As most already know,for many years it was unheard of for a tv show to have more than 5 minutes of commercials per half hour.Thats why tv shows made during the 1950s through 70s ran 25-26 minutes per half hour.The tv industry used to control the amount of ads and there were other regulatory measures as well.---Nowadays tv stations are pushing almost as many ads as tv show in many cases,plus editing ending credits etc. etc.You guys and gals know the deal.---Anyhow would you be in favor of a law limiting the amount of ads allowed?

I'm in favor of networks limiting commercial time, but I don't neccessarily think that they should make it a law.

But the networks/tv stations won't limit commercial time.That's why I'm in favor of some type of law/measures etc. that limit commercial time to no more than 5-6 minutes per half hour.And such things as editing the ending credits,pop-ups etc. should be banned.---And of course it would not be a new thing because in the past the amount/content of ads was controlled.

There actually is a Law on the books that LIMITS the amount of Commercials to 10 Minutes per Hour on weekdays and 12 Minutes per Hour on Weekends, but there's a Problem. It only applies TO CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING.

Therefore I'd like to see this Law AMENDED so that it applies to ALL PROGRAMMING.

There's one other thing I'd like to see done as well. I'd like to see the "V-Chip" Law AMENDED so that it applies to Commercials as well as Programs. Many Advertisers do not seem to care WHO is in front of the TV whenever their Ads are playing. The Medical Companies are among the biggest offenders. Prescription Drug Commercials for all kinds of "Bodily Functions", including Sex, are played at all times of the day. During some Weekend Afternoon Sporting Events one cannot go 15 minutes without seeing one of these ads, and there is absolutely NO indication that they are about to come on. Parents have to CRINGE whenever a program their Kids are watching goes to a Commercial Break (I have even seen these Commercials aired during Children's Programs, which is why I "Cut the Cord", cancelling my Cable Subscription a little over four years ago). These kinds of Commercials may have their place, but not whenever Children are watching. Parent's have control over what Programs their Children watch, they should also have control over what Commercials their Children see.

There actually is a Law on the books that LIMITS the amount of Commercials to 10 Minutes per Hour on weekdays and 12 Minutes per Hour on Weekends, but there's a Problem. It only applies TO CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING.

Therefore I'd like to see this Law AMENDED so that it applies to ALL PROGRAMMING.


Yes,that would be a good idea.However for various reasons I don't see it happenning.Afterall it would benefit the viewers.It would improve television in general.It would put a stop to what most stations have basically become, nothing more than 'commercial pushers'.Heck,alot of classic tv shows have been taken off the air because it's much harder to edit a 26 minute show into a half hour time period and put in 12+ minutes of commercials. ---And all the types of ads you mentioned used to be banned from US television.It is rediculous that they lifted that good ban.

I would definitely be in favor of such a law. The broadcast stations broadcast on federally-regulated frequencies, so I don't think it would be out-of-hand for the FCC to pass a law limiting commercial time to around 5 minutes per half-hour.

Please lets not start a politics conversation here, but it all started under the Reagan Administration when he and the FCC deregulated commercial time, television is very complex and once the 7-8PM primetime access rules changed, television began to change as well. Hence the infomercial was born along with the death of independent TV stations began along with programming choices and classic reruns started to vanish. Before the law changed, stations were not allowed to run a 30 minute advertisment, that is what a informercial is, most of them (some are) are not paid for as stated in the disclaimer at the beginning and end of each "paid program", they and the two minute filler commercials selling all sorts of gadgets are known as PI sales, meaning "per inquiry"...the station takes available time, which b4 the early 80's I love Lucy could have been shown, now every station gambles that someone will buy the product, the station then gets a part of the profit from the sale....so if you are going to limit commercial time in programs, it is more complicated than that when it comes to when the program is also a commercial.

Cable is under different laws, but network commercial time is regulated by the FCC, 45 minutes of program content per hour...yes about every 10 years 2 minutes of extra commercial time has been granted, network affliates must also get their "local" advertising insert time. That is why you will begin (it has already started on some talk shows like "The View") to see sponsors or product placement start to return to television as in the 50's when the star does some type of commercial endorsement within the program because we are now in the age of "time shifting" and we get our programming through our phones even....so the networks have to keep up with creative ways to keep the commercials in.

The sad fact is people have always been under the assumption that televison exsits for the programs when it has always been exactly the opposite, it exsists for the commericials and the program is just an excuse for you to turn the set on. That is why when the cable boom started also in the early 80's, people paid for non-regulated TV like HBO which is still not under FCC guidelines, hence george carlins 7 dirty words and nudity entered the home. People pay to go to the movies, but we are still subjected to commercials before the trailers and also they are on our paid for DVD's.

