in front of the stage with a sign letting you know the name of the theater you were at, etc., etc.

[gbgoodies]

It's just like anything else. As long as people continue to pay for it, they'll continue to do it. Unless people are willing to stop watching TV, or pay extra for streaming services or DVDs that don't have commercials, we will always have commercials and ads during our favorite TV shows.

[Captain Steel]

It's just like anything else. As long as people continue to pay for it, they'll continue to do it. Unless people are willing to stop watching TV, or pay extra for streaming services or DVDs that don't have commercials, we will always have commercials and ads during our favorite TV shows.

True enough.

Years ago I wrote to AMC because they went commercial. Before that they were the same as TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and showed movies, unedited & in their entirety. Not only did AMC add commercials - they started editing the movies, cutting off the ends for commercials, etc. I've never watched a movie on that network again, (I basically can't watch butchered movies drawn out to torturous run times on commercial TV.)

That wasn't the only letter I wrote. Just making the point that I have made efforts, urged others to do so, and done more than just griped about these things online.

[foster]

we're a capitalistic society and they make more money with more commercials.

why do you hate america?

[gbgoodies]

True enough.

Years ago I wrote to AMC because they went commercial. Before that they were the same as TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and showed movies, unedited & in their entirety. Not only did AMC add commercials - they started editing the movies, cutting off the ends for commercials, etc. I've never watched a movie on that network again, (I basically can't watch butchered movies drawn out to torturous run times on commercial TV.)

That wasn't the only letter I wrote. Just making the point that I have made efforts, urged others to do so, and done more than just griped about these things online.


It doesn't always pay to complain, but sometimes it's worth doing it just because it makes you feel better to know that you didn't just sit back and take it. You tried to make a change.

My father used to tell me "The more you complain, the longer God lets you live.". If that's true, I might live forever. :lol:

[Captain Steel]

we're a capitalistic society and they make more money with more commercials.

why do you hate america?

LOL! Maybe I just love certain things about America of the 1950's more than I do today.

It's funny - on some of the really old shows the commercials were literally ON the show. Like on a variety show, they'd introduce the sponsor and they'd come out on the stage and perform their commercial. I know I sound like I'm countering my own argument, but it wasn't like the sponsor would "pop-up" in front of Milton Berle doing a skit and do the commercial.

[gbgoodies]

LOL! Maybe I just love certain things about America of the 1950's more than I do today.

It's funny - on some of the really old shows the commercials were literally ON the show. Like on a variety show, they'd introduce the sponsor and they'd come out on the stage and perform their commercial. I know I sound like I'm countering my own argument, but it wasn't like the sponsor would "pop-up" in front of Milton Berle doing a skit and do the commercial.


The DVDs for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" have him and Mary Tyler Moore doing commercials in some episodes. They're actually kind of cool to watch.

[Captain Steel]

I still don't get the middle of the night thing - that just seems dishonest. If you're a network dedicated to a genre, and people are paying for that as part of a package, then they should play that genre (and / or anything related to it) 24/7.

I used to do shift work where I'd get home at 3:00 am - thought maybe a little stand up on the comedy channel might be nice, but instead, nothing but infomercials of electric food processors & juice makers. And it's gotten worse - almost all the channels are like that. There are decades worth of stand up comedy they could put on (and same for science, history, animals, oldies, news, etc.). Any of these channels could just re-run their shows from the daytime... but they don't.

Do they think that someone watching TV at 3:00 am (and who's paying for the same channels as a daytime or evening viewer) doesn't deserve to watch a show? Or do they think if you're awake at night then you must only want to watch juicer commercials and nothing else? They have entire shopping networks dedicated to selling that crap, so why does almost every other channel revert to these vapid infomercials every night?

That's just fraudulent mis-advertising that discriminates against people with certain work schedules or biorhythms.

[gbgoodies]

I still don't get the middle of the night thing - that just seems dishonest. If you're a network dedicated to a genre, and people are paying for that as part of a package, then they should play that genre (and / or anything related to it) 24/7.

I used to do shift work where I'd get home at 3:00 am - thought maybe a little stand up on the comedy channel might be nice, but instead, nothing but infomercials of electric food processors & juice makers. And it's gotten worse - almost all the channels are like that. There are decades worth of stand up comedy they could put on (and same for science, history, animals, oldies, news, etc.). Any of these channels could just re-run their shows from the daytime... but they don't.

Do they think that someone watching TV at 3:00 am (and who's paying for the same channels as a daytime or evening viewer) doesn't deserve to watch a show? Or do they think if you're awake at night then you must only want to watch juicer commercials and nothing else? They have entire shopping networks dedicated to selling that crap, so why does almost every other channel revert to these vapid infomercials every night?

That's just fraudulent mis-advertising that discriminates against people with certain work schedules or biorhythms.


Also, why do the cable packages always include channels that I don't want to pay for? :mad:

I currently have a package deal that includes MTV, The Golf Channel, etc,. and even a bunch of foreign language channels. I shouldn't have to pay for channels that I'll never watch.

[Captain Steel]

Yeah, I've been calling for Ala Carte Cable menus for customers for a long time.
I guess the tier system is less complicated, but I always wonder why most of the things I like (intellectual stuff like science, travel, etc.) are always in the higher costing tiers, never in the lower or "basic" tiers. But if you like Reality TV, you can still get a wide selection on the cheaper tiers! :)

[gbgoodies]

Yeah, I've been calling for Ala Carte Cable menus for customers for a long time.
I guess the tier system is less complicated, but I always wonder why most of the things I like (intellectual stuff like science, travel, etc.) are always in the higher costing tiers, never in the lower or "basic" tiers. But if you like Reality TV, you can still get a wide selection on the cheaper tiers! :)


I usually just get the cheapest package that includes Turner Classic Movies. :)

[foster]

I wonder about the late night infomercials too.
Who the hell wants to buy a set of 50 knives. What would I do with all those knives? They would sit in a box somewhere taking up space :lol:

The dude actually mentioned a zombie apocalypse once as a selling point for the knives. I could maybe believe that with a sword.. not a knife though. My ideal zombie weapon would be a spear.

