Advertising is killing the Internet

I still watch TV the old fashioned way - that is, actually sitting in front of it staring at that tube. When I tell my kids I don’t get The Daily Show on Comedy Central with my “basic” cable, they ask why I don’t just watch it on the computer.
… Because the computer is small and I don’t like watching video the dimensions of a postage stamp, thank you very much!

Still, the networks are really working overtime to make TV unwatchable. I was recently watching a TV movie one morning while exercising. During the commercials they announced that they "will be returning to today’s feature after 'limited' commercial interruptions". Apparently they meant just THOSE specific five commercials just shown. The film ran only another six minutes after which I was treated to another ten or twelve (I lost count) commercials.

Watching network crap ONLINE, however, is quite an eye-opener. For one thing the little Flash player thingy actually reveals to you how long the clip runs. So one can discover that a “30-minute” episode of The Simpsons, for example, actually runs just under 21 minutes. An hour show typically runs about 43 minutes. So roughly a third of any program is advertising -- mostly for products I will NEVER buy! TV commercials even run advertisements for other TV shows... which, of course, will also be chock full of commercials. I am not following the logic here -- do the network executives NOT want me to watch their shows? Hell, why don't the network bigwigs run just commercials; I mean all commercials all the time. It turns out that they already do: Home Shopping Network!

Advertising is pervading every corner of escape. I'm less interested in going to see movies at the theater any more primarily due to advertising. I am greatly pained by the thought of PAYING ADMISSION to watch commercials on the big screen. Theaters get paid to run commercials, so why aren't we getting FREE admission? That was the promise of TV... it's free IF you watch the paid sponsorship. Seems like theaters are eating out of both ends of the trough.

And it's getting bad Online also. Now the little TV show clips you watch on computer have commercials embedded in them with increasing frequency. Sure they are short, running only a few seconds... now! But just wait -- Advertisers have ruined TV and I don't believe they will be satisfied until they ruin the Internet with advertising too.