Never Ending TV Adverts

[GrimsbyPacer]

Hi.
I just watched a TV show with my Mum, Haven (I only watched it because William Shatner was billed to be on it).
It was a recorded show and we noticed the ads lasted ages.
We then timed the ad breaks and found there was 9mins each on the last two breaks alone. We deleted it afterwards, but the first ad breaks seamed to last ages too, it could of been half the TV show. I don't know how this was done, was the actual TV show shortened?

A quick search at Ofcom suggests that 12mins is the legal limit per hour, and is set on a European level, but this clearly isn't the case as most show are around 45mins long when the DVD comes out. So why are Ofcom allowing these excessive adverts on nearly every channel?

Has anyone else noticed longer breaks than normal lately?

 

[Bevan Price]

What this on a Freeview channel, or one of M*****h's outlets ? I don't recall any 9 minute ad breaks on ITV, or Channels 4 & 5 - although I tend to switch off my brain during the breaks (or go the the loo, etc.).

I find many of the ads. to be so naff as to put me off using the products they advertised. Particularly annoying are those ads when some loudmouth wally (sometimes disguised as an animal) shouts at everone.

 

[yorksrob]

Yes, UK Gold are particularly bad for adverts. They stretch half hour programmes to forty minutes just to fit them in and their schedules don't fit in with any of the other channels.

Goes to show, give big business an inch and it will take a mile.

 

[ComUtoR]

Hi.
I just watched a TV show with my Mum, Haven ...

Is an American show.

A quick search at Ofcom suggests that 12mins is the legal limit per hour, and is set on a European level, but this clearly isn't the case as most show are around 45mins long when the DVD comes out. So why are Ofcom allowing these excessive adverts on nearly every channel?

Is there a difference between American shows and UK ones ? Maybe EU regulations restrict adverts on native shows but imported programming is defined by the length of the program.

US shows are really short when you edit out Ad breaks, credits, previously on, next time on, title sequences etc.

Have you ever watched a US show in full ? (inclusive of ad breaks)

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

I think it was on the "SyFy" channel.
I too ignore companies with annoying adverts, Tesco is good example if a place I'm avoiding at all cost.
I watch US shows in full when on TV including adverts often. Although I fast forward when possible.

 

[radamfi]

A quick search at Ofcom suggests that 12mins is the legal limit per hour, and is set on a European level, but this clearly isn't the case as most show are around 45mins long when the DVD comes out. So why are Ofcom allowing these excessive adverts on nearly every channel?

Has anyone else noticed longer breaks than normal lately?

Don't forget to allow for continuity and trailers for forthcoming programmes.

Taking a typical 30 minute American programme, such as The Big Bang Theory, that is shown in a 30 minute slot in both the US and on E4. So the rest of the half hour needs to be filled by a mix of advertisements and trailers.

 

[jon0844]

I think it's only the key channels that have to abide by the rules, and there are cheats too. I believe the minutes per hour is an average, so ITV can have shorter ad breaks overnight to allow for more at peak times.

However it's pretty tightly regulated, but probably not for the 'cable' channels.

 

[me123]

Taking a typical 30 minute American programme, such as The Big Bang Theory, that is shown in a 30 minute slot in both the US and on E4. So the rest of the half hour needs to be filled by a mix of advertisements and trailers.

The Big Bang Theory is particularly short I think, and having actually watched it in the US I can see why. Lots of ad breaks, including adverts by the actors in the show, really pad it out.

It is standard in the US for 2 ad breaks per 30 minute show, whereas we'll only have one. It's quite noticeable once you realise that, for example, The Simpsons is broken into three acts, so when you watch it on Channel 4 the show is spread 1/3 - 2/3 (or vice versa), or cut off quite awkwardly in the middle of a scene. This naturally gives UK networks who are syndicating the show a significant issue to fill in the gaps whilst adhering to the regulations. An average running time for a "30 minute" US show is 18-22 minutes, leaving them with up to 24 minutes in an hour to fill!

Out of curiosity, do the regulations regarding adverts apply to just adverts, or also to trailers? I find E4 (who almost exclusively show US content) have lots of trailers for their own shows.

 

[dgl]

Remember US TV has more adverts/advert breaks per hour and so to fit their programs into the UK ad spacing there will need to be some padding either end.
Some channels, such as food network, have little shorts to fill the time, others have some slightly short/long programs to fill the gaps but most, unfortunately, use stupidly long AD breaks every hour instead.