And they must assume that people up that late are depressed and out of shape since there are so many commercials for gym equipment.

A few channels have shows that late.. you can watch married with children or rules of engagement lol. Best bet is definitely a DVR. You can record prime time content and then watch it whenever you want.

I think we can safely assume that these infomercials are paying more money than an old rerun with commercials would generate. Otherwise they wouldn't be playing the infomercials. Why else would it happen?

[foster]

a la carte is a dual edged blade. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing.
certain content would not exist otherwise.

[gbgoodies]

A few channels have shows that late.. you can watch married with children or rules of engagement lol. Best bet is definitely a DVR. You can record prime time content and then watch it whenever you want.



I sometimes watch The Hallmark Channel at night. They run shows like "The Golden Girls", "Cheers", "Frasier", "I Love Lucy", etc. all night long.

[Captain Steel]

I usually just get the cheapest package that includes Turner Classic Movies. :)

Yes, I like TCM. I'm not always crazy about all the old movies they show, but they're pretty much the only non-premium channel that shows movies, uncut, unedited and in their entirety. Although I prefer Robert Osborne doing the intros & outros to Ben Mankiewicz. Is Osborne still doing them? Because I haven't seen him in a while.
That's one of the best things about TCM, a little trivia before & after the movie. It's a nice touch that makes it seem like the network is dedicated to the art form.

[gbgoodies]

Yes, I like TCM. I'm not always crazy about all the old movies they show, but they're pretty much the only non-premium channel that shows movies, uncut, unedited and in their entirety. Although I prefer Robert Osborne doing the intros & outros to Ben Mankiewicz. Is Osborne still doing them? Because I haven't seen him in a while.
That's one of the best things about TCM, a little trivia before & after the movie. It's a nice touch that makes it seem like the network is dedicated to the art form.


I think Robert Osborne has had some health problems in the last few years. I see him once in a while, but it seems to be mostly Ben Mankiewicz hosting recently.

[Captain Steel]

Today's gripe: "On Demand" (and what they've done to it).

I really liked On-Demand when I discovered it. I used it much like folks here have said they use their TiVo or DVR's - I could watch recorded shows or movies, pause or stop them when I like, resume them and (most importantly for TV shows) Fast Forward over the commercials.

But NOWWW..... here's what they're doing... they're disabling the FF on a lot of networks & TV shows.

This, I find, is even worse than watching regular TV, because with regular TV, I can at least channel surf during commercials, go check the news, check the weather channel, look at the guide, etc. I can't do any of that with On-Demand with FF disabled. So you HAVE to sit through the commercials (or leave the room until they're over).

Last week I missed Fear the Walking Dead (yeah, I know, I didn't want to get into it, but I started watching, etc., etc.) so I figured I'd catch up with the On-Demand version of that episode. I found it, put it on, and text came up saying "Fast Forwarding MAY be disabled during this program." So I hit the FF button to see... Luckily, it starts fast forwarding. Good for me, right?

Good for me, wrong! Little did I know... as soon as it got to a commercial, I could not fast forward any more! It let me FF any part of the show, but NONE of the commercials.

Everyday it seems like more and more head games (and every quarter the cable companies raise the prices as they increase the commercials & pop-up ads while decreasing ease of access & programming by running info-mercials all night).

[gbgoodies]

I usually just DVR whatever I want to watch, so I rarely use On-Demand, but one of the nice things that I've found with On-Demand is that when a TV show is pre-empted for some reason, it usually shows up in the On-Demand section anyway if I look for it quick enough. (It's usually there for a few hours before they realize that it didn't air and they remove it.)

[Yoda]

I don't understand the complaint. TV shows are essentially free. If they didn't have/do these things, there would either be a) fewer of them or b) lower budgets for them. If you removed the ads (or the disabling of FF on On Demand, or whatever else), you wouldn't just have the same shows anyway.

They do these things as a response to a vastly different media landscape: DVRs that made ads less noticeable, streaming, and lots of other things. There's nothing unfair or unreasonable about any of it, and I suspect the only reason anyone would think so is simply that they got used to things the other way, and implicitly decided that that should be the baseline.

[Captain Steel]

I don't understand the complaint. TV shows are essentially free. If they didn't have/do these things, there would either be a) fewer of them or b) lower budgets for them. If you removed the ads (or the disabling of FF on On Demand, or whatever else), you wouldn't just have the same shows anyway.

They do these things as a response to a vastly different media landscape: DVRs that made ads less noticeable, streaming, and lots of other things. There's nothing unfair or unreasonable about any of it, and I suspect the only reason anyone would think so is simply that they got used to things the other way, and implicitly decided that that should be the baseline.

First, is your comment directed just at the On-Demand issues, or all the issues mentioned?

Second: "TV shows are essentially free" Want to see my cable bill? ;)

Third: Do you think that channels dedicated to a specific genre running info-mercials all night is fair to people on different schedules who pay for the exact same channels as everyone else? But who cannot watch what those channels allegedly offer because those channels will not run the programs they specialize in during late-night, but instead run info-mercials?

[Frightened Inmate No. 2]

calm down

[Captain Steel]

Um... okay?
I like "calm". ;)

[Yoda]

First, is your comment directed just at the On-Demand issues, or all the issues mentioned?
All the issues. All of the things you're annoyed by enable a wider variety of and/or higher budgets for those shows.

Second: "TV shows are essentially free" Want to see my cable bill? ;)
Your complaints extend to network shows as well, but if you want to exclude those, the same economic tradeoffs referenced above would apply.

Third: Do you think that channels dedicated to a specific genre running info-mercials all night is fair to people on different schedules who pay for the exact same channels as everyone else?
Of course it's fair, and you must think so too, or else you wouldn't pay for it. And if they didn't do that, your cable bill would be higher.

