Do commercials affect viewing pleasure?

[on:]

I'd be interested in knowing viewer reaction to the commercials. They are, of course, cut in seamlessly with the show without any pause or black screen.

Even though they come in between Acts, for me they happen so quickly that it is jarring.  It interrupts the story making it hard to follow straight through.  This is why I always view an episode a second time but with the commercials cut out.  On more than a few occasions I've found that the episode was better than it seemed on first airing when doing so.

Any thoughts?

[Reply #1 on:]

Yes, the only time they don't is when a character makes a joke about the commercial break...

[Reply #2 on:]

Interesting question! I think if the act breaks are done right, they might not be so bad. As in Fear of a Bot Planet, when during one act break Leela says, "I don't know! I don't know! It's not an easy decision. If only I had two or three minutes to think about it." When they play around with the act breaks like that, it's actually kinda funny.

Of course I would rather view each episode commercial-free, but if the act breaks occur where it's fairly obvious, like a major plot twist, I don't see a problem with it.

[Reply #3 on:]

Interesting question! I think if the act breaks are done right, they might not be so bad. As in Fear of a Bot Planet, when during one act break Leela says, "I don't know! I don't know! It's not an easy decision. If only I had two or three minutes to think about it." When they play around with the act breaks like that, it's actually kinda funny.

Of course I would rather view each episode commercial-free, but if the act breaks occur where it's fairly obvious, like a major plot twist, I don't see a problem with it.

What I've noticed is that the way the commercials are inserted now is quite different from how it was done during the original Fox run.  It seems that network TV versus cable TV stations run commercials differently.  CC has them inserted seamlessly as if they almost appear to be part of the show, while on network they have a pause, some black screen, and pauses between commercials.

[Reply #4 on:]

Is there a specific network you see this problem occurring? I realize different networks cut their commerical breaks differently, but I was curious to see if you saw a problem with one of the channels, and whether it was the current episodes or reruns. They definitely mess up with the act breaks on the weekend reruns, I've noticed.

[Reply #5 on:]

Is there a specific network you see this problem occurring? I realize different networks cut their commerical breaks differently, but I was curious to see if you saw a problem with one of the channels, and whether it was the current episodes or reruns. They definitely mess up with the act breaks on the weekend reruns, I've noticed.

I'm referring to the current run on Comedy Central.  The commercials are inserted seamlessly without pauses or black screen and are so quick that they interrupt ones focus on the story.

The reason I've brought this up is because it has a significant - nay, very significant - impact upon how each episode is received by the viewers.  It appears that episodes which did not seem very good while watching first run (be it Fox or CC) ended up being quite good when watching it with the commercials cut out, such as on the DVDs or in digital downloads.  Watching the episode without commercials makes a huge difference for many reasons.

But again, it's not merely THAT there are commercials, but the way that CC in particular is inserting them as compared to Fox during the original run.

[Reply #6 on:]

I prefer a little warning when cutting to or from commercial. In particular, returning from commercial. I spend commercial breaks distracted, checking out other channels, sending texts, or checking my computer. A little warning that it's time to direct my full attention back to Comedy Central is nice.

[Reply #7 on:]

I dislike watching things with advertisements in the middle. It's why I'm a big fan of the DVD revolution. There are no act breaks and commercials on the DVDs, so you get a seamless show with no interruptions.

It's the same way if you watch TV shows on your computer. There are no commercials on Netflix. There are no commercials on the streaming services that the BBC run. Ad-free TV is something I prefer and am willing to pay more for. If there were an extra option to pay a little bit on top of your cable subscription, would you do so in order to cut ad breaks? I think if you got the first month free, you probably would. You just wouldn't want to go back to the constant exhortations to buy crap you don't need.

[Reply #8 on:]

If there were an extra option to pay a little bit on top of your cable subscription, would you do so in order to cut ad breaks? I think if you got the first month free, you probably would. You just wouldn't want to go back to the constant exhortations to buy crap you don't need.

There's an interesting thing that Hulu does which I think would work great for that kind of thing: you get an option to watch one long 2 minute commercial at the beginning and in return get to watch the whole show without commercials, or just go with the regular breaks every 10 minutes or so.  If there was an option to do something like that most people would take the first option.  Commercials are only good when they are on the Super Bowl anyway.  It's the only time that people will watch something hoping to see all of the commercials.  But when you're sitting on your couch after a long day's work to see your fave show the commercials are going in one ear out the other but they still interrupt the show enough to distract.

[Reply #9 on:]

Commercials don't just affect my viewing pleasure, the affect my general calm.  Sometimes I can distance myself and just laugh at how moronic they are, but most of the time I find them insulting.  I would completely ignore them except that I don't want to miss an instant of program I'm trying to watch.

[Reply #10 on:]

If there were an extra option to pay a little bit on top of your cable subscription, would you do so in order to cut ad breaks? I think if you got the first month free, you probably would. You just wouldn't want to go back to the constant exhortations to buy crap you don't need.

There's an interesting thing that Hulu does which I think would work great for that kind of thing: you get an option to watch one long 2 minute commercial at the beginning and in return get to watch the whole show without commercials, or just go with the regular breaks every 10 minutes or so.

Oh, I always choose the initial long-form commercial for uninterrupted viewing. then I go to another tab on my browser and futz around until the commercial is over.

[Reply #11 on:]

Am I the weird one out then, that I make it a point to watch a rerun (of any show I like) on TV, even though I can watch the very same show at the same time, and save 8 or 9 minutes doing so? I don't know. If it's on TV I'm like "ooo, this episode is on!" and I am more prone to sit down and watch it, commercial breaks and all, that actually dig out my DVD collection and pop it in the player. I dunno, it's the whole viewing experience I guess. I don't like having to pause DVDs a bunch of times if I need to go to the bathroom or something.

[Reply #12 on:]

Commercials definitely negatively affect my viewing pleasure (and that includes anything I watch on the Internet. Stupid unskippable pre-roll ads!). I find that it's much more enjoyable to watch TV shows on DVD/BluRay rather than on TV because you can watch whatever episode you want (although I usually tend to just watch every episode of a TV show in order over the course of several weeks or months or whatever, but that's irrelevant), however many in a row you want and you can watch them when you want to, not when The Man says you have to.

I also find that when I watch commercial TV I spend a good amount of time enraged by the ads and the promos for retarded new "reality" shows and I'd rather avoid that whole experience.

[Reply #13 on:]

I got an upgrade to Dvr last week in anticipation for the new season. Not commercials for me!