 

[DarloRich]

sounds like a yank channel

 

[DaleCooper]

I have a solution to this. I don't watch television (which also saves me the cost of a licence).

 

[me123]

Remember US TV has more adverts/advert breaks per hour and so to fit their programs into the UK ad spacing there will need to be some padding either end.
Some channels, such as food network, have little shorts to fill the time, others have some slightly short/long programs to fill the gaps but most, unfortunately, use stupidly long AD breaks every hour instead.

To be fair, E4 (which, as I've said, is largely syndicated US shows) has a regular clockface schedule, which appeals to people. By contrast, BBC 3 (which syndicates Family Guy & American Dad) have a schedule that I defy anyone to commit to memory (of course, they can't pad out their schedule with ads).

I know if I'm wanting to watch something on E4 that it will start at xx:00 or xx:30. If I want to watch Family Guy on BBC3, I need to go out of my way to find out when it starts. That would be a problem for a commercial station.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Try watching TV in the USA, it is just ads, there are no regulations over there.

Much worse than the UK. I watch NASCAR and in the US they cut away for breaks every 5 minutes, you ended up frequently missing action.

 

[GB]

Try watching TV in the USA, it is just ads, there are no regulations over there.

Much worse than the UK. I watch NASCAR and in the US they cut away for breaks every 5 minutes, you ended up frequently missing action.

Indeed.

A typical 1 hour usa show you will often have something along the lines of....

Title sequence
Ad break
1st part
Ad break
2nd part
Ad break
3rd part
Ad break
4th part
Ad break
Credits
Ad break
....
repeat....

 

[jon0844]

The first time I went to the US (1995) it took some getting used to a programme getting to the epilogue, then ads, then the credits, then the start of a new show, then ads, then the intro to that show. It took a while to know what you were actually watching, and what had just ended (if you had it in the background, like in a hotel room).

Now they like to run split screen ads, overlays and all sorts of other dross that means more people are going for subscription services like Netflix and avoiding all that nonsense.

 

[StarCrossing]

Works much better for us than the Americans. If a BBC-made show is aired in the USA they cut out about 10 minutes per hour to show adverts. This can include some major parts of the plot so it ends up not making a great deal of sense!

 

[Smudger105e]

You can often see where the UK broadcaster has cut out the gap left for the US adverts. They often recap what has just been said which appears strange when it has been said only seconds before.

 

[Cletus]

I Sky+ everything now. Then fast forward through adverts, waffle, etc. That's even if I'm sitting watching TV 'live'.

 

[Railsigns]

I always mute the sound when the adverts come on. I don't want to be marketed at so often in my own home. Even on the BBC, I mute the sound between programmes because the 'adverts' they show for TV programmes can be just as loud and annoying as any commercial.

 

[jon0844]

You can often see where the UK broadcaster has cut out the gap left for the US adverts. They often recap what has just been said which appears strange when it has been said only seconds before.

They're another great way to reduce programme content even more. Some documentaries and reality shows are more ads and fillers/recaps than anything else!

The BBC also does this a lot even when it doesn't have ads itself in the UK. Gotta think of the export market though!

 

[GB]

They're another great way to reduce programme content even more. Some documentaries and reality shows are more ads and fillers/recaps than anything else!

The BBC also does this a lot even when it doesn't have ads itself in the UK. Gotta think of the export market though!

I used to watch mythbusters quite a lot but the constant recaps did my head in. I don't need a recap on something that happened 10 minutes ago.

 

[jon0844]

Jumping back and forth (like the BBC now do with their consumer shows) is a great way to justify the padding from recaps.

Have you seen the Mitchell and Webb Gift Shop sketch?

It's all because the media knows people have short attention spans and are likely second screening, so breaking things up and recapping keeps people engaged. And the other trick is varying the volume and having loud sounds to make you look up. The X Factor employing the techniques perfectly.

(I dabbled in the TV BIZ for a bit when writing about Smart TV and services, so went to a few conferences where I was told the tricks of the trade, which was very interesting and also very depressing).

 

[Butts]

This is another great advertisement () for retaining and strengthening the BBC.

"You make it what it is"

 

[OuterDistant]

I Sky+ everything now. Then fast forward through adverts, waffle, etc. That's even if I'm sitting watching TV 'live'.

Both my father and father-in-law are fans of Strictly Come Dancing, and they can watch a whole episode in about 20 minutes using Sky+!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

When looking at the time devoted to one particular product, that of the "NoNo Pro" hair removing tool must be one of the longest adverts for a product that I can ever recall.