Regardless, DVR costs very little these days, and easily fixes the problem of scheduling.

[The Sci-Fi Slob]

The thing that gets on my nerves with modern TV shows is you have to watch all the episodes in a row to get anything out of them. With the exception of maybe Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, most shows these days don't have re-watchable stand alone episodes. The X-files, Star Trek, Red Dwarf...bring back TV shows with well written individual episodes.

[Captain Steel]

All the issues. All of the things you're annoyed by enable a wider variety of and/or higher budgets for those shows.


Your complaints extend to network shows as well, but if you want to exclude those, the same economic tradeoffs referenced above would apply.


Of course it's fair, and you must think so too, or else you wouldn't pay for it. And if they didn't do that, your cable bill would be higher.

Regardless, DVR costs very little these days, and easily fixes the problem of scheduling.

I understand everything you're saying. And I guess you're making the point that, unlike old TV broadcasting which was free to the public and paid for by sponsors, modern TV requires funds from both sponsors AND viewers to supply the modern level of TV: (hundreds of channels, shows with advanced special effects, etc.) I'd add in the quality of programming but, although there is some out there, it is overshadowed by all the Reality TV and other garbage that far outnumbers programming of quality.

I take a bit of exception to the idea that if channels didn't run infomercials all night and put endless pop-ups over top the programs, then my cable bill would be higher - that's because my cable bill IS higher every few months DESPITE the excessive marketing. I don't see any decrease in disruptive advertising every time they raise the bill. Seems if anything was "fair" you would see some resulting balancing going on - like after every price increase you'd see less channels showing nothing but info-mercials after 2:00 am, but instead you only see more.

Personally, I can't afford cable AND a DVR (since I can't even afford the cable anymore). But, correct me if I'm wrong, even a DVR will not do anything about the pop-up adds that run on top of programs, will they?
I ask because just recently I watched something with lots of captions and information in text form that was part of the show - it was made virtually unwatchable by the pop-up ads that covered up the captions every few minutes - no point in even putting a show like that on the air in this TV environment.

In the end, I don't think a lot of the practices I've observed or the evolution of abuses are fair. So I'm seriously considering either going back to the bottom tier at the next price increase or discontinuing TV altogether.

[Yoda]

I understand everything you're saying. And I guess you're making the point that, unlike old TV broadcasting which was free to the public and paid for by sponsors, modern TV requires funds from both sponsors AND viewers to supply the modern level of TV: (hundreds of channels, shows with advanced special effects, etc.) I'd add in the quality of programming but, although there is some out there, it is overshadowed by all the Reality TV and other garbage that far outnumbers programming of quality.
Right; TV budgets are massive now. The level of time, talent, and production that goes into it is higher than lots of movies were just a few decades ago. There's lots of "garbage," as you say, but that doesn't overshadow the good stuff, because we don't have to watch the bad stuff. And while we probably share similar ideas of what constitutes "garbage," obviously it has value to lots of other people.

It's pretty hard to put a price on breadth of programming, too: there's a show for almost everything, and that's awfully nice when you find one you really like. It's easily worth 999 other shows you're not interested in, and there's no way to have that kind of niche programming without, by definition, having a smaller percentage of shows that are interesting to any one person.

I take a bit of exception to the idea that if channels didn't run infomercials all night and put endless pop-ups over top the programs, then my cable bill would be higher - that's because my cable bill IS higher every few months DESPITE the excessive marketing. I don't see any decrease in disruptive advertising every time they raise the bill. Seems if anything was "fair" you would see some resulting balancing going on - like after every price increase you'd see less channels showing nothing but info-mercials after 2:00 am, but instead you only see more.
The argument is that it would cost more all else being equal; it can reduce your bill relative to what it would be even if your bill is still going up overall, the same way you can eat less than you used to, but still not necessarily lose weight.

That said, I've never heard of a cable bill going higher every few months for no reason. Are you in a highly rural area, or going month-to-month, or something? Every time I've gotten cable I've had a rate locked in for something like two years, and even when it went after, it was a modest amount and didn't, as far as I can remember, just keep climbing.

Personally, I can't afford cable AND a DVR (since I can't even afford the cable anymore). But, correct me if I'm wrong, even a DVR will not do anything about the pop-up adds that run on top of programs, will they?
Correct, I was talking about the infomercial issue. There's not much that can be done there, because people who can only watch TV in the middle of the night and can afford cable but also can't quite afford DVR (which, at least where I live, can be had for something like an extra $15-20 month, a fraction of the total bill) must be awfully rare. It'd be kinda crazy for them to pass up on that revenue for what much be a vanishingly small demographic.

Things like product placement and popup ads are the inevitable result of the DVR. Which is a pretty good trade, I think, given how convenient DVR is.

I ask because just recently I watched something with lots of captions and information in text form that was part of the show - it was made virtually unwatchable by the pop-up ads that covered up the captions every few minutes - no point in even putting a show like that on the air in this TV environment.
What show was it? I can't say this has ever happened to me.

In the end, I don't think a lot of the practices I've observed or the evolution of abuses are fair. So I'm seriously considering either going back to the bottom tier at the next price increase or discontinuing TV altogether.
This is definitely more viable than it used to be. If you can pick a handful of shows you can't live without and just purchase them the next day, you might save a lot of money. I watch a broad array and like live sports, so I'm stuck with the old way, but maybe one day I'll do the same.

[Captain Steel]

This complaint deals with the News Media - they always say that coming up they're going to delve into some interesting item - then when they FINALLY get to it, they don't tell you anything they didn't already say, they basically just repeat the "headline."

