They started in doing this the last few months trimming additional time per episode.

Over a years time with the added commercials it equals 22 full 24 hours days worth of ads. Enough is enough, right now the shows airing run just over 20 mins and about 10 seconds per show.

I heard several people mention this so I decided to do my own investigation. I tested Friends on a local channel, MWC and Friends on TBS, Family Matters on N@N, and Roseanne on TV Land. Every single show ran between 20:15 and 21:15(Friends on TBS came in the lowest, while MWC on TBS came in the highest, followed by Roseanne on TV Land, MWC was the only show that came in over 21 minutes, the others were under, I counted everything that wasn't a commercial, including the opening and closing credits). I don't think it's a TV Land problem, I don't know how long shows ran in syndication a few years ago but I suspect they in general are edited even more now and it's just a general issue. An original sitcom on the networks barely runs 21 minutes now.

It's sad but it's not a one network thing it seems.

I didn't look at MWC or Rosanne, I did check third Rock, Hillbillies, AITF and a few others, a few months ago they came in at 22 mins and 20 seconds so its a very new thing that they started editing in extra ad time.

Hard to believe that they add 22 days worth of that garbage though. Not really I know they want to add in as many commercials as possible.

I heard several people mention this so I decided to do my own investigation. I tested Friends on a local channel, MWC and Friends on TBS, Family Matters on N@N, and Roseanne on TV Land. Every single show ran between 20:15 and 21:15(Friends on TBS came in the lowest, while MWC on TBS came in the highest, followed by Roseanne on TV Land, MWC was the only show that came in over 21 minutes, the others were under, I counted everything that wasn't a commercial, including the opening and closing credits). I don't think it's a TV Land problem, I don't know how long shows ran in syndication a few years ago but I suspect they in general are edited even more now and it's just a general issue. An original sitcom on the networks barely runs 21 minutes now.

It's sad but it's not a one network thing it seems.


Sad isn't it? At one time a original network sho was 27 mins

No I have not Noticed that

I have noticed that TVLand has edit out up to five minutes of TV shows to make way for more commercials. Also keep in mind older shows were a few minutes longer than shows today.

I have noticed that TVLand has edit out up to five minutes of TV shows to make way for more commercials. Also keep in mind older shows were a few minutes longer than shows today.


That's old news, TV land has been doing that for 10 years

Sad isn't it? At one time a original network sho was 27 mins

I think the most has been 25-26 minutes for a network sitcom-lol.

I've always thought TV Land edits their shows fairly. Most of their shows run 22 minutes, which is actually higher than the 20-21 minutes some networks do.

I think the most has been 25-26 minutes for a network sitcom-lol.

I've always thought TV Land edits their shows fairly. Most of their shows run 22 minutes, which is actually higher than the 20-21 minutes some networks do.


No during the original run sometimes a ep ran 27 mins because of a adiitional tag combined with the teaser and opening and closing credits.

I think the most has been 25-26 minutes for a network sitcom-lol.

I've always thought TV Land edits their shows fairly. Most of their shows run 22 minutes, which is actually higher than the 20-21 minutes some networks do.

I really hate to defend TV Land because I think they are in the worst shape they've ever been(with off the clock and changing the schedule every week), but on this I have to. I agree... it's not any worse than the other cable networks that syndicate shows do.

TV Land has edited Married with Children terribly. Compare it to Spike TV and you'll see.

TV Land has edited Married with Children terribly. Compare it to Spike TV and you'll see.

I'll have to check that out. Hmmmm... I just assumed they had the same edits as Spike(I just recently started watching the show).

Oh, there is one thing I hate about TV Land's editing: They put in an extra commercial where there isn't supposed to be one.

I'll have to check that out. Hmmmm... I just assumed they had the same edits as Spike(I just recently started watching the show).

Oh, there is one thing I hate about TV Land's editing: They put in an extra commercial where there isn't supposed to be one.

Nick at Nite does that too now. I'll have to check out the Married with Children edits, too.

One thing about TV Land edits I did notice - specifically, last night I was watching an episode of Roseanne, and without getting into detail, they edited out a part of the episode that was essential to the last 15 minutes of the show. That kind of annoyed me.

Besides that, they usually don't edit that much out. Their editing style can be terrible at times, though.

No during the original run sometimes a ep ran 27 mins because of a adiitional tag combined with the teaser and opening and closing credits.

I still think that with the tag, teaser, and credits included, the most a show ran was somewhere under 26 minutes. Can someone verify?

I still think that with the tag, teaser, and credits included, the most a show ran was somewhere under 26 minutes. Can someone verify?


I have CBS eo of rthe Jeffersons or All In The family and remember timing it around 27:09

I'm not really a Roseanne viewer, but are they cutting more from Roseanne than NAN (I'm asking since it was said that MWC is edited different on Spike)? I swear that Andy Griffith has more commercials than it used to have. It runs much longer on one of my locals.

