We are in the middle of the series Heroes on BBCTV here in the UK and I'm really enjoying it. Number two daughter suggested I watched as she has already seen it twice on a satellite channel. Something I noticed is that each episode runs for about 41 minutes but I'm guessing that over with you it fills a one hour slot. How do you cope with all those adverts interrupting the flow? How many breaks would there be in a one hour show?

On the BBC there are no ads during a programme and just 2 or 3 minutes in between where they advertise other programmes. Even on the commercial channels (ITV, Channel 4, 5) the ads including other programme ads won't go over 10 minutes in an hour. I also noticed the last 'opening' credits were running over 12 minutes in so would there have been at least one commercial break before that?

>>How do you cope with all those adverts interrupting the flow?

More channels. More junk food breaks.

(kind of explains a lot about our culture, right?)

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The ads easily take up 20 minutes of programming in a 60 minute broadcast, and yes, they do interrupt the flow of the story. This is why people are so fond of Tivo and other recorders that let you skip commercials.

Depending on the show, there are 4-6 commercial breaks.

DM



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2007 04:05PM by dmann.

I wait for the series to come out on DVD, then I rent it via Netflix. Sometimes, if I'm really into the series, I'll buy it.

On the rare occasion I want to watch something during the season, I record it via DVR and then speed through the commercials via fast-forward.

I almost never watch 'live' TV anymore.

(FWIW, I've not yet seen HEROES, thought Season One did just come out on DVD...)

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Which gives meaning to the title of the Canadian comedy show, 'This Hour Has 23 Minutes'...

Sigh.

There is no way on earth that I could watch regular TV here with the mass quantity of advertisements inserted. That's why I bought a couple of ReplayTVs (similar to Tivo or other DVRs). That way, the Replay automatically skips through all the commercials. I never ever watch live TV except when I'm visiting relatives in england.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

I use a TV tuner card in my Ubuntu Linux box running MythTV. I will let me skip the commercials too. I don't have an actual TV anymore.

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MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#

How do you think we all post while watching TV? And that is probably why we are all ADD, but we do get to go to the potty more, so I guess it can be a good thing.

Actually, I think we have just gotten used to it. Commercial TV has always been that way here, except for PBS. The premium channels like HBO, Showtime, etc are w/o commercials, so there are alternatives. I don't really mind the ads, but sometimes that is because the ads are better than the programming.

Now pop up ads on-line, I just can't stand.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

I do the same as others here and just dvr the show and then fast forward past the commercials.

What I hate are the ads that cover the screen during the show. Makes me want to stop watching said show all together.

Are shows like Heroes available from BBC online?

I know torrents and such are available--I just mean in a simple viewer from BBC?

The vast majority of us just watch without giving a thought to the commercials. Oftentimes the commercials are better than the show (many sporting events). Most of what I watch comes on free television and I'm not about to pay extra to watch those shows. I certainly do not feel that the flow of "Everybody Hates Chris" is interrupted by commercials. Now I have a strange hankering for some "Head On! Apply Directly to the Forehead!"

I am with Zoidberg -- don't watch TV "live" (save for sports), watch a tonne of it on DVD.

And I don't much care for American television anymore.
It's all this rubbish "reality" bit (an idea imported from your side of the pond, in an ironic twist) mostly, so I tend to go for either older shows, HBO/Sho shows or BBC stuff.

I don't have the cable either.
I probably would if I could pick and choose a few channels, but until they let you do that I refuse to pay $100 for a "package" because I want one or two decent channels out of five-hundred offered.

The BBC are starting to make available their TV output online for a week after their initial showing. Unfortunately it isn't available at the moment for Mac users which has caused a bit of a storm over here. The government has told them to make it available on all usual computer platforms as soon as possible.

[www.tv-links.co.uk]

Americans would probably lose 50 pounds each if they were subject to commercial free TV.
Maybe even starve.

Wander aimlessly at the liquor store not knowing what to do.


I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm drivin' in my car
And a man comes on the radio
He's telling me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm watchin' my TV
And a man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no girlie action
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm ridin' round the world
And I'm doin' this and I'm signing that
And I'm tryin' to make some girl
Who tells me baby better come back later next week
'Cause you see I'm on losing streak
I can't get no, a no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no, I can't get no
I can't get no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction

don't you guys pay some sort of annual license fee on your tv sets in the U.K.?

Think of commercials as a tax of sorts.

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Bryan
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Mac Studio 2022
MacBook Pro 14 inch 2021
iPhone 14 Pro
Location: Cincinnati

Commercials interrupting my TV don't normally bother me, either. If there's something I want to watch without commercials, I record it. I'm usually watching only in the evenings, and between trips to the potty, Louie play time, and bedtime snacks, I can normally make pretty good use of all of those breaks. I've been doing this for so many years that programs without commercials can be annoying. But we've already concluded I'm weird. And some of the commercials are pretty good.

EyeTV
Total of Eight (8) tuners, Four (4) Analog, Four (4) HD.

BGnR

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"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

Torrents of LOST are typically 43 minutes including the titles, credits and the "Previously on LOST" part.

When it goes to air LOST is a one hour program.



(Not that I download Torrents).

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Our family all have TiVos.

Back in the old days the law limited TV to 9 minutes of commercials per hour. Now it runs about 44 min of programming per hour (That includes the credits which are squeezed to unreadable while they run a promo on the other half of the screen).

So old shows like Star Trek from the 60's either have to cut out about 7 min or in the case of ST:TOS G4 TV will run them uncut in 1:10 (70 minute) slots.

FCC regs require network prime time shows to take up 44 minutes of the hour by allowing a max of 16 minutes of commercials an hour on network TV. When shows go to syndication, they frequently cut 2 minutes total somewhere in the show, as most cable networks and non-prime time slots are limited to 18 minutes of ads. That original 44 minutes of show includes everything from opening scenes to end credits and preview of next episode.

As for number of breaks, it varies a bit. Some shows go for 4, others, 5 commercial breaks about evenly spaced through the show. Since I work evenings most of the year, I have to record shows to watch later. So I just skip through the ads. But I have noticed the networks are playing with the length and placement of the breaks to mess with the ad skippers. Used to be most breaks were 3 or 3 1/2 minutes, so it was easy to skip with a 1 minute fast skips on the VCR. Now I am noticing breaks of anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes for ads.

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The commercial time is typically double that of back home, an 30 minute slot on itv typically has 5 minutes of advertising, in the US it's 10, 60 minutes have 20. No biggie, wait till end of season download and watch in blocks, you know it makes sense. Btw, you been watching the IT Crowd, funniest sitcom since Blackadder, looking forward to its debut stateside.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2007 12:50PM by SLM.

TiVo. It's the dogs @#$%&, mate.