Finally its like trying to limit the number of spam email you get each day or the pop-ups on your favorite website, yes there are "blockers" for both, but television was created like most things to make money. Hence sweeps...lol.....

A LOT of people I have talked to are asking theirselves (As I did a few years ago) WHY are they paying $80-120 a Month in order to watch Commercial-INFESTED Programming. I was visiting someone House when a Family Member actually shouted out an Expletive, he got frustrated while "Surfing" and he had the misfortune of hitting a Commercial EVERY TIME he changed Channels. Some are turning to services such as Netflix or Redbox to get their programming, while others are considering doing the same thing I have done for the last four years. switching entirily to DVDs. Last Year, for the first time in History, The Pay-TV Industry recorded a DECLINE in Subscribers, IMO I feel this is a Backlash to the insane amounts of Advertising that is tossed in our faces during each show. It will be interesting to see if this trend will continue during this year. NOBODY I know has said anything good about Television Programming lately, and have you ever heard of any other Company continuing to remain in Business while continuing to raise prices and lower quality? Whenever times are tough people will not support something they perceive is not giving them their money's worth, and we are in such times right now.:mad:

While I think limits on the number of commercials would be an improvement, I do not think it should be dictated by "Big Government."

Personally I would rather see the commercials appear as still pictures for a fraction of a second before going back to the show instead of take up entire blocks of 30 seconds to one minute since we have become such an instant gratification society.

Absolutely I would support such a rule in fact I'd go even further by restricting commercials to in between programs.

Limiting commercial time would also be good for advertisers too,maybe more people would actually view the commercials,afterall alot of people 'used' to actually watch commercials.In my opinion,one reason things like the DVR player etc. have become so popular is not because of advertising,but because of OVER-advertising.

A LOT of people I have talked to are asking theirselves (As I did a few years ago) WHY are they paying $80-120 a Month in order to watch Commercial-INFESTED Programming.
Yep,in the US alot of people pay for commercials.How crazy is that!!!You know in the UK for example, people pay for television also,via a television licence,which by the way costs a fraction of an average cable/satellite bill.The difference is in the UK the BBC stations have no commercials,and of course alot of quality programming.

Limiting commercial time would also be good for advertisers too,maybe more people would actually view the commercials,afterall alot of people 'used' to actually watch commercials.In my opinion,one reason things like the DVR player etc. have become so popular is not because of advertising,but because of OVER-advertising.

You hit the nail on the head! I cannot fathom WHY some Advertisers thing their ad needs to be seen during EVERY COMMERCIAL BREAK! (Multiple times during that break as well!) Does that entice me to go out and purchase that product? Nope! IT HAS THE EXACT OPPOSITE! There are legions of Companies I will not have anything to do with until a certain Infernal Region freezes over because they advertise too much (and obnoxiously at that!):mad:

I would 100% OPPOSE such a law. Advertisers need to make money, they need to sell their product, there is NOTHING WRONG with that. If you don't like seeing an advertisement than you have a choice; TURN OFF THE TV or CHANGE THE CHANNEL.

As for this "protect the kids" argument, i feel that is so outdated and pointless. Kids today are much wiser, much smarter than in the past and they can certainly handle a 30-second TV ad for medication without becoming sexually obsessed perverts. Seriously, what do parents think is going to happen? all of a sudden every kid in America is going to become engaged in perverse adult activities because of an ad they saw on TV? If it was that easy it would have happened a long time ago.

I think that commercials have their time and place and people need to stop being so prude; seriously you need to buy products to survive in our culture, you need to know what products are out there, so commercials are vital. Seriously, I've never understood why people hate ads so much; I personally love watching commercials. I only wish they were more creatively entertaining than they currently are, they used to be enjoyable to watch; but now they are a bit boring.

Seriously, I've never understood why people hate ads so much; I personally love watching commercials. I only wish they were more creatively entertaining than they currently are, they used to be enjoyable to watch; but now they are a bit boring.

You've answered your own question! :wave: Commercials today are, for the most part lame, Boring or Obnoxious. AND THERE ARE MORE OF THEM THAN EVER BEFORE!:mad: Watch a DVD of a TV Show made in the 1960s. For example Route 66. Most episodes run about 52 Minutes in length, from Opening Theme to Credits. This means there were 8 minutes of Commercials run during the Program. Run a DVD of one of TODAYS TV Shows and it will run 38-42 Minutes in length. The Number of Commercials have MORE THAN DOUBLED! Is it any wonder people have resorted to recording a Program BEFORE they watch it, so they can skip the Ads, or have turned to DVDs and other sources for their Entertainment? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Rating the Commercials could actually result in the number of Commercials made to actually INCREASE, IF it is done properly. A "V-Chip" Box could be attached to a TV Set. This Box would be ADDRESSABLE. It would emit a Signal saying what setting it is at, and the Station would send the appropiately-rated Ad to the set. (For example a Prescription Drug Commercial to a "TV-MA" Set and a Toy Commercial to a "TV-Y" Set. A Network could run several Commercials SIMALTANIOUSLY, covering the Spectrum from TV-Y to TV-MA, sending the Appropiate Ad to the Appropiate Set. It wouldn't be long before Advertisers (and the Networks) could determine what kinds of Commercials are watched the most, and these kinds of Ads could be priced accordingly.

You mentioned Advertisers need to make Money. Advertising Prices are set the same way any other Good or Service is, by Supply and Demand. Right now, as far as Consumers are concerned, the Supply of Commercials is HIGH, while the Demand for them is LOW. If you want to make more Money, you'll need to increase the Demand, this is done by LOWERING THE SUPPLY. Lower Supply increases the Demand, which boosts Prices. Reducing the Number of Ads will also result in less people recording programs so they can skip the Commercials, because the breaks won't be as long (I've seen breaks as long as EIGHT MINUTES!):mad: So if you want to make more Money (and increase the number of viewers watching your ads, LOWER THE NUMBERS!

You've answered your own question! :wave: Commercials today are, for the most part lame, Boring or Obnoxious. AND THERE ARE MORE OF THEM THAN EVER BEFORE!:mad: Watch a DVD of a TV Show made in the 1960s. For example Route 66. Most episodes run about 52 Minutes in length, from Opening Theme to Credits. This means there were 8 minutes of Commercials run during the Program. Run a DVD of one of TODAYS TV Shows and it will run 38-42 Minutes in length. The Number of Commercials have MORE THAN DOUBLED! Is it any wonder people have resorted to recording a Program BEFORE they watch it, so they can skip the Ads, or have turned to DVDs and other sources for their Entertainment? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Rating the Commercials could actually result in the number of Commercials made to actually INCREASE, IF it is done properly. A "V-Chip" Box could be attached to a TV Set. This Box would be ADDRESSABLE. It would emit a Signal saying what setting it is at, and the Station would send the appropiately-rated Ad to the set. (For example a Prescription Drug Commercial to a "TV-MA" Set and a Toy Commercial to a "TV-Y" Set. A Network could run several Commercials SIMALTANIOUSLY, covering the Spectrum from TV-Y to TV-MA, sending the Appropiate Ad to the Appropiate Set. It wouldn't be long before Advertisers (and the Networks) could determine what kinds of Commercials are watched the most, and these kinds of Ads could be priced accordingly.

You mentioned Advertisers need to make Money. Advertising Prices are set the same way any other Good or Service is, by Supply and Demand. Right now, as far as Consumers are concerned, the Supply of Commercials is HIGH, while the Demand for them is LOW. If you want to make more Money, you'll need to increase the Demand, this is done by LOWERING THE SUPPLY. Lower Supply increases the Demand, which boosts Prices. Reducing the Number of Ads will also result in less people recording programs so they can skip the Commercials, because the breaks won't be as long (I've seen breaks as long as EIGHT MINUTES!):mad: So if you want to make more Money (and increase the number of viewers watching your ads, LOWER THE NUMBERS!

With all due respect, the advertising industry is thriving and has been for years now; I highly doubt they are looking for any new methods. I am 100% satisfied with commercials and welcome as many as they can give us. It's a part of life.

I'm in favor of limiting the commercial time. They could have the cast work a commercial into an episode as was done in the '50's.

I'm in favor of limiting the commercial time. They could have the cast work a commercial into an episode as was done in the '50's.

But, this Isn't the 50's; things have changed and that is not going to fly. Nobody in the industry would like that. Product Placement is one thing; but directly putting a commercial inside a show would be not received well.

A LOT of people I have talked to are asking theirselves (As I did a few years ago) WHY are they paying $80-120 a Month in order to watch Commercial-INFESTED Programming. I was visiting someone House when a Family Member actually shouted out an Expletive, he got frustrated while "Surfing" and he had the misfortune of hitting a Commercial EVERY TIME he changed Channels. Some are turning to services such as Netflix or Redbox to get their programming, while others are considering doing the same thing I have done for the last four years. switching entirily to DVDs. Last Year, for the first time in History, The Pay-TV Industry recorded a DECLINE in Subscribers, IMO I feel this is a Backlash to the insane amounts of Advertising that is tossed in our faces during each show. It will be interesting to see if this trend will continue during this year. NOBODY I know has said anything good about Television Programming lately, and have you ever heard of any other Company continuing to remain in Business while continuing to raise prices and lower quality? Whenever times are tough people will not support something they perceive is not giving them their money's worth, and we are in such times right now.:mad:

You are exaggerating. Cable is doing fine; it's always just been the fanatics, lunatics and cheapskates that cut cable out of their life. Most, ordinary people continue to subscribe to cable and will be doing so for sometime now. Granted, there is a new challenger in the internet, but I don't see that replacing standard cable anytime soon. If anything they will compliment each other with the internet being a great way to watch TV episodes; but TV will continue to work for producing new programming that people will watch and eventually will make its way to internet.

yes i am in the favour of limiting the commercial time....it has to be the same as it was in the 5o's

A few days ago I was watching the BBC news on PBS and they ran a story on television advertising worldwide.Some of the things they mentioned.In the UK broadcast channels are limited to six minutes per hour of commercials over the day,with a maximum of seven in any one hour.In New Zealand the limit is nine minutes per hour.In Canada 12 minutes.In Japan commercial time can make up no more than 18 percent of total broadcasting time,which amounts to about 11 minutes of commercials per hour.They mentioned many other countries,some in Western Europe who limit commercial time even further than the UK does.---Sorry I don't have a link because this was shown on television,but I think it may interest a number of people,especially (as mentioned already) considering many American television stations are now pushing in many cases 25 minutes of commercials per hour.

Always knew US telly has gotten very bad,but 25 minutes of adverts per hour is worse than bad. How do you even watch programmes that way??? I for one am grateful for the laws we have here in Britain restricting adverts during programmes.Do not want to come off as rude or insensitive but if we did not have restrictions on adverts our broadcast or satellite stations may sink as low as they have in the states.Certainly do not want that to happen. Cheers.

Brought this back up because I read an article in the Long Island Press newspaper that may also interest some people even though it kind of states the obvious. It broke down how much commercial time on American television has increased just since 1999.I'll just write down the highlights. During Prime Time hours , in 1999 Broadcast stations averaged 14 minutes of commercials per hour. Cable tv stations averaged 13 minutes and 53 seconds of ads an hour. In 2010 Broadcast stations averaged 20 minutes of ads per hour. And cable stations 21 minutes and 32 seconds of ads per hour.The article also pointed out that ad time will continue to increase.

I wonder when some criminal outfit like Viacom is going to introduce an 18 minute(or shorter) sitcom/show so they can run it 'off the clock' in a 36 or 40 minute timeslot. They already do that with their 20 minute show, Hot In Cleveland.Well actually it really runs about 19 minutes because they squeeze the ending credits on their own show.PATHETIC!

Brought this back up because I read an article in the Long Island Press newspaper that may also interest some people even though it kind of states the obvious. It broke down how much commercial time on American television has increased just since 1999.I'll just write down the highlights. During Prime Time hours , in 1999 Broadcast stations averaged 14 minutes of commercials per hour. Cable tv stations averaged 13 minutes and 53 seconds of ads an hour. In 2010 Broadcast stations averaged 20 minutes of ads per hour. And cable stations 21 minutes and 32 seconds of ads per hour.The article also pointed out that ad time will continue to increase.

Which is why I no longer watch ANY Program on either Broadcast or Pay-TV. If a Program isn't available on DVD, I simply do not watch it. I have better things to do than spend 90 minutes of each evening watching Commercials. :mad: :angryfire :mad: :angryfire :mad: :angryfire :mad: :angryfire :mad: :angryfire :mad: :angryfire :mad: :angryfire :mad:

I have NEVER seen a Company that continuiously raises its prices and lowers the quality of its Product stay in business for long. A House divided against itself CANNOT STAND! Sooner or later, people realise they are not getting any value out of what they are purchasing, and whan that happens, that Company goes out of business. The Entertainment Industry is doing this exact thing, and people are beginning to question WHY are they paying for a product that gets shoddier with every passing day. I see the entire Industry collapsing like a House of Cards, and when that happens, don't say I didnt warn you! :lol:

A few days ago I was watching the BBC news on PBS and they ran a story on television advertising worldwide.Some of the things they mentioned. In Canada 12 minutes.
From the corrupt CRTC (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/info_sht/b300.htm).

Limits to advertising time

There are limits on the amount of time most broadcasters can air commercials. They are:

Specialty services: 12 minutes per hour
Pay services (pay television and pay-per-view): don’t carry advertising
Commercial AM and FM radio stations: no limits
TV stations: no limits
CBC radio networks: prohibited from carrying advertising except for programs that are available to networks only on a sponsored basis

These time limits don’t include: the promotion of Canadian programs, public service announcements, political ads, product placements within a TV program and virtual ads.