I HATE Hallmark's editing and they cut out some important/good parts a lot, but their editing of Lucy is almost better than TV Land IMO. And at least they show the real closing credits :rolleyes:

I'm not really a Roseanne viewer, but are they cutting more from Roseanne than NAN (I'm asking since it was said that MWC is edited different on Spike)?

I'm not really sure but I don't think so. The run time differences are only a few seconds apart from what I can tell, so if there are major edits it must mean something N@N cut is back in. I'm not sure though.

N@N does 2 commercials per show, TV Land does 3, TBS does 3 for MWC but 4 for Friends(as does the local station, which I find annoying, I'd rather have 2 long commercials like N@N than 4 short ones)

I'm not really sure but I don't think so. The run time differences are only a few seconds apart from what I can tell, so if there are major edits it must mean something N@N cut is back in. I'm not sure though.

N@N does 2 commercials per show, TV Land does 3, TBS does 3 for MWC but 4 for Friends(as does the local station, which I find annoying, I'd rather have 2 long commercials like N@N than 4 short ones)

The edits for Roseanne seem to be equal in runtimes, but N@N's editing of the show was much, much cleaner, with 2 commercial breaks where they were originally. TV Land's editing styles, of putting commercials in at odd times, and the off-the-clock programming which gives us more commercials, is sloppy, which probably makes the runtime seem less.

The edits for Roseanne seem to be equal in runtimes, but N@N's editing of the show was much, much cleaner, with 2 commercial breaks where they were originally. TV Land's editing styles, of putting commercials in at odd times, and the off-the-clock programming which gives us more commercials, is sloppy, which probably makes the runtime seem less.

I definitely agree with this. I can't stand the horribly long commercial breaks, and then putting in a commercial where it doesn't belong. Sometimes it only runs 3-4 minutes before another commercial starts. :rolleyes:

I definitely agree with this. I can't stand the horribly long commercial breaks, and then putting in a commercial where it doesn't belong. Sometimes it only runs 3-4 minutes before another commercial starts. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I definitely hate that. If TV Land were a normal network, all they'd need is a commercial break half way through and at the end. The commercials seem so erratic to me, and off-the-clock just makes it worse.

I know until 2006? TV Land (regular, the original) usually did 2 breaks, one about 10 minutes in to the show then another one before the tag scene, then between the shows.

I know until 2006? TV Land (regular, the original) usually did 2 breaks, one about 10 minutes in to the show then another one before the tag scene, then between the shows.

Yeah, I still have some Jeffersons DVD's from it's launch in August/September 2006(actually have all the Labor Day marathon episodes) and even when they went off the clock back then they still had a break between episodes(and no weird commercial breaks)... oh and they didn't cut the end credits!

I dont notice what TVLand does because I havent watched the channel for years. Unlike the Brokeback Mountain Cowboy I can QUIT TVLand and DID!!

I'll have to check that out. Hmmmm... I just assumed they had the same edits as Spike(I just recently started watching the show).

Oh, there is one thing I hate about TV Land's editing: They put in an extra commercial where there isn't supposed to be one.

That sort of thing is so annoying! I remember ABC Family does that a lot. Always during Full House, they chop to a commercial sometimes even in the middle of a sound track - it makes it terribly obvious, in my opinion.

Yeah, I definitely hate that. If TV Land were a normal network, all they'd need is a commercial break half way through and at the end. The commercials seem so erratic to me, and off-the-clock just makes it worse.

What I have always found frustrating is when some networks put a commercial break right after the opening theme song. An example would be TBS who always puts a 3-4 min commercial after the SBTB theme song. Nothing has happened and then it's 805 you know? Also, recently they chopped the theme so it's like 10 secs and not a full minute as in the original and the commericals are longer :(

What I have always found frustrating is when some networks put a commercial break right after the opening theme song. An example would be TBS who always puts a 3-4 min commercial after the SBTB theme song. Nothing has happened and then it's 805 you know? Also, recently they chopped the theme so it's like 10 secs and not a full minute as in the original and the commericals are longer :(

Yeah, I don't like that either. Commercials belong at the halfway point, at the end, and after the tag scene. I don't understand why networks feel the need to put them in odd spots.

I heard several people mention this so I decided to do my own investigation. I tested Friends on a local channel, MWC and Friends on TBS, Family Matters on N@N, and Roseanne on TV Land. Every single show ran between 20:15 and 21:15(Friends on TBS came in the lowest, while MWC on TBS came in the highest, followed by Roseanne on TV Land, MWC was the only show that came in over 21 minutes, the others were under, I counted everything that wasn't a commercial, including the opening and closing credits). I don't think it's a TV Land problem, I don't know how long shows ran in syndication a few years ago but I suspect they in general are edited even more now and it's just a general issue. An original sitcom on the networks barely runs 21 minutes now.

It's sad but it's not a one network thing it seems.
They used to come in at 22 minutes regularly in syndication.