A couple weeks ago, one network kept advertising that "up NEXT" was the story of a baby elephant trapped in a well - they'd show a 2 second clip of a man wrapping straps around some large wrinkly thing. They kept saying, "Up Next," but would then advertise the story again before the next commercial (so it wasn't up next for over the half hour I was watching).
And they'd say, "Stay with us to see the miraculous rescue and find out the fate of that baby elephant!"
I watched for a half hour, sitting through the endless droning about Presidential candidates because I wanted to see this rescue of the damn baby elephant!

So they finally get to it... they show the same 2 second clip of a guy wrapping straps around something (they never show a full shot of the elephant ). They say, "A baby elephant who somehow got trapped in a well had to be winched out, they say he's doing okay."
They never showed the winching operation, they gave no details on what happened: where the elephant was from (the wild? a circus? a zoo? someone's work animal?), who found it, how long it took to set up the rescue, where the elephant's family was (or if it had one), where they released it (if they did). Nothing - they only repeated what they'd already said and added that "he's doing okay."

[honeykid]

Of course they did. They gotta increase ad revenue.

[Captain Steel]

Today's observation deals with the state of educational TV.
Remember when networks with names like "The Learning Channel" had actual educational programming? Now their focus is "reality" TV, like "Honey Boo Boo."

So many science-based networks have gone that route only to have other networks pop up with actual science, but then slowly devolve to cater to the lowest common denominator. And when is the last time you saw a show about art (painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, art history, music composition, opera, theater, etc.) on the "Arts & Entertainment Network"?

One of the most heinous examples is that networks like the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and the History Channel have been airing what are being called "fake-u-mentaires."
They're not documentaries, nor "mock-u-mentaries" (an intentionally comedic spoof on documentaries), but programs that attempt to present false information as if it's part of a real documentary. These will use actors posing as scientists, historians, academics or eye-witnesses, and will produce fake scenarios and special effects concocted in a studio and present it as real life footage.

[Camo]

Don't get me started on The History Channel showing stuff like Ancient Aliens :rolleyes:

[earlsmoviepicks]

The Discovery channel, among others, annoys the hell out of me. Before a commercial break, they tell you what you're gonna see in the next segment. Don't f----cking show me what I'm about to see before I see it! Then after the commercials, they recap what you just saw 4 minutes earlier, as if you're some idiot who can't sustain a thought. They happen to be right in my case, but many aren't.

Then they do this reversal thing towards the end, where you fast-forward past the commercials to settle in on the next segment, only to find it's 30 seconds long, like a teaser, which takes you into another set of commercials, leaving you feeling as a viewer, used, abused and angry as hell. No wonder after watching a show about life in rural Alaska I want to rip someone's head off-- mainly that sh-t sucking little weasel executive who thought that up.

Ok, vented, done.

[Captain Steel]

Don't get me started on The History Channel showing stuff like Ancient Aliens :rolleyes:

Although Ancient Aliens fits to support my point, I don't mind the show... here's why:

It doesn't purport to be something it's not - it continuously repeats (almost to an annoying degree) that what they're presenting is the opinion of a select group based entirely on their interpretation of what they consider evidence.

If anything, it's a docu-series not on Ancient Aliens per se, but rather on what Ancient Alien theorists "believe."

It does mix in a lot of history and geography (and does so quite well by taking you to varied places with nice photography). I've heard interviews about the show and, with all the real scientists & historians they invite to appear, they never ask these guests to support the show's producers' dogma, but only to speak on their area of expertise. That's why they'll have, say, an Egyptologist talk about the construction of the pyramids, then after the expert has presented real facts, they'll say something like, "But Ancient Alien Theorists believe the interior architecture of the pyramids was designed to create an energy transmitter pointing to the stars as a signalling device!"

The show is laughable in that the Theorists will try to hammer any historical square peg into their round hole of "ancient aliens" as the answer to virtually everything... from Greek mythology to sightings of the Loch Ness monster to Nikola Tesla's alternating current!

So, they do present a lot of actual history while they present continuous disclaimers that their "evidence" of ancient astronauts fitting into the mix is strictly theory held by the show's creators.

[Gideon58]

Yeah, pay TV seems to be all about the commercials and getting us to spend our money...have you ever noticed when you watch something online, that no matter how many technical problems might come up with the tape you're watching, the commercials ALWAYS play PERFECTLY...also, we're not allowed to fast forward through commercials either. On the CBS website, if you want to fast forward through something, you have to watch five or six MORE commercials before the program continues at the point you fast forwarded to...it's aggravating beyond belief.

[Captain Steel]

Latest TV rant:

Last night I caught the very end of the Olympics opening ceremony. I tuned in at the parade of countries. I figured I'd at least watch the United States enter and see what their costumes looked like.

Right after the Ukraine passed, NBC went to commercial. I thought it would be no big deal since I'd heard all about this "time delay" so that the airing would coincide with North America's prime time TV slot... so they'd just pause for commercials then resume.

When they got back, Uzbekistan was entering the stadium!
Can you believe, on American TV, they cut out the American's official entrance for commercials?
(That's rhetorical question... I can believe it. Why do we stand for this crap?)

[seanc]

Latest TV rant:

Last night I caught the very end of the Olympics opening ceremony. I tuned in at the parade of countries. I figured I'd at least watch the United States enter and see what their costumes looked like.

Right after the Ukraine passed, NBC went to commercial. I thought it would be no big deal since I'd heard all about this "time delay" so that the airing would coincide with North America's prime time TV slot... so they'd just pause for commercials then resume.

When they got back, Uzbekistan was entering the stadium!
Can you believe, on American TV, they cut out the American's official entrance for commercials?
(That's rhetorical question... I can believe it. Why do we stand for this crap?)

I'm pretty shocked actually. Yesterday was the first opening I haven't seen in a while and I have never seen the US skipped.

[Captain Steel]

I'm pretty shocked actually. Yesterday was the first opening I haven't seen in a while and I have never seen the US skipped.

