TV Networks Say You're Breaking The Law When You Skip Commercials

Originally posted by AndyMayhew

So you want quality TV and don't want to pay for it? Up to you. No adverts = no TV.

At lot of us pay for TV and get overloaded with commercials.If I can have it for free, I'll deal with commercials.

As far as quality TV, I believe that is quite rare.

You guys can whine all you want, if it will catch on with companies that advertizing on tv does not work anymore, no more free tv.

Originally posted by roadgravel

Originally posted by TeslaandLyne
If the machine, computer or tv recorder can allow an operation
then words or law should not interfere. The net and computer
allow for file transfers and thus can not be controlled.

Is this in reference to TV material only? Otherwise it sounds like if crime can be committed using computers and the net then it is not actually a crime.

Computer crime is when the file transfer is used for copyrighted material.
Now its TV transfer crime.
However TV violates the copyright of movies with ads.
If I put an ad on a file transfer is that ok.

TV networks that actually state this should simply not be watched. People, it's okay to turn the tv off. Everytime you watch their shows you hand them money. If you don't like the stated policy of a network, stop watching it. It will go under and a new network (hopefully with a more humane policy) will take it's place.

In a world where money is God, the only vote you have is with your wallet.

With the cost of receiving programming,(cable, dish, etc.) there should be no need for revenue from advertisement! Just as in the early days of broadcast, one or the other should be sufficient! If we are to pay for the ability to watch television let it be through one source!

They're claiming that Dish Network is "rebroadcasting" programming by giving cx's the ability to skip commercials.

However, the actual content of the TV program actually isn't changing, just the content of the commercials.

I remember when Hollywood studios took SONY to court for the VCR when this came out too because they thought it was copyright infringement.

reply to post by babybunnies


I think the resolution for SONY was people were allowed to make their own personal copies
of any recorded broadcast. Which was full of commercials unless edited out later or the ads
were watched but the recorder stopped for the ad.

I'd also like to note that these networks or even producers are going way above their legal right when it comes to dvds and blueray. You purchase a movie now and you cannot even skip past the previews of a film that you OWN! That in itself should be illegal.

reply to post by TeslaandLyne


It is my personal belief that once a product is sold, it is no longer in the jurisdiction of the seller's control! This goes for any commodity. When I pay for something, it becomes my possession to do with as I wish! If the seller does not wish for it to be shared, perhaps the seller should go with a lease agreement! Good luck with making a living on that one!

I believe this is where we are heading... for those that want descriptions...

Is a Drama made by Channel 4 in the UK... youtube description:

"Set in a sarcastic version of a future reality - is a satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction. Featuring Julia Davis and Rupert Everett."

In this futuristic society, all the walls in your room are basically display monitors... if a commercial comes on and you decide to close your eyes to ignore it, the system will detect that you arent watching and will force you to watch or fine you to skip the advert.

I remember when we got our first satellite dish, it was HUGE. The programs came through and when it was time for a commercial break, the screen just went blank or had a little timer in the corner to tell how long before the program returned.
That was back before DishNetwork or DirectTV. Those companies are only distributors, they distribute what the stations are broadcasting. The stations themselves insert the commercials, not the cable or satellite provider...of course there are some channels where TimeWarner Cable has it's own commercials, but overall, it's from the stations.
I guess you just get used to it after a while...
Did anyone ever notice that the short attention span in kids is very comparable to the amount of time a tv show lasts before a commerical break? I wonder if there are any scientific studies on that?...may have to search a little

Originally posted by faryjay
Noooooooooooooo! That's can't be right.

That's the only way I get to watch TV now, by skipping the advertisements! I can't stand to watch a 15-20 minute show in 30 minutes just coz they want me to look at stuff I don't need or don't want to buy.

But I can see this catching on, unfortunately!

This is just crazy! Why do all these people always just want to make our life's hell?

So soon, in cinemas, will they made movies have ads in the middle of them also? I am sick of all this malarkey all the time!

I hate going to the movies since they began playing commercials for Tide, Axe, Mountain Dew, and other products. I go to the movies to escape the drudgery of such things, including things I can see on every day television. To go see a film with these advertisements takes something huge away. It's called entertainment. So, now I'll give my $1.20 to Redbox, rent out a film, watch that on my flat screen and stay in and enjoy it this way. I don't even have to put up with people talking or playing on their cell phones either.

reply to post by Mamatus


The DVR makes me believe there is a God. The ability to fast forward through nonsense saves my sanity. I won't even subscribe to Hulu. I tried that out and it's loaded with commercials. If they up their subscription cost a bit and do away with the annoying disrupting commercials, then they will have me as a customer.

Maybe its about time for T.V. to die. I wonder how much more would have been done in this world without it.
All the wasted hours sitting on a couch getting fat and stupid.

Not to mention thiers Youtube now, which is what T.V. was suppose to be like. It was ment for public access but the greedy corporate shills got there grubby hands all over it and made it into the garbage it is today.