I feel sorry for you Americans now, I really do. Everything isn't perfect over here in Sweden either, but at least, we hardly ever edit a TV show, and we never do it just to cram in more comercials. Our public network, SVT, don't have any comercial breaks at any time on any of their channels, as they're not even allowed to have it. And even at the other networks, we show every episode of every American show in full. I can't see why American networks do such things. Maybe they get a quick financial gain, when they have so many comercials, but people get tired of it, and they buy the DVDs, which have the episodes intact, rather than watch edited versions on TV.

They did it constantly with Night Court, which is making these uncut DVD releases interesting for me

I feel sorry for you Americans now, I really do. Everything isn't perfect over here in Sweden either, but at least, we hardly ever edit a TV show, and we never do it just to cram in more comercials. Our public network, SVT, don't have any comercial breaks at any time on any of their channels, as they're not even allowed to have it. And even at the other networks, we show every episode of every American show in full. I can't see why American networks do such things. Maybe they get a quick financial gain, when they have so many comercials, but people get tired of it, and they buy the DVDs, which have the episodes intact, rather than watch edited versions on TV.

I'm interested to hear which classic sitcoms air on the stations based in Sweden. Could you give a quick overview, please?

That depends on what you mean by "classic". But these the are American sitcoms from before 2000, which have been aired on at least one of the Swedish networks during the last few years:

70s sitcoms: "MASH", "Taxi".

80s sitcoms: "The Cosby show", "Alf", "Family Ties", "Cheers", "The golden girls", "Murphy Brown".

90s sitcoms: "Family Matters", "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air", "The nanny", "Roseanne", "Friends".

And there are also a couple of sitcoms, which haven't been aired on any Swedish network for a couple of years now, but they have at least been aired during the 2000s, like "Happy days", "Full House", "Blossom", "Sister, sister" and "Hanging with Mr Cooper".

N@N does 2 commercials per show, TV Land does 3, TBS does 3 for MWC but 4 for Friends ...

Brent, are you saying that Friends is on Nick at Nite now? I thought I read that it wasn't scheduled for that network until 2011. (And no, that is not a knock against the show!)

I expect these shows to be on N@N soon

"The Game"

Brent, are you saying that Friends is on Nick at Nite now? I thought I read that it wasn't scheduled for that network until 2011. (And no, that is not a knock against the show!)

No... I said Friends was on TBS which it is.

No... I said Friends was on TBS which it is.

Sorry, Brent, to me the letters "TBS" weren't as noticeable as "N@N". I also thought the letters "MWC" stood out more than "TBS"! :eek: It must be a noticeability thing!

To be honest, most TV ad time these days is annoying. I realize that's where they make their money, but it's gotten out of hand. It used to be that commercial breaks never ran more than 2 minutes, then they were back to the show. Now, sometimes you get 4 or 5 minute commercial breaks - even in primetime. Most syndicated shows these days run just over 20 minutes if you take out the commercials.

It's just as bad in radio - sometimes I'll get in my car for a short 10-minute tripi, and hear one song, and the rest commercials, promos, etc. It just seems to go on forever.

I really think the best TV shows ever were from the '60s and '70s. There have only been a few shows '80s-present I've really liked. With all the extra ad time on TV these days, it's really turning me away from it. I watch sporting events (big hockey fan!) but most of my viewing is classic shows on DVD - some are burned discs of shows I've recorded - or gotten in trades. There are too many commercials and they're really turning me off most current TV now.

End of rant!

I still think that with the tag, teaser, and credits included, the most a show ran was somewhere under 26 minutes. Can someone verify?

In my experience w/ the sitcom DVDs that I have watched, sitcoms as originally aired (and shown on DVD) generally come in at the 24-26 minute range from the 60s (Dick Van Dyke) to the 80s (Three's Company). They shrank to 22-23 minutes in the 90s (Seinfeld) and down to 20-21 minutes now (Two and a Half Men). I know that Seinfeld is cut even further in syndication today. I'm not sure about Two and a Half Men in syndication, but it's hard to see how it could be cut much further.

I remember hearing, however, that the ALF DVD's were actually just the syndicated cuts of the original and some scenes were cut out. I think they ran 21-22 minutes on the DVD as opposed to maybe 24-25.

Yes, I've heard that too. And also, when season 1 of "The Cosby show" first was released on DVD, they used the edited syndication version of those episodes. But that was later changed, as people started complaining.

I feel sorry for you Americans now, I really do. Everything isn't perfect over here in Sweden either, but at least, we hardly ever edit a TV show, and we never do it just to cram in more comercials. Our public network, SVT, don't have any comercial breaks at any time on any of their channels, as they're not even allowed to have it. And even at the other networks, we show every episode of every American show in full. I can't see why American networks do such things. Maybe they get a quick financial gain, when they have so many comercials, but people get tired of it, and they buy the DVDs, which have the episodes intact, rather than watch edited versions on TV.
I bumped this up not because of TVLand,I don't care about them. Furiennas post says it all.

I bumped this up not because of TVLand,I don't care about them. Furiennas post says it all.
And I still stand by those words. ;)

And I still stand by those words. ;)
And you are 100 percent right.How television works in Sweden is so SUPERIOR to what American TV has turned into,it's not even a contest.