What gets me is they purposefully had set up this time delay so they had time to edit the entire thing around the commercials. But nope - U.S. about to enter and off to another 3 minute block of commercials that are repeated ad infinitum. And why put the commercial break right at that spot when they could've put it over any number of other countries? Why cut the U.S. out on TV in the U.S. of all places?

P.S. I saw on the news this morning that Michael Phelps was the American flag bearer and they said something about American audiences were "upset" over the time delay and commercials. They didn't elaborate, but I have to assume they meant people were upset that they cut out the U.S.'s entry for commercials.

[Captain Steel]

Okay, I did some research.
I found a bunch of articles about NBC's marathon of commercials (interrupted by snippets of the Olympics ceremony)... so there's still that. But I couldn't find any mentions of the U.S. entry being cut out by commercials.

So... I learned that the countries' order in the parade was based on Portuguese (the language of Brazil)... so the U.S. entered under "Estados Unidos" in the earlier part of the parade as opposed to being near the end. So I don't know if the U.S. entrance was cut for commercials or not since I tuned into the parade near the end.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3726412/Welcome-Rio-Olympics-hour-late-Furious-viewers-hit-NBC-delaying-broadcast-filling-commercial-breaks.html

[matt72582]

Doesn't surprise me... Television is one big commercial.

[SilentVamp]

So... I learned that the countries' order in the parade was based on Portuguese (the language of Brazil)... so the U.S. entered under "Estados Unidos" in the earlier part of the parade as opposed to being near the end. So I don't know if the U.S. entrance was cut for commercials or not since I tuned into the parade near the end.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3726412/Welcome-Rio-Olympics-hour-late-Furious-viewers-hit-NBC-delaying-broadcast-filling-commercial-breaks.html
I only watched two parts of that last night. One part was the ending of the ceremony. But the other part just happened to be when the United States entered. I turned it on just to see where they were in the ceremony and it was right before the commercial break. The announcer said they would be returning with the U.S., and then they eventually got to them. So, yes, they were shown and not ignored for commercials.

Think about it. They weren't going to be showing the opening ceremony here without showing our team. They would never do that. There wouldn't really be any point to not showing us. If they want to show commercials to make some more money, fine. But they would show us no matter what.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwQwqvl92RQ

[TONGO]

Chinas opening ceremony still is the best one Ive ever seen. They had a perfect blend of technology, art, and timing. Rio tried.

[honeykid]

So they put the ads where they thought/knew that most people would be watching waiting for the US team? I hope someone got a bonus for that one. That's very good.

[Captain Steel]

So they put the ads where they thought/knew that most people would be watching waiting for the US team? I hope someone got a bonus for that one. That's very good.

Good for them.

I have to admit to a strong bias against commercialism.

Having studied psychology, I've learned that mass marketing & commercialism is one of the major things wrong with our society & culture and which has an extreme affect on principles of analytic and independent thought. Like a manufactured disease intended for bio-warfare, it is one of the most devious blights created by man to be used upon mankind as a means to profit at the expense of others.

Unfortunately, it is a double-edged sword since it goes hand in hand with the principles of capitalism and entrepreneurship. As with all things, a better balance needs to be worked toward.

[honeykid]

I agree with you about there needing to be a better balance. I was being facetious.

[Captain Steel]

I agree with you about there needing to be a better balance. I was being facetious.

Dang! I was hoping for a good debate! ;)

[honeykid]

The tip off should've been when I said I hope someone got a bonus for that. You know full well that anyone that low down the ladder is 'just doing their job', whereas that kind of thinking at a higher level is more than worthy of a bonus. ;)

[lenslady]

I' m bumping this thread since the Cap mentioned it in relation to a something I posted in another thread about ads becoming obnoxious in quality . But the quantity of ads seems to have ballooned too. Movies that are an hour and a half long seem to have doubled in tv time. The ads themselves go on and on like mini series. I don't usually watch sports but when I occasionally watch baseball - it seems the entire game is organized around these interminable ads- is this why a game that I seem to remember as being no longer than a Columbo episode now seems to stretch into a new time zone?

Well I guess this is the price we pay for tv. I myself use the spare time between the actual tv shows to organize my recyclables, make a small snack or finish War and Peace.

And btw I just LOVE what gbgoodies dad said about long life and complaining. Lmao I' m right there with you gbg.

[Captain Steel]

I' m bumping this thread since the Cap mentioned it in relation to a something I posted in another thread about ads becoming obnoxious in quality . But the quantity of ads seems to have ballooned too. Movies that are an hour and a half long seem to have doubled in tv time. The ads themselves go on and on like mini series. I don't usually watch sports but when I occasionally watch baseball - it seems the entire game is organized around these interminable ads- is this why a game that I seem to remember being as being no longer than a Columbo episode now seems to stretch into a new time zone?

Well I guess this is the price we pay for tv. I myself use the spare time between the actual tv shows to organize my recyclables, make a small snack or finish War and Peace.

And btw I just LOVE what gbgoodies dad said about long life and complaining. Lmao I' m right there with you gbg.

Well, that's the problem I mentioned in previous posts - we are paying a price (one that seems to go up randomly every couple months for no apparent reasons and with no extra services - just random unexplained increases and unexplained fees) for something that was supposed to eliminate the need for commercials by our paying for something that used to be free but required advertising for the consumer to enjoy the free service.

That was the original promise of cable / pay TV - the consumer pays directly, eliminating the need for commercials. Yet it's gone in the opposite direction - we're paying for it, yet the commercials are more excessive and worse than ever.

Yeah, I realize there are premium channels that don't have commercials - but they cost even more (a premium!) and since we're paying for even the most basic packages, anything we HAVE to pay for should be commercial free.

But we've got the opposite - entire networks that show only commercials (infomercials) all night long when there are decades worth of recorded entertainment pertaining to their channel's specialty (whether it's comedy, movies, science, dramas, soap operas, music videos, etc) that they could be showing. Why do so many channels show only commercials in the middle of the night? I've been a shift worker where I had hundreds of channels, but with nothing on except infomercials in the am hours! And people are paying for this.