Its not free anymore and it hasn't been for years. You pay to watch them try to make you buy crap. You used to get 3 or 4 channels free, paid for by the big G(well our tax dollars so its never been free). That ended years ago when everything went digital.

I hate commercials they piss me off. You can get adds from many other sources and your slammed in the face with them everywhere you look. Then I have to come home watch my favorite show and see more crap that I don't want to buy in the first place.

If anything its an evasion of my privicay cause I have to be forced to watch some crap ad when I just want to watch my show. In my own home and I have to pay for this garbage to boot. Its nonesence!!!!!

Most television stations have the DVR anyway and you can record your shows and fast foward through them so I don't see the issue.

What about the benefits????

If businesses don't have to spend millions of dollars on T.V. ads then wouldn't prices of products go down or even better take that extra cash flow and pay a decent wage. Then people would be able to buy more crap with the extra money they have.

Why dont they just make certain channels that just have commercials so I have a choice in the matter??
People probably wouldn't watch much but at least they wouldn't be forced to.

Most people don't want to watch commercials anyway. If it kills television so be it. I can only see good things ahead if T.V. does die anyway.

This a greed issue nothing more.

Originally posted by roadgravel

Originally posted by AndyMayhew

So you want quality TV and don't want to pay for it? Up to you. No adverts = no TV.

At lot of us pay for TV and get overloaded with commercials.If I can have it for free, I'll deal with commercials.

As far as quality TV, I believe that is quite rare.

Without adverts you'd be paying 10 times or more for your subscription TV services and/or have a chouce of 4 repeats a day.

Up to you. Ads are the price we pay to have 57 channels and nothing on. Instead of 1.

TV Networks Say You're Breaking The Law When You Skip Commercials

I say tv networks are breaking the law of airing the most idiotic programming i have ever seen in 30 years I am a dish owner and I always skip through commercials that are also one of the most idiotic things aired on tv.

Sham wow!!!

They are suing for skipping Sham wow!

Well after all I am paying for a service and i do reserve the right to watch the content i want.

Sorry greedy people and stay tuned for this commericial break........................................

The DVR with the skip feature is one of the greatest inventions in tvland.

And if TV goes away, the capitalistic nature of our society will then go straight to youtube, which you seem to like due to lack of commercials.
Have you noticed that there are now some youtube videos that have commercials in them. You can "skip" after so many seconds, but you have to endure the first few seconds if you want to watch the video.

What I think would be more effective is what they usually reserve for a series premiere, or season finale, where they say "This commercial free broadcast brought to you by Jeep." Hearing that before the episode, and watching a short commercial for Jeep probably sticks in your head better than the tampon and erectile dysfunction commercials peppered throughout the broadcast normally.

I understand the importance of advertising, but I think the companies put too much into it. And both the advertisers and the networks have failed to change with the times. You know, there are commercials for macaroni and cheese. MAC AND CHEESE. Who is forgetting about mac and cheese? Same with deodorant, shampoo, lipstick, milk, cars, asprin, McDonalds, and so on and so forth.

When a commercial comes on TV, that's when I take the opportunity to get up and go to the bathroom, or get a drink or snack. I don't care that Brooke Shields is making her eyelashes thicker, or that some athlete is sweating colored Gatorade (seriously, how much longer are they going to keep doing that?). As a matter of fact, I make conscious decisions -not- to buy products if I think their commercials are stupid, or if I see them too many times.

You know where commercials would be affective? In the stores. When I walk into Walmart I see gigantic TVs everywhere showing simple adds talking about how wonderful Walmart is. Guess what, I'm in the store now, you don't have to sell me on that. The big companies don't have to monitor our programming and track our viewing statistic, just loop the commercials for all related products in each section of a store. When I noticed TVs going up in super stores I thought that was the intention, but so far I haven't noticed them doing this at all.

Either way, traditional viewing is dying. I know that last I checked, we got about 50 channels of actual programming, out of 350 some channels. The rest are Satellite Radio (which I never listen to) and channels purely dedicated to infomercials. That's messed up. It would be in their best interests to start allowing people to pick the channels they want to subscribe to. And people always say it's so much more complicated than that, and that it's not an easy fix. Well, they complicated it, and if they don't fix it, they will fail. All TV is, really, is a mindless loop. A good show ends, and you desperately search for another good show to watch that evening. That's not how it should work. Netflix is a threat right now. Watch an entire series, in order, when you want, commercial free. Then after that, the TV gets turned off. That's what they fear, is all that in between time when the TV is turned of.

Originally posted by ajay59
With the cost of receiving programming,(cable, dish, etc.) there should be no need for revenue from advertisement! Just as in the early days of broadcast, one or the other should be sufficient! If we are to pay for the ability to watch television let it be through one source!

And then only the rich can recieve it. Is that what you want?

If someone offered al channels with no adverts for, say, $10,000 a year, you'd be happy?

reply to post by zeeon


And remember the days before Youtube became infested with VEVO?

Those were the days...