^^^If I'm reading that above post correct,at least according to that article it seems advertising on television in Canada has gotten a little out of control too.However it's still not nearly as bad as the US.At least Canada still has some types of regulations etc. in place. And I've watched DVDs recorded off of TVLand Canada,and the shows were not edited nearly as much as TVLand America.I do know though that Canada is not nearly as civilized when it comes to limiting television advertising as lets say most Western European countries.

You are exaggerating. Cable is doing fine; it's always just been the fanatics, lunatics and cheapskates that cut cable out of their life. Most, ordinary people continue to subscribe to cable and will be doing so for sometime now. Granted, there is a new challenger in the internet, but I don't see that replacing standard cable anytime soon. If anything they will compliment each other with the internet being a great way to watch TV episodes; but TV will continue to work for producing new programming that people will watch and eventually will make its way to internet.

I disagree. I think Cable will die out sooner than you think. Generation Y is the biggest Generation to date and studies have found that they are more likely to view shows on the internet instead of on TV. I personally watch a lot more shows online, just because I can never seem to find much on TV that interests me. It's easier because you can watch what you want, when you want. Also, companies like Netflix and Hulu Plus are giving that same freedom of choice and for much less money than cable. I've been considering signing up for Netflix and cancelling my cable. Some of my friends are thinking of doing the same. I believe On-Demand viewing is the future and unless cable and satellite providers start making some changes and lowering their prices, I don't think they'll be around for much longer.

And I've watched DVDs recorded off of TVLand Canada,and the shows were not edited nearly as much as TVLand America.

I can testify to that. I have a number DVD Sets that were recorded off of Canadian TV Stations, and they are the best quality of their type. I actually make my own Case Labels for these kinds on Sets, here's a couple of them for you to see. :lol:

168661

Regulus,they probably don't speed up the picture to put in extra ads either in Canada,so the picture quality is better too.I call what American television in general has turned into:THIRD WORLD TELEVISION. I've never been to a third world country but I would guess they do not control the amount and content of commercials either.

But the networks/tv stations won't limit commercial time.That's why I'm in favor of some type of law/measures etc. that limit commercial time to no more than 5-6 minutes per half hour.And such things as editing the ending credits,pop-ups etc. should be banned.---And of course it would not be a new thing because in the past the amount/content of ads was controlled.


TOTALLY AGREE. It really bothers me when they load up on commericals and they start and end shows all over the place. I mean now shows start at 11:19 am or 3:14 pm. Whats that about? I hate that. I also hate that the end credits are not shown anymore. They should ban ALL POP-UPS and PROMOS!!! You watch one channel for an hour or two, all they show is the same damn pop-ups and ads and stuff. Its so annoying!!!

mets82,I turned on a tv station a few months ago for a few minutes,and they actually had an ad for something buzzing around like a bee on the screen during the movie.These tv stations just keep pushing it,and keep getting worse.Even tv land/commercial-land showed ending credits a few years ago. And anyone who think this problem will go away without some kind of laws being put back in place is sadly mistaken.

What gets me is these Stations, Networks and Providers can't seem to figure out WHY they are losing their Viewers and Subscribers. Even the younger viewers aren't saying anything good about what's being shown on TV. So keep raising your prices and lowering you quality. I've already jumped ship, I hope all of you get out before it's too late.

Wait for me, I can't swim.

mets82,I turned on a tv station a few months ago for a few minutes,and they actually had an ad for something buzzing around like a bee on the screen during the movie.These tv stations just keep pushing it,and keep getting worse.Even tv land/commercial-land showed ending credits a few years ago. And anyone who think this problem will go away without some kind of laws being put back in place is sadly mistaken.

I agree Lunch. The pop-up ads that really annoy me are the ones that actually have sound in them and the sound actually drowns out whatever your watching. I think you just mentioned that but when will it end?

This is basically a lose-lose situation. IF laws are enacted that limit commercial time, then I would expect EVEN MORE product placement and those horrible banner ads. What's disgusting is that the most recent half-hour sitcoms are easily under 20 minutes.

There are some episodes of Big Bang Theory that are 18-19 minutes. And that's on the DVD with "extended" credits that aren't aired (or normal credits by TV standards for its first 50 years). That is pretty ridiculous when you sit and think that I Love Lucy had 25-26 minutes in the same amount of air time.

The biggest question is "when does it stop?" Someone else pointed out that they shave off about 2 min per half-hour show about once a decade. At that rate that has gone unchallenged for 30 years, sitcoms are going to be about 15 minutes or a whopping 50% of the allotted time by 2030. If there hasn't been a revolt by then...