[average joe]

I know advertising has long supported free TV, but I have to agree with Cap that they have grown in number. I mean, in some cases the old shows are being cut to make room for more ads than they had before.

I think it's a sign that traditional TV and even some cable TV networks are struggling financially while competing with HBO, Netflix and other commercial-free sources of entertainment (which I think have most of the quality programs everyone is referring to). Reality TV is cheaper to produce than most scripted shows and infomercials fill lots of time while paying for themselves. And how many cable channels seem to be showing the same movies over and over?

Unfortunately, that may push more people to the commercial-free outlets. Can we live without free TV if it comes to that?

[John-Connor]

Been on holiday to the US many times and must say your TV is unwatchable..
Solution seems to be cancel subscription, become an internet download pirate mateys.
Ar..
https://i.imgur.com/4rmuo1e.jpg

[JoaoRodrigues]

https://res.cloudinary.com/teepublic/image/private/s--6MTHNOhJ--/t_Preview/b_rgb:76ba7f,c_limit,f_jpg,h_630,q_90,w_630/v1479403144/production/designs/829337_1.jpg

[Ami-Scythe]

Here's another gripe - the increasing length and / or quantity of commercials & commercial breaks.

One day I was visiting the parents and thought my mom (83) would like to watch The Chronicles of Narnia, which I saw was coming up on a channel she had. You know, it's a fantasy, based on a classic she might be familiar with, (and it wouldn't have sex scenes), etc.
So I put it on for her so she could watch it from the beginning.
Now Chronicles of Narnia IS a long movie: 2 hours and 23 minutes to be precise.
My parents didn't have any of the "premium" movie channels and this movie ran for (get this) FIVE HOURS!
Five hours to show a 2 hour & 23 minute movie!
When my mom found out she'd have to commit 5 hours to watch a movie, she turned it off.

I remember once, trying to watch The Jacksons: An American Dream (which is another extremely long movie itself at 4 hours) - it was on a commercial channel with a run time of SEVEN HOURS! I kid you not. SEVEN HOURS!
Who's going to watch a 7 hour movie (3 hours of which are commercials?)

When it gets to the point where Television just doesn't seem worth it because it's become so diluted, so obstructed, so filled with distractions, so sensory-overloaded and so time-consuming to watch just one thing, then what is the point?

Haha! I remember that. I used to live at my grandma's house and she and grandpa had Comcast and my mom used to say she'd love to watch the Jacksons but it's too long for all the commercials they show.

But anyway, if it was my grandma who wanted to watch that movie, she'd do it if she liked it. Not like she has anything else to do lol

[John McClane]

And this is why I own a TiVo. I press one button and skip the whole commercial block. Sometimes I push the button with my middle finger. Just for the hell of it.

[PumaMan]

I don't even know where to start... I could write a book on this topic. (Maybe I will.)

Remember when the concept of "Pay" TV (what we now call Cable or Satellite television) was that when customers are paying for television there will be no need for sponsors and thus no commercials? That's just one issue to start with.

Then there are content issues - like when people say, "800 channels and nothing to watch."

Can anyone tell me why, in wee-of-the-morning hours, cable TV reverts almost entirely to info-mercials? Specialty channels that we PAY for, and which are supposed to serve up a genre of programming (whether it be comedy, science, drama, old-time programming, news, etc.) serve up nothing but advertising from 2:00 - 7:00 in the morning! This is really unfair to shift workers.

But one of the most unforgivable scourges inflicted on modern TV audiences is advertising on the screen DURING your show. And it's everywhere - pop-up ads; ads telling you what's on next; ads telling you what you're watching right now (instead of letting you watch it); giant pop-up banners that cover a third of the screen selling something or other; screens within your screen showing movement in advertisements while you're trying to watch the only thing that's supposed to be on the screen.
They even have on-screen ads with sound that plays during your program!!!

One of the ironies I find perplexing are network logos (some are more intrusive than others). The only time they MIGHT be at all helpful is during commercials - to let you know what network you're tuned into, and yet (and I know you saw this coming from a mile away...) the ONLY time they are NOT on the screen is DURING the commercials!!!

Modern TV has become ridiculous and I can't understand why the populace stands for it. Everything from cutting off the ends of movies for commercials, to minimizing credits so you can't read them, to covering captions and sub-titles with logos & ads telling you what ELSE is on that network.

I agree with every point you made. I'll add "time compression", the greatly sped-up intro and ending to shows. I've also read that the main content is subtly sped-up, not so you can detect it, but so that an extra 10-15 secs of commercial time can be added.

I think most younger folks have grown up with this sort of intrusion and are used to it because they've never known anything different.

I remember back in the day, early 1980s, when I first saw cable shows like HBO, when the movie was over, instead of cramming non-stop previews for their coming attractions, short films were shown. The only station that still does (but not all the time) is TCM.

I've also noticed whole scenes deleted from shows like Law & Order and Star Trek NG.

BTW, I think the network logos being displayed during the play of a movie or show was originally done to try and prevent devious people from recording and creating pirated versions for sale.

[Citizen Rules]

..."time compression", the greatly sped-up intro and ending to shows. I watch exclusively 'old TV shows' and when I say old I'm talking 1950s to 1980s...Currently I'm watching The Love Boat and recently have watched Mary Tyler Moore, Green Acres, M*A*S*H*, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, What's My Line? etc, etc, etc!

My point being: you're right, the intros to these old TV shows were not only longer but were integral to letting the viewer know what the show's theme and back story was. The shows intro was an entertaining part of the overall viewing experience that sadly got cut shorter and shorter thanks to greedy TV executives wanting more profit by pushing more commercials.

If you take a look at how long a half hour comedy show or a hour long drama was back in the 1950s then look at the same type of show from later decades you can see they get shorter and shorter so as to accommodated more and more commercials. Those commercial interruptions are exactly why I don't watch broadcast TV and haven't for the last 25 years. No commercials for me!

