[Mogur2]




Short article about new legal battle.

 

[lizard_boy]

 really ???

 

[Mogur2]

That is what the artcle indicates. FWIW, cable channels are even worse. I like the Discovery channels but often it seems that I see a documentary of products produced by various countries interrupted by shot images of aerospace, nature, and science.


TechTV channel is also pretty bad. I think cable channels have about 18 minutes/hr of commercials, perhaps even more.

 

[lizard_boy]

if you click on the link in my 'really ???' up above you'll see that this is a repost

 

[BrettStah]

Actually, his link mentions that the lawsuit has been filed, while mine quoted "insiders" who said that the lawsuit was imminent. Close enough, I suppose!

 

[RandyL712]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mogur2 I think cable channels have about 18 minutes/hr of commercials, perhaps even more.

It's always been this way - a half hour show is generally 22 minutes in length, the other 8 minutes eaten up by commercials. Hour longs shows very from 15-24 minutes of commercials.

 

[dave2297]

Nope, Randy, this time you're wrong. A few years ago the networks limited their commercials to 12 minutes in a one-hour program.


Their more recent 16 minutes per hour did wonders for VCR's and PVR's!


Dave W.

 

[Pericles]

We should all sue the networks for interfering in a business transaction between Sonic Blue and its customers. I bet this will delay the shipping date for the 4000. argh...sons of biatches...

 

[Rich A]

Hi all,


FWIW I've been "archiving" TV shows for a couple years. The typical network one hour show has almost always ended up at 43 minutes when commercial content is edited out. I've seen more for special limited commercial interuption broadcasts, but never less.

 

[toots]

Back in the 60s and early 70s, the networks voluntarily conformed to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) standards for limiting the number of advertisements during prime time. There were indeed considerably fewer minutes of commercials back then.


Later, Jimmuh Carter objected 'cause he felt that such an agreement was a violation of anti-trust laws, that it artificially inflated the price of advertising, and if the networks increased the amount of available advertising time, everyone would be happy.


So, they did. And everyone's happy, right?


Every once in a while, you'll see reruns of some pre-1980 show come around, advertised as having all the deleted stuff edited back in. I think the most recent was the SciFi channel running the original uncut Star Trek. They had to run them at least 1:10 just to fit the modern standard for commercial breaks, although I think they stretched them to 1:30 and filled the balance with yammer breaks from the actors.


Another example was M*A*S*H - seems I remember some station having to block off about 45 minutes to fit the original episode, plus the current prime-time extra advertising space, plus the extra post-11 O'Clock news extra advertising space.

 

[BrettStah]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rich A Hi all, FWIW I've been "archiving" TV shows for a couple years. The typical network one hour show has almost always ended up at 43 minutes when commercial content is edited out. I've seen more for special limited commercial interuption broadcasts, but never less.

Are you considering the opening and closing credits as commercials? The networks don't.

 

[BaysideBas]

I do remember it well. Back in the sixties there were only 3 minutes of commercials per half hour slot on the networks, The local stations had 5 minutes worth per half hour and everyone bitched on syndicated shows because the locals would cut 2 minutes out of every episode.


My experience these days is 15 min per hour, give or take 30 seconds depending on station.


The credits should be counted as program material and not commercials. The bookends or wrappers ( you know: "Now we return to the Invisible Man, here on the Science Fiction Channel." )I don't count as program material.