[Speed Gibson,
Sunday September 9, 2007 at 8:27pm]
Give them an inch ...
Watching the Vikings today, I noticed they (Fox) came back late from a commercial break, missing the first down play. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I think every broadcast medium is working on adding still more commercials per hour.
This is repeated practice on Twins broadcasts now, missing the first pitch or two of an inning now and then. The late Herb Carneal wistfully observed that at the beginning of his career, the break between innings was 1 minute, and now 2 minutes 15 seconds. Apparently, that's not enough now either.
Listening to the Patriot Best of Dennis Prager last weekend, I noticed the computer was cutting to commercial before the end of the segments, apparently to get in another spot or two. Even on the live broadcasts of several Salem programs, the bumper plays, and we often get not one, but two quickie "brought to you by" messages for another 30 seconds. You even get these on the paid podcasts, pretty cheeky if you ask me. Rush Limbaugh is the only one I can think of that hasn't resorted to this.
Watching my Law and Order reruns, I used to only have to hit the 30 second skip button six times most of the time, with an occasional seven. Now, in just a few months, seven is the norm, often eight (4 minutes).
It's hard to argue with free stuff, but ultimately this is going to cost them listeners, including those who use podcast or DVR-like technology to not watch or listen at all. This will reduce the effectiveness of the advertising, increasing the pressure to add still more ads.
Of course, on Air America, this would be a good thing.
This is repeated practice on Twins broadcasts now, missing the first pitch or two of an inning now and then. The late Herb Carneal wistfully observed that at the beginning of his career, the break between innings was 1 minute, and now 2 minutes 15 seconds. Apparently, that's not enough now either.
Listening to the Patriot Best of Dennis Prager last weekend, I noticed the computer was cutting to commercial before the end of the segments, apparently to get in another spot or two. Even on the live broadcasts of several Salem programs, the bumper plays, and we often get not one, but two quickie "brought to you by" messages for another 30 seconds. You even get these on the paid podcasts, pretty cheeky if you ask me. Rush Limbaugh is the only one I can think of that hasn't resorted to this.
Watching my Law and Order reruns, I used to only have to hit the 30 second skip button six times most of the time, with an occasional seven. Now, in just a few months, seven is the norm, often eight (4 minutes).
It's hard to argue with free stuff, but ultimately this is going to cost them listeners, including those who use podcast or DVR-like technology to not watch or listen at all. This will reduce the effectiveness of the advertising, increasing the pressure to add still more ads.
Of course, on Air America, this would be a good thing.