why are there so many commercials on T.V. i am so tired of long commercials.?

Question

ok, you get into a movie on T.V. and a damn commercial comes in between the good parts and somtimes they take such a long time, see i am still typing and the commercials still go on and on and on.

Answer 1

It's interesting, because if you think about it, TV actually exists more for advertisement than for entertainment.

It's not necessarily just that the commercials pay for the shows, so much as the shows exist to sell commercials...all networks could do as HBO, Showtime, and even Disney 15 years ago, and have you pay for the channel and get rid of commercials. These channels typically have better programming even.

Ultimately, the only reason networks want quality programming is so that more people will watch. If more people watch, they can sell their advertising slots for more money. The networks are only concerned about what you like indirectly. The first questions is: "how can we sell these advertising slots?".

Think of the Super Bowl, and how a lot of people watch more for the commercials (though most are there for the game). It's become a cultural thing to watch the championship game of the most popular sport in the country and see what interesting commercials will be broadcast on a given year. The networks know this, and the one that gets the rights to the game banks off of it.

Furthermore, think about when respected awards shows are on. Do any of the network channels run new episodes of their shows on the night of the Oscars? the Emmy's? No, because fewer people are going to watch. The advertisers know this, and so they're not going to pay as much for a slot of a new episode of Lost if it's going up against the Oscars.

It's all about advertising...we live in a consumer culture (and very much so).

If you talk to someone who studies Modern Culture and Media, you'll get some very interesting perspectives on the televisual experience. Ultimately however, the culture of TV, like the economy of TV, is very much involved with commercials. When watching a movie in a theater, you don't really get up unless you have to (bathroom) or really want to before the movie gets to its pivotal moments (popcorn). It's different with television. You get up during commercials, you might talk on the phone with your friends, you might do your homework, go to the restroom at your leisure, make dinner and do your chores, etc. It's a different experience, and commercials, the typical setting of television viewing, etc. all have a lot to do with it.

But yeah...DVR's aren't the cheapest way to avoid commercials, but are the best way to go. DVD burners can be complicated/frustrating, and are not as reliable. VCRs are outdated of course, but are definitely the cheapest way to go (if they still even sell VHS tapes).

In response to Connie B - it makes sense that different programs seem to have commercials at the same time. Different shows have different strategies, but there are people who are paid to study the televisual habits of consumers/audiences/etc. After compiling data, they determine what they have surmised to be the best placement/spacing of commercials and they run with it. That several networks adopt similar policies (that have been shown to be effective) is not surprising.

Answer 2

Too Many Commercials On Tv

Answer 3

During a segment of a morning News Show, In the 2nd half hour there were more commercials shown then Actual News. The Commentator would say something for about a minute and then another commercial come on. In that half hour slot there was maybe 10 minutes of Commentary and 20 minutes of commercials!.

Answer 4

I worked at a TV station billing commercials 40 years ago. Now there are 4 times more commercials. I have counted as many as 8 or more commercials between each segment of the program. It seems the commercials do have more time than the actual program.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why are there so many commercials on T.V. i am so tired of long commercials.?
ok, you get into a movie on T.V. and a damn commercial comes in between the good parts and somtimes they take such a long time, see i am still typing and the commercials still go on and on and on.

Answer 6

I can slowly see the changes over the years, and it is safe to say that we are now bombarded by ;....long and more frequent commercial breaks, everything is "brought to you by" , saying "stay tuned..its coming up next" (which really means 20 min. later) ,good looking people, puppies and kids, fast talking hosts and half hour sit-coms so as to "get all the content in" , sneaking in the "pop-up" ads before and after the commercial break, some now even have an up coming show down in the corner of the t.v, and stays there the whole time. Throwing out a web site, go here,click this-yet its only a ploy to view more ads!
Do you ever notice no one in the media ever talks about too many ads...its like a taboo, I am sure its in their contract, but they stay away from anything that comes close to telling the truth. THE TRUTH IS THAT NO ONE CARES ABOUT 12 MINUTES OF ADS EVERY 30 MINUTES ON T.V-IF THEY DID , NETWORKS WOULD HAVE THE 24 HOUR COMMERCIAL CHANNEL...ALL DAY ALL NIGHT....BUT THE TRUTH IS NO ONE WOULD WATCH IT SO THEY JAM IT IN BETWEEN OUR T.V PROGRAMS.

just a side note...if NFL football players took a few less million a year...we might not have to sit through an ad break every change of possession.

....for now lets just change the channel at every break..."they" know if we are watching them or not...maybe, just maybe that might make them notice

Answer 7

Everyone who is paying their Service Provider show contact them and let them know how dissatisfied everyone is because of the pushing and bombardment of these exasperating commercials. I pay a pretty good fee for garbage shows of which I must be harassed by these commercials! Why do I have to pay and the provider gets monies also from the advertisers? They are raking in the dough at the consumers expense. When the cable company first came out, we didn't have commercials at all and had a full length movie the charge was $9.99/mo. Apparently it is called greed.
I'm seriously thinking of quitting AT&T because I feel I am being way over charged. Those ads that they are getting paid for, should more than compensate them without me having to pay of $100+ per month.

Write to your provider... everyone should!

Answer 8

Commercials have gotten out of hand. I dont understand why my cable bill is at least $70 and am bombarded with commercials. This question is 7 years old and each year there are more commercials. I understand they want to make money but this is nuts. The average half hour show is less 20 minutes.
I am about to cancel my cable. At least with the internet I can filter out some ads through adblock.

Answer 9

Well commercials are pretty much how networks make their money since you don't have to pay for tv, and they will generally put up as many commercials as people will tolerate, about 1/4 the time you watch tv you are watching commercials.

Wanna avoid them? Easy and cheap way is to get a dvd recorder (mine was $66 at Wal Mart), set it to auto record your favorite shows, and fast forward through the commercials when it finishes recording.

Or look for other means of entertainment - borrow free audiobooks and dvd's from the library (don't watch movies on tv- they censor them and have waaay to many commercials). Or wait til the tv season is over if you can and rent your favorite show from Netflix.

Or just occupy yourself during the commercials- I have a Smartphone and review virtual flash cards of chinese characters during the breaks, and also my tv is hooked up to my stereo so I can switch the radio for a quick 3 or 4 minutes while the commercial is showing.

Answer 10

Note to advertisers: There are now so many interruptive commercials in the average program that I switch to my movie channel (with no commercials) and skip all your commercials. In some cases, I mute the commercials and have time to read an entire article on my iPad. With an average of 5 minutes of commercials every 6 to 7 minutes, I can afford to skip them and still gat back to the program in time. And all you pharma companies: Your products are useless and often dangerous. Once you get by the weasel words like "may help reduce" and the warnings of side effects like stroke, suicide and death, your products seem absurd and a waste of money. The toenail fungus ads are the most egregious--which is why the FDA forced you to say nothing about solves, cures, eliminates or even reduces toenail fungus--all you are allowed to say in your ad is that your product "fights" fungus. I can get in the ring with Mike Tyson and fight him--doesn't mean I'll win. And auto makers, please stop with the prices in your ads--we all know they're soooo misleading.