[PumaMan]

Those commercial interruptions are exactly why I don't watch broadcast TV and haven't for the last 25 years. No commercials for me!

I watch very few commercial stations but I do like to watch the occasional Smithsonian special, a Law&Order episode, or a STNG episode.

BTW have you noticed over the past 10 yrs or so, the Science Channel, the National Geographic Channel, The Learning Channel (TLC), and the History Channel have turned into shite? Mostly stupid crapola.

[PumaMan]

I'm always reminded of the lyrics from the Pink Floyd song Nobody Home (The Wall):

I got elastic bands keepin' my shoes on
Got those swollen-hand blues
I got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from

Except today it would have to say "800 channels of ..." :D

[Citizen Rules]

I watch very few commercial stations but I do like to watch the occasional Smithsonian special, a Law&Order episode, or a STNG episode. Being a big Star Trek fan (not the new stuff) I hated seeing ST episodes being shortened from their original length just to squeeze in even more commercials, so I bought the ST series on DVDs/Blu Rays. Star Trek is the only series I cared enough to buy DVDs for.

BTW have you noticed over the past 10 yrs or so, the Science Channel, the National Geographic Channel, The Learning Channel (TLC), and the History Channel have turned into shite? Mostly stupid crapola.[/quote]That's funny you mentioned that because I was just thinking about how back in the 1990s and 2000s channels like the History Channel actual had history and not reality shows. I haven't had cable since 2000 but I use to have someone tape shows from the History Channel, Discovery, A & E and then I could watch it on my VCR. Well that was many years ago too.

[PumaMan]

Discovery, A & E .

Thank you. I forgot about these -- two more channels that I could add to my above list -- those channels that have turned into shite.

[Captain Steel]

Thank you. I forgot about these -- two more channels that I could add to my above list -- those channels that have turned into shite.

I used to like watching Biography on A&E.

It's really sad that the vast amount of educational networks (which had shows that made them interesting) have opted to go in the other direction of "reality TV" = shows about drunk women screaming words that have to be bleeped every 5 seconds at each other.

P.S. Last night I saw Brad Pitt in a commercial for a coffee maker. I had to do a double take, but yeah it was him. (I don't recall ever seeing him doing a commercial before).

Heck, even Joe DiMaggio was retired from baseball for a couple decades before he started doing coffee maker commercials - but Brad Pitt is still one of the top movie stars (isn't he?)

[mattiasflgrtll6]

Who knew that Levi's pants were such a chick magnet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqpX4EZ64Dg

[Captain Steel]

Who knew that Levi's pants were such a chick magnet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqpX4EZ64Dg

Was that one of those before-they-were famous commercials, or was Brad already known at the time?

[mattiasflgrtll6]

Before, but he was in Thelma & Louise the same year.

[Captain Steel]

Many actors who appear in commercials early-on return to them later in their career - this is usually due to a need for work, their recognition beginning to slip, or a need for money, or a combination of all three (and then, of course, there are the deals that can't be refused - where a star is offered a ridiculous amount of money to appear in a commercial because of a recent movie hit or budding stardom). But returning to commercials for someone considered still at the height of their movie career (or at least still a draw for motion pictures) can be a risky move as it can seriously hurt their "brand".

No one wants to go from Hollywood's leading man to "Mr. Acme flavored-drink guy".

[honeykid]

^^I think that can be the case, but not anymore for many. Some examples from the last 10-20+ years here in the UK. I've not included any British stars as I can see that they could be more likely to star. Obviously these aren't all of them, just the ones which come to mind easily^^

Robert De Niro (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ANHoobL__NE)
Robert De Niro (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kzuF7ndMDCQ)
Robert De Niro (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AdMpVZ42RLk)

George Clooney (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VQA3DyKJ1yw) Quite a few of these
George Clooney (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5DU9MO8KLVE)

Sly Stallone (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2N_TVdrhTI)

Owen Wilson (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rCxfkBBzdNU)

Kevin Bacon (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t_DayuUSykc) There's a lot of these

Kevin Bacon and Britney Spears (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CffqKx369O4)

Harvey Keitel (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qRTSd-ppQFQ) There's loads of these too.
Arnold Swartznegger (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mu8IRIysWLI"The Muppets[/URL] Just for fun
[URL="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ADHb1p4lv8) There's a couple more of these too.


TBF, the Warburton's ads are great.

[ralfy]

https://twitter.com/TruueDiscipline/status/1764064432299425830

[Captain Steel]

On most news shows we've become accustomed to what is commonly referred to as "the scroll" at the bottom of the screen.

How come everything that comes across on the scroll always "sounds" far more important, imminent, immediate, interesting, and momentous than whatever they happen to be talking about?

And if such extreme & critical things are happening, then why aren't they talking about it right now or announcing they will be talking about it imminently? But rather, during the period you're watching, they rarely seem to even mention all these earth-shaking stories that are contained in the scroll!

I see this everyday as I flip through the various news channels.

And to make matters worse, the scroll "headlines" never contain any detailed information to explain the blurb (often making them sound much more extreme than you ultimately may find out they are - or the blurb conveys an opposite inference to what actually happened!) - they leave you with far more questions than answers, and, as I mention, the news shows don't seem to get to the stories in the scroll in any timeframe that's relatively expeditious to the blurb appearing... which renders them relatively useless.

[gbgoodies]

On most news shows we've become accustomed to what is commonly referred to as "the scroll" at the bottom of the screen.



I rarely watch the news on TV anymore, so I don't know much about the scrolls, but the pop-up ads at the bottom of the screen during normal TV shows are much more annoying.

Half the time, I'm not even sure if it's an ad for a different show or just part of the show that I'm watching, until the name of the other TV show that they're advertising pops up on screen at the end of the ad.