I also wish that something could be done about the commercial time. This past Saturday, my dad and I went to a restaurant that had CMT playing on its TV. It had what was supposed to be a top-20 country countdown show. (Which shocked me. I mean, gosh, they still make music videos?!? Anyway...) They ran a commercial break that lasted forever before playing the next couple of songs. Then, after another lengthy commercial break, and before they played the next song - and as part of the show - they ran the trailer for the Captain America movie. The reason for that, of course, CMT is a Paramount / Viacom channel, and "Captain America" is a Paramount movie. I didn't think things would sink this low.

Unfortunately, this is yet another sticky situation. I'm afraid that this will be another one of those things that - despite me being a Christian, against abortion, drug abuse, etc. - some people will call me "liberal". (And dang, I hope that nonsense stops real soon. I could write a thread.)

But yeah, I hope something will be done, especially about reruns being cut-up and sped-up. Maybe those numbers of cable subscribers decreasing will eventually send these channels a message. Maybe businesses themselves will finally wake up that we're sick of these things calling themselves commercials over the past 15 or so years. Maybe cable channels and broadcasters will respect the fact that when we're watching TV right now, we don't want the things we saw on the computer following us there (pop-up ads, cursor arrows), and we want to see something else now.

One thing I think will help somewhat would be if channels stopped worrying about having to show any of the program after the opening theme right away. They can do what used to be done: After the beginning of "Alice" or "Sanford & Son", take the first commercial break. Then go to the next part of the show.

They can't pin this on "but tastes change". "Tastes" are sick and tired of how TV looks in the past few years, and we want this stopped.

It does irritate me that shows and movies never show the end credits anymore. And ususally it's to air a commercial that they could have aired in between the next show! The Disney Channel is really weird about that because they only show "Disney Channel" commercials. But yet they interrupt their shows to do so. Why not just show the entire show and then show the previews in between. Probably because no one would watch.

This is basically a lose-lose situation. IF laws are enacted that limit commercial time, then I would expect EVEN MORE product placement and those horrible banner ads. What's disgusting is that the most recent half-hour sitcoms are easily under 20 minutes.

..
That's why as I mentioned before all that other stuff has to be banned in ADDITION to limiting commercial time.Then it would be a win-win situation.It can easily be done,and tv stations would still do fine and make plenty of money.

That's why as I mentioned before all that other stuff has to be banned in ADDITION to limiting commercial time.Then it would be a win-win situation.It can easily be done,and tv stations would still do fine and make plenty of money.

If laws were to be passed Limiting Advertising I'd also like to see a Law passed PROHIBITING Companies from passing Advertising Costs to the Customers. Advertising would be 100% Gambling that someone is actually interested in your Ad and will come to purchase your product. Otherwise Companies will jack up the prioce of everything and say "It's due to increased Advertising Costs." :angryfire

As most already know,for many years it was unheard of for a tv show to have more than 5 minutes of commercials per half hour.Thats why tv shows made during the 1950s through 70s ran 25-26 minutes per half hour.The tv industry used to control the amount of ads and there were other regulatory measures as well.---Nowadays tv stations are pushing almost as many ads as tv show in many cases,plus editing ending credits etc. etc.You guys and gals know the deal.---Anyhow would you be in favor of a law limiting the amount of ads allowed?


I would be in favor of limiting commercials about

Cancer
Diabetes
Heart Disease
Kidney Problems


I mean who wants to keep seeing these depressing ass commercials?

The AMA and pharmaceutical companies want us to keep seeing those depressing commercials.

^^^^So true.Or in my case keep avoiding those commercials,I don't watch any commercials anymore. And the ONLY country that allows drug companies to advertise on television is America.It's beyond pathetic!And as I mentioned earlier in this thread they of course used to be banned in America too.They are banned all over the world with the possible exception of New Zealand.

I don't mind FUN commercials about

cereal
cookies
cell phones
TV's
Detegent
Juice


But I no longer watch another medical commercial

These are some of the commercials I keep seeing;

LIFE INSURANCE " If you are between the ages of 0-85 call this number "
( Should call them and hand the phone to a 4 year old)

INSURANCE COMPANY ( A man is being kicked and punched by everyone that walks by) " This is what it feels like getting caught without insurance "
( No, thats what it feels like paying for insurance.)

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ( They say to take these pills if I have the symptons they are talking about) an hour later I see a commercial with a lawyer and his brother telling me if I took those pills I might be in danger and might be able t
o sue for a lot of money. ( should run those commercials back to back.)

What irks me most about the Pharmacautical Companies is they show absolutly NO REGARD to WHO is in front of the TV Set when their Ads for their products air. On a weekend afternoon, you cannot go 15 minutes without seeing at least one ad for a Sex Pill such as Cialis or Viagra. Even Children's Shows are not safe from these kinds of Commercials. :eek: (After seeing and "ED Pill" during a kids show in 2006 I made up my mind to "Cut the Cord", cancelling my subscription and using the money formerly used to pay the fee to purchase programming on Home Video). Parents have to CRINGE whenever a program their children are watching goes to a commercial break, because there is absolutly NO indication these kinds of Ads are about to come on. :mad: :angryfire

In addition to limiting the number of Commercials shown on TV I'd also like to see the "V-Chip" Law AMENDED so parents could BLOCK Certain Advertisments that they do not wish their children to see. (It's bad enough for them that their Kids badger them for that "Hot" Toy or Game they absolutly HAVE to get, without getting asked about certain "Bodily Functions", most likely asked when their Parents are entertaining Guests!):confused:

I brought this back up because even I was surprised to see this.I checked TVLands schedule today.They are running an off the clock(what else) marathon of Hot In Cleveland episodes.If you look at the schedule you'll see that they are pushing the amount of ads close to 50% commercials.Or in other words HALF commercials and half tv show.Remember H.In.Cleveland runs only 20 minutes unedited.

I brought this back up because even I was surprised to see this.I checked TVLands schedule today.They are running an off the clock(what else) marathon of Hot In Cleveland episodes.If you look at the schedule you'll see that they are pushing the amount of ads close to 50% commercials.Or in other words HALF commercials and half tv show.Remember H.In.Cleveland runs only 20 minutes unedited.


They don't do it for all their shows only certain ones. TV Land treats Three's Company and Sanford and Son pretty good.

TVFactFan actually if you look at shows like the ones you mentioned on TVLand they still have at least about 40 percent or more commercials.And they just keep raising the amount so soon they will have at least 50 percent ads on those shows too.

TVFactFan actually if you look at shows like the ones you mentioned on TVLand they still have at least about 40 percent or more commercials.And they just keep raising the amount so soon they will have at least 50 percent on those shows too.


I would love to see it, S&S is TVLand's Baby-lol

Yes and no.

1)Yes because as a viewer I hate seeing commercials, especially gross and disturbing ones. By this I mean the ones about diseases, ill children and animals, etc. Also, commercials bug me.

2)No because I am a former broadcaster and commercials mean more profit. When a station has more money this can lead to two things: more choices in tv shows and more employees. Stations make their money off advertisers and a station with little commercials means less shows and less employees. In this economy it's especially good to have more employees because so many broadcasting companies have had to let people go.

Yesterday I got a hot plate of stew and sat down in front of the tv to watch some old shows and the first commercial that came on was this one, " If you haven't crapped in 3 days,you could be holding 13 Lbs of fecal waste ". I lost my appetite. If they can't limit the amount of commercials they should at least be more selective on what to air.

Yesterday I got a hot plate of stew and sat down in front of the tv to watch some old shows and the first commercial that came on was this one, " If you haven't crapped in 3 days,you could be holding 13 Lbs of fecal waste ". I lost my appetite. If they can't limit the amount of commercials they should at least be more selective on what to air.


See that's one thing you don't have to worry about when watching football. No nasty commecials, no cancer or diabetes commercials

Just pizza, beer, cars, and cell phone commercials

There are a lot of differences between today and earlier periods on history.

One tv is a much more expensive medium

1st: unlike those earlier periods studios only had to pay out writers, directors and actors residuals for what like ten reruns, the rest then went fully to the production company. Now they pay residuals for the life of that program. This seriously impacts the largest revenue cycle of shows.

2nd: Production cost and values.
Star Trek had one of the most expensive pilots in the 60s at 300,000. 30 years later Deep Space Nine was created at 14 million, though it was two hours. While not all shows are expensive to produce, comedies, news hours and most reality shows are cheap, the vast improvement in scope of tv, quality of production values ect have given us shows that would never be able to produce with the old commercial limit.

3rd: thanks the creation of a home media market on the 80's and the influx of hundreds of original shows on cable, syndication (stripping) revenue as dropped dramatically. So more and more of a shows cost need to be generated off if it's broadcast run.

An example as a kid and young adult I watch reruns of Star trek every day (and those already in the 70s had additional minutes cut to make room for more commercials), so that's daily revenue for Paramounts billion dollar franchise.

But with the start of TNG and VHS I recorded the original broadcast edited out commercials, and never watched a rerun again. Yet I have watched each one hundreds of times each. Meaning no money generated to Paramount.

Just wait, in a little over four months we'll get BOMBARDED with the WORST Commercials of them all, the :( :mad: :angryfire POLITICAL COMMERCIALS :angryfire :mad: :( I, thankfully will have enough DVDs, VHS Tapes and CDs that I'll be able to Listen to Music and watch TV Shows and Movies WITHOUT having to listen to these Buffoons SLANDER each other to the depths of Hades trying to convince you their opponut is THE ANTICHRIST. It :barf: SICKENS :barf: me to think about the BILLIONS of dollars that will be spent on these ABOMONATIONS while families struggle to make ends meet. By the time the Elections are over, I'm sure most of you will welcome the Christmas Commercials with :bighug: OPEN ARMS!!!:bighug:

PS, from January 1 to November 6 I will DISCONNECT my Telephone between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, in order to keep the "Robocallers" at bay! :crazy:

Just wait, in a little over four months we'll get BOMBARDED with the WORST Commercials of them all, the :( :mad: :angryfire POLITICAL COMMERCIALS :angryfire :mad: :( I, thankfully will have enough DVDs, VHS Tapes and CDs that I'll be able to Listen to Music and watch TV Shows and Movies WITHOUT having to listen to these Buffoons SLANDER each other to the depths of Hades trying to convince you their opponut is THE ANTICHRIST. It :barf: SICKENS :barf: me to think about the BILLIONS of dollars that will be spent on these ABOMONATIONS while families struggle to make ends meet. By the time the Elections are over, I'm sure most of you will welcome the Christmas Commercials with :bighug: OPEN ARMS!!!:bighug:

PS, from January 1 to November 6 I will DISCONNECT my Telephone between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, in order to keep the "Robocallers" at bay! :crazy:
I remember one of those election years,I kept getting phone calls and my caller ID only showed the number,no name. I didn't recognize it so I called it back,It was the local campaign headquarters for this weasel that was running for governor. It was a recording urging me to vote for this skunk, so I left the phone off the hook and kept checking every hour and the recording kept repeating the same message over and over. I figured they couldn't use that line as long as I kept the phone off the hook. I hung up the phone the day of the election and found out the guy lost. I hoped I played a part in him losing.

I remember one of those election years,I kept getting phone calls and my caller ID only showed the number,no name. I didn't recognize it so I called it back,It was the local campaign headquarters for this weasel that was running for governor. It was a recording urging me to vote for this skunk, so I left the phone off the hook and kept checking every hour and the recording kept repeating the same message over and over. I figured they couldn't use that line as long as I kept the phone off the hook. I hung up the phone the day of the election and found out the guy lost. I hoped I played a part in him losing.


:yourock: RIGHT ON!!! :yourock:

As far as I know Political commercials are also BANNED in many other countries.Besides America I wonder what other countries allow them,probably mostly third world countries and similair.

Canada allows them, but they also LIMIT the nomber of Commercials on TV to 12 Minutes per Hour.

On the other side of the Coin, nothing BUT Political Commercials are shown in Cuba and North Korea. :(

I think commercials, in and of themselves, are OK. It's just that the quality of them in the past 15-or-so years has been downhill. In some cases the commercials themselves, and in others the subjects mentioned in them. Other posts in this thread have mentioned some of the problems specifically.

Also, there's the increasing mutilation of re-runs in the name of having more advertising - meaning, more of these low-quality junk commercials.

If a TV station, network, or cable channel gets to the point that it has to have and do these thngs in order to have "more choices in tv shows and more employees", then perhaps it's time to make the rough decision of "Stick a fork in it, it's done". There has to be some broadcast entity that doesn't need this junk in order to be financially successful.

I read that next year, the Candidates will actually spend more money for their :angryfire INFERNAL "Attack Ads" :angryfire than what will be spent for NASA's Budget :angryfire

Ready for some more good news? :(

I read somewhere that the deluge of Political Advertising that will be thrust upon us in the New Year may actually HURT the Economy! :eek: Businesses rely on Advertising to get the word out they exist. I am not Against ALL Commercials, only the bad ones (Which unfortunately are the lions share these days). :mad: Thanks to a decision by the US Supreme Court which removed the limits on how much financial support a Candidate may receive from Businesses and Groups that support that Candidate, there will be more Political Advertising, A LOT More than ever before. Since the Stations and Networks are REQUIRED to sell time to the Candidates, those who normally purchase time for their Advertisments will find themselves "Crowded Out" as the Politicions and their supporters buy up most of the Ad Time. :angryfire




Watch for my New Avatar on New Year's Eve! :D

Watch for my New Avatar on New Year's Eve! :D


I can hardly wait.

Some people wonder why newer American television shows do not even have opening theme songs or music anymore.All types of nonsense reasons(lies) are given by tv networks,when the REAL reason is obviously to put in even more commercials.--If opening theme songs were really going out of style,how come for example almost every newer show made in the UK I've viewed still has an opening theme song or music,not to mention full closing credits.