by Sam Whiskey 14 Replies latest jw friends
Think about it, YOU pay for cable T.V., but THEY serve up 55% of the two hour movie in the form of commercials. So you actually get less tthan an hour of the actual moveie. So...I'm paying to watch commercials? That CAN'T be legal, can it?
I'm getting sick of it...
Anyone want to commet on this?
I hear you. I watch too much tv, i confess. I usually mute the commercials, or change the channel, when even the visuals are to irritating.
Legal is whatever they can get away w. This is the age of dinosaurs, or rather super powerful behemoths that are smarter than anybody. The big corps have at their disposal experts who understand us individually and as groups better then freud or jung ever did. Their manipulations of our psyches goes on 24/7 through all the medias. I think that the usa is the epicenter of action by these monsters
S
Get a DVR or TIVO and step in to the new century. There is a whole other world going on out there, you seem very much unaware of.
I have the latest DVR and audio visual equipment...that's not the issue I am bringing to the fore. It is, whether or not it is legal to "Sell" us commercial time and not strictly television time as we should be paying for.
I wonder if anyone has ever challenged the "Big Boys" on this....
Cable is not regulated, they can do what ever they want .... so you know, Cable business does not make the movies, series, etc. They are the company that pays networks for their products, the networks pay the studies for their series, movies, etc. The movies and series are products that have prices basd on how much they cost, for example a new series is cheap and will often have few commercials. While othere series have proven themselves to have high ratings, and cost the network and thus the cable companies more to show. To off-set cost and make profit, high rated shows have lots of commercials, knowing that each one is expensive and a cash cow. What most people do not know about cable companies, is that due to the companies like DISH and DIRECT TV, cable has not had the freedom to raise their prices as much as they life and make pennies on the television they broadcast. They make the majority of their profit on high speed internet and phone service, phone service being new to their profit margin and yet they are making good money with it.
So in summary, complaining about a nonregulated company and thinking you can sue them, sue them for what? If they are not regulated, being told what to do and how (like phone companies are). Then you would be basically told, 'yeah right!' by any lawyer you talked too ... who would most likely think you were nuts for suggesting it.
Just an FYI, I am not pulling this information out of my ass ... I know and work in the industry. Nice thought though, but it is going to get worse and not better.
Sirius radio tries commercial free broadcast but is financially shaky, so it probably is a necessary evil
Your complaint is primarily with the program providers, not the cable companies. The cable companies only provide the service the same way as an ISP gives you the internet.
The internet is full of comericals, like this site. Although the service seems expensive, the commercials do subsidize the overall cost. Without the stupid commercials, the monthly fees would approach 3-4 times in cost, which few would care to pay.
Cable is regulated by the government, FCC and local municipalities generating franchise fees. Its hardly illegal. If you don't like it, you can exercise your freedom of choice and switch to a different provider, like DIRECTV, my favorite. Not cheap, but one of the best. Of course, I'm very predudiced, because I work for them. lol
I noticed when visiting England they have to pay for over-the-air programs. (antenae)
Only a few channels, but few commercials.
60 minutes is 42 minutes without comercials. Star Trek was 42 minutes, but you could see how they would build up to a commercial climax, go blank for a second, and then start again.
Pay TV was sold on the fact that since you were paying for it you would not have commercials. They hooked a lot of people in and then did a bait and switch. But I remember that.
:Should Cable Companies Be Sued?
They don't need to be sued. Their television enterprises will all be bankrupt before you know it. Same with satellite TV. Do you know how many current television shows you can now watch on the Internet with far fewer and shorter commercials than on television?
The technology to connect your computer to your big screen TV is trivial in cost today and with fiber optics, bandwidth will never be a problem. Even with cable networking, bandwidth is not bad at all.
The movie theater industry will also take a big hit because of internet technology, but I think it will survive, but on a much smaller scale. There is nothing like the big screen and sound in a movie theater. Not to mention $10 tubs of popcorn!
Farkel
