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| TV Commercials are a hot button topic, everyone, love them or hate them has an opinion. The TV commercial first made its appearance in 1941 when Bulova aired a spot during a Dodgers and Phillies baseball game. It was unsophisticated by today’s standards but it was a major break from earlier advertising. Up until that time, products such as soaps, cereals and jewelry had sponsored entire shows, as they had done with radio. Bulova was the first short commercial spot. Television never looked back.
Commercials have a real and necessary function in the world of TV. It is the primary revenue stream for network television. Without revenue from commercials, networks would not exist. It greases the wheel. There’s an integral link between commercials and programming. The more successful a TV show, the higher the cost to the advertiser to place a commercial. In general, the more revenue a particular show generates, the longer its lifespan — the more people that see it and its commercials. In the late 1980′s and early 1990′s, Cable TV started to become mainstream. The Cable networks and providers key selling point was that the subscription fee eliminated their need for the revenue generated by commercials. As we all know, that did not last long. Channels sprung up devoted to the “infomercial”, commercials vaguely disguised as useful information based mini-shows. Soon basic Cable was rife with commercials again. This time the cable companies told us that if we wanted programming absolutely free from commercial advertising we would have to subscribe to “premium” channels. A struggle exists between the consumer, who wants to have the option of NOT getting commercials, and the content providers need for consumers to watch commercials. When the DVR / PVR (Digital Video Recorder / Personal Video Recorder) entered the market, we received the option of recording our preferred programming and fast forwarding through commercials. Though we have to pay a premium for this “privilege” by buying or renting the DVR from our Cable/Satellite provider, we can watch TV commercial free. Currently, many consumers pay a monthly fee to watch television, a monthly fee to record television and a monthly fee for premium channels without commercials. Further, On-demand viewing charges can be north of $10 per selection. And with all these fees and hardware contracts, we’re left with five-hundred commercial stuffed channels and nothing to watch. Those days are over…. Next: Social Networking Next: Join Newsletter Next: Register to Win!
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