justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Would you like fewer TV commercials?

I can remember the time when there was a limit on the number of commercials allowed on a TV show. Oh, those were the days.

It’s come to the point where the Sunday news shows have commercials announcing coming commercials, asking us to stay tuned. For what? More commercials! Where would we be without our remote control – our precious “clicker” – that at least allows us to mute the commercials?

What is the history of advertising time limits on TV? According to Wikipedia, there are general rules published by the industry’s “code of practice”, but those rules seem to appear without any mention of consequences for exceeding these limits. (One question, from many I have, is whether or not the announcements about upcoming segments count as a commercial time limit.)

Of course things were different in the early years of commercial TV, with only three channels, rabbit ears or rooftop antennas, and no clickers, cable, satellite dishes, or wireless streaming. Even then, politicians railed about excessive “regulations”, and we have all experienced a gradual lessening of consumer protections.

There are those who feel we should let the marketplace regulate itself.  Unfortunately, history has shown that the opposite has been the case. Commercial and political interests are committed to gain any competitive edge possible, from the products and services we purchase, to the ideas we are encouraged to consider – or even accept. (One can just taste this resistance to regulations in the Flint, Michigan disaster, where this resistance to federal control seems to be a big part of that tragic error that has poisoned thousands of innocent children.)

The exponential growth of alternative delivery of content, free from commercial interruption, has its origins in the payment of service fees. But that is changing too. For example, even though an annual fee has been paid, wireless streaming subscriptions to MLB now come complete with annoying, repetitious video ads, depending on the device being used. Sure, we get to “Skip this ad in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 seconds”, but only after being forced to catch a less-than-subliminal glimpse of a brand name or message early in the ad.

Although many people, including me, claim that advertisements have no effect on the choices and purchases made - I’m probably just as likely as others to be influenced in more ways than I imagine. Regardless of that admission, I’d prefer to make my own selections concerning how I spend my money or my political capital.

Am I delusional?