Is it just me or are they packing more commercials in an hour than they used to?

[flightsimmer]

I took the winter off and I've been watching more TV lately.
Now I have not actually timed any programs but it seems to me that there's about 18 or so minutes of commercials and about 10-12 minutes of programs for every half hour of viewing and it's getting downright boring.

I've also noticed that there's more and more advertising everywhere I turn.
It makes me want to go outside and do something productive, but then there's more advertising all around me, how about you?

 

[AngryRooster]

Yes, they have been doing it for a while. If you watch and listen closely you can notice that they speed up the opening/closing credits and title song frequently as well. Some of the networks have started taking a 30 minute show and putting it in a 35 - 37 minute time slot.

 

[cayce]

HAHAHAHA. Other than the V.A., range and grocery, I am pretty much homebound. 10-12 minutes is MINIMUM commercial time. Popular shows get more commercials. Now I watch the news live, everything else I record and skip the commercials. I listen to 'The Gun Guy' on Sat and flip all the channels for 7 days and record what I want to see. Takes 30-40 minutes but gives me something to do while listening to Relford.

 

[femurphy77]

This is why we "cut the cord" a couple of years ago. I've been a DTV subscriber off and on for over 20 years and the last time we renewed it the commercial content had been ramped up considerably in less than the year we didn't have satellite. We've been commercial tv free now for a couple of years and don't miss it at all.

 

[churchmouse]

Yes the adds are near overwhelming especially on the cable channels that specialize in re-run series. They actually edit the show at times to fit more adds into the available time slot.

 

[BigRed]

I have pretty much given up wasting time on television.

There was a time when paying for cable had the benefit of fewer commercials... no more... and the content has pretty much become a dead brain zone.

 

[AngryRooster]

What I really hate are the built in commercials inside a show. Bones was pretty good about this. On the way to the vehicle they started talking about how great Toyotas are and rattling off the features of what they were driving. STFU, get in the vehicle, hack up the body and shoot the bad guy. I don't give a damn about the interval wipers and heated seats. That kind of crap will make me stop watching a show completely.

 

[KMaC]

This is why we "cut the cord" a couple of years ago. I've been a DTV subscriber off and on for over 20 years and the last time we renewed it the commercial content had been ramped up considerably in less than the year we didn't have satellite. We've been commercial tv free now for a couple of years and don't miss it at all.

You'll be sorry when the next Pocket Fisherman or Mr. Microphone is invented.
The commercials are becoming so esoteric that most of the time I don't even know what they are selling.

 

[spec4]

We never watch any network drama. Too boring with the commercials. Fox News drives me nuts with their fairly new trick of having an ad about five minutes before the show is over. Then they come back to say goodnight. 60 minutes pulls the same trick (yes, I watch it to see what the libs are doing).

 

[K_W]

The average is 40 to 45 minutes of content and 15 to 20 minutes of commercials for a one hour time slot.

On the radio it's even worse... 15 minutes content and 15 minutes of commercials and news and weather with sponsorships per half hour

 

[HoughMade]

TV networks load up on commercials

 

[K_W]

I don't even see commercials... I look at my phone, talk to my wife, grab a drink, take a leak... anything but watch them.

I have NEVER bought a product based on a 15/30 second commercial, print or Internet ad, or billboard.

I did buy something off an infomercial at 2am, under the influence of insomnia... but only once, learned that lesson.

 

[K_W]

Looking at Netflix streams of TV random shows... and my memory

Broadcast TV...
Star Trek mid 1960's - 50 min per 1hr episode full intro and credits on reruns in the 90's
Star Trek Voyager mid 1990's - 44m per episode full intro and credits
Grey's Anatomy 2010's to now - 43 min per episode - No intro song short credits with proms

Twiglight Zone 1960's - 25 min per 1/2 hr episode full intro and credits on reruns in the 90's
Cheers 1980/90's - 24 min per 1/2 hr episode full intro and credits
Friends 1990's - 23 min per 1/2 hour episode full intro and credits
The Office 2010's ~22 min per 1/2 hour episode short intro and abbreviated credits with promos


So Yes, they are getting more commercials and less content, but it's very gradual.

 

[Old Dog]

10 minutes of show- 7 minutes of commercials, I have timed it. I really hate those 7 minute mini infomercials on one item.

 

[K_W]

10 minutes of show- 7 minutes of commercials, I have timed it. I really hate those 7 minute mini infomercials on one item.

What channel is this? I watch broadcast TV and 5 minutes is max break twice per 1/2 with no hourly break during Primetime.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

You'll be sorry when the next Pocket Fisherman or Mr. Microphone is invented.
The commercials are becoming so esoteric that most of the time I don't even know what they are selling.

They're selling another medication to mask the symptoms of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis or moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or moderate to severe Crohn's disease, or the services of a law firm to sue the people making those medications. You'll get $3.17.

Some of the channels are overlapping the end credits of one show with the opening credits of the next one. Some of the time compressions are becoming noticeable.

 

[rob63]

If you think regular TV is bad, try watching the last 5 minutes of a college basketball game! Just not worth it anymore.

On a related note; has anyone else noticed the number of commercials that don't even bother to say anything about the actual product, but are instead focused on some social issue instead?

 

[Dean C.]

What the hell is a commercial? Cable TV and News is literally the devil and I run the most aggressive ad blocking software I can find on my internet browsers.

 

[churchmouse]

If you think regular TV is bad, try watching the last 5 minutes of a college basketball game! Just not worth it anymore.

On a related note; has anyone else noticed the number of commercials that don't even bother to say anything about the actual product, but are instead focused on some social issue instead?

No because I channel skip when the idiocy starts. Then I forget what I was watching....

 

[ChristianPatriot]

I agree. Private companies trying to make money sucks.