Kellner Says Commerical-Skip Worth $250/year

Steve B writes: "A sequel to Turner CEO: "PVR Users Are Thieves" -- according to this story reported by Broadcasting & Cable, our friend Jamie Kellner says that consumers should be prepared to pay "as much as $250 per year" for the privilege of zapping over commercials. BTW, I'm not being entirely sarcastic when I call Kