Stagger the Adverts
extraextra
Posts: 321 Forum Member
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When flicking through the channels when the adverts come on, I'm surprised that adverts are not staggered throughout the hour on commercial TV. So if your watching Daybreak as an example which is a two hour plus programme and you hit the adverts I change to the +1 channel, I just keep clicking to a programme that is not showing commercials, often not returning to my original selection, if you see what I mean?
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Very odd.
Though I also wish ad breaks were staggered.
or are you suggesting total deregulation?
But with a mathematical hat on as adverts are 12 min per hour and probably another 5 mins of interstitials trails - there is only a 3 in 4 chance that when you turn your TV on there will be a programme!
What exactly is OFCOM's role and who comes first, is it the broadcasters, advertisers or viewers? When the rules regarding ads were changed were viewers consulted, did OFCOM investigate the finances of TV stations, did viewers request longer ad breaks, sponsorships and product placement?
At what point, if ever, would OFCOM declare there is too much advertising spoiling the viewing experience or will there be an ever increasing amount of advertising and less programme content?
Whatever happened to 'natural breaks', is there evidence viewers these days prefer their programmes abruptly interrupted with ads?
Exactly
What exactly is your "matter of principle"? Is it the principle that viewers are somehow owed something for nothing?
Yes indeed, if there's conflicting programmes on I'll always pick the one without ads.
I don't HATE the ads but they are sometimes a nuisance. If the ads weren't there, neither would the programms be. I guess the advertisers accept that some people do what we do, but they obviously think the "hit rate" is high enough.
CH-A...PPPPP*PPPPP*PPPPP*PPPPP
CH-B...PPPPPP*PPPPP*PPPPP*PPPPP
[Where "P" is the programme and "*" is the ad break]
The above example means if viewers abandoned CH-A and went a-flickin' during the adverts, then CH-B would have actual programme content when viewers stumbled upon it (rather than adverts as well)
Thus picking up some extra viewers!
Of course, CH-B will eventually have a commercial break. If people flick around during it's commercial break they will find all the other channels now have actual programme content!
So it's actually not such a good idea.
Advertising), which technologist has made reference to, so people can read what the rules actually are:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/other-codes/tacode.pdf
I think OFCOM sees itself as having to strike an equal balance between the interests of all 3 parties.
Not quite true. Up until about 15 years ago, you would get 2 breaks in the middle of an hour-long show (as opposed to 3 now), at around 20 and 40 minutes into it.
But then commercial broadcasters decided to push the rules to their limits and schedule more adverts at peak times - up to 12 minutes per hour instead of the average 9 minutes. Trouble was programmes were still of a length suited to the old advertising regime (as many programmes are made long before they're broadcast), around 51 minutes per hour, when showing 12 minutes of adverts, which led to what you've mentioned: programmes running very late as each evening went on. I remember programmes routinely being up to 10 minutes late on ITV(1) when you got to around 10pm or 11pm each night. These were never apologised for, as they were deliberately that late. And broadcasters these days don't like having programmes start at 9:05pm or 10:10pm on weekdays - it just doesn't look very neat. Maybe you'd get 11:05pm start times, particularly on Channel 4, I remember, but only because it was assumed people were on their way to bed by then, so it wouldn't matter very much. Only when programmes were made shorter, to more like 46 minutes per hour, to accommodate all the adverts scheduled for a particular time slot, did programmes start to run more to time again.
If I don't look in my TV mag or bother to press "Guide", I sometimes like to browse up and down the channels until I find something I like.
In that instance, I quickly bypass all channels showing adverts until I find a real programme, often on the likes of Film 4 or Movies4Men.
In that instance, had they being showing an actual programme I might well have settled on one of theirs, before getting to the programme I actual settle on, especially bearing in mind that, on my Freesat system, the movie channels are all in the 300s whereas I'll likely start from 101 and work upwards.
Why do all programmes HAVE to start on the hour or half hour? Can't the broadcasters stagger the start times?
Having staggered start times would also inconvenience viewers as it would drastically increase the number of overlaps and clashes.