[TONGO]

I stopped watching modern tv years ago. If theres a series thats a must-see I can get access, watch at my pace, not have to deal with commercials, and being told when to be able to watch it.

[Corax]

On most news shows we've become accustomed to what is commonly referred to as "the scroll" at the bottom of the screen.

How come everything that comes across on the scroll always "sounds" far more important, imminent, immediate, interesting, and momentous than whatever they happen to be talking about?

And if such extreme & critical things are happening, then why aren't they talking about it right now or announcing they will be talking about it imminently? But rather, during the period you're watching, they rarely seem to even mention all these earth-shaking stories that are contained in the scroll!

I see this everyday as I flip through the various news channels.

And to make matters worse, the scroll "headlines" never contain any detailed information to explain the blurb (often making them sound much more extreme than you ultimately may find out they are - or the blurb conveys an opposite inference to what actually happened!) - they leave you with far more questions than answers, and, as I mention, the news shows don't seem to get to the stories in the scroll in any timeframe that's relatively expeditious to the blurb appearing... which renders them relatively useless.

Cooking Segment on Buster Friendly and His Friendly Friends. The gang is debating whether cup cakes are really cakes. Chiron at the bottom of the screen reads INBOUND METEOR SET TO DETROY EARTH IN 20 MINUTES, AS EARTH NEGOTIATES WITH ALIENS FOR HELP.

[honeykid]

On most news shows we've become accustomed to what is commonly referred to as "the scroll" at the bottom of the screen.

How come everything that comes across on the scroll always "sounds" far more important, imminent, immediate, interesting, and momentous than whatever they happen to be talking about?
So that you keep watching hoping to find out about it. Also, scared/worried is good as it also leads to wanting to watch more so you feel informed/safe.

And if such extreme & critical things are happening, then why aren't they talking about it right now or announcing they will be talking about it imminently? But rather, during the period you're watching, they rarely seem to even mention all these earth-shaking stories that are contained in the scroll!
See above.

And to make matters worse, the scroll "headlines" never contain any detailed information to explain the blurb (often making them sound much more extreme than you ultimately may find out they are - or the blurb conveys an opposite inference to what actually happened!) - they leave you with far more questions than answers, and, as I mention, the news shows don't seem to get to the stories in the scroll in any timeframe that's relatively expeditious to the blurb appearing... which renders them relatively useless.
See above.

It's the TV equivalent of click bait or the kind of headlines 'papers' like The Daily Mail run. The headline tells you what they want you to think/know, while quite often the actual story will say differently (sometimes the complete opposite) but they know most people won't read it and, if they do, the headline will have prepared/conditioned them how to read/interpret what they do read.

Honestly, 24 hour/rolling news is one of the worst things for our civilization of the last 30/40 years in terms of a business. To work and grow it has to become entertainment (so it gets more viewers and more money for advertising) and, therefore, journalism becomes treated as such. However, the audience still see it as 'the news' and therefore give it importance or don't recognise the 'showbiz' tricks used (such as you discuss).

Of course, you may well already know all this and just have been screaming into the wind (a perfectly understandable thing to do there days) but just in case it was a real question/pondering, I thought I'd put forward the main thrust of 'the answer'.

TLDR: Money/profit.

[Citizen Rules]

I stopped watching modern tv years ago. If theres a series thats a must-see I can get access, watch at my pace, not have to deal with commercials, and being told when to be able to watch it.I stopped watching tv 25 years ago. But it's probably been more like 40 years since I watched the old broadcast tv (ABC,NBC,CBS). Don't miss it either.

[Captain Steel]

So that you keep watching hoping to find out about it. Also, scared/worried is good as it also leads to wanting to watch more so you feel informed/safe.


See above.


See above.

It's the TV equivalent of click bait or the kind of headlines 'papers' like The Daily Mail run. The headline tells you what they want you to think/know, while quite often the actual story will say differently (sometimes the complete opposite) but they know most people won't read it and, if they do, the headline will have prepared/conditioned them how to read/interpret what they do read.

Honestly, 24 hour/rolling news is one of the worst things for our civilization of the last 30/40 years in terms of a business. To work and grow it has to become entertainment (so it gets more viewers and more money for advertising) and, therefore, journalism becomes treated as such. However, the audience still see it as 'the news' and therefore give it importance or don't recognise the 'showbiz' tricks used (such as you discuss).

Of course, you may well already know all this and just have been screaming into the wind (a perfectly understandable thing to do there days) but just in case it was a real question/pondering, I thought I'd put forward the main thrust of 'the answer'.

TLDR: Money/profit.

Spot on, Honey!

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.RpM_fKyeSgpP0m2JgbP6CwHaEG%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=ff65eb20058871949b65a2d284c8b3ea77ccec4ff5f76e8c07d803401b67b68f&ipo=images

103881

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftheawesomedaily.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2F86eu5-hilarious-names-5.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=cd9acd60ee19f2fe5a5974f3fb1232368842c1bf1d7cbfecdc03c6df9192abdb&ipo=images

[FilmBuff]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftheawesomedaily.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2F86eu5-hilarious-names-5.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=cd9acd60ee19f2fe5a5974f3fb1232368842c1bf1d7cbfecdc03c6df9192abdb&ipo=images

If I saw that on my TV, I would seriously go, "What the actual Duck?" :p

[Citizen Rules]

If I saw that on my TV, I would seriously go, "What the actual Duck?" :pLook at that news banner at the very bottom of the screen, I posted that image as it's useless fluff, like Captain was talking about on a news broadcast.

[Sedai]

I know Donald Duck, and that ain't him!

[FilmBuff]

He could walk like a duck and quack like a duck but he still wouldn't be Donald

[Corax]

I stopped watching tv 25 years ago. But it's probably been more like 40 years since I watched the old broadcast tv (ABC,NBC,CBS). Don't miss it either.
Television, former drug of the nation.
CNN, ESPN, ABC, TNT but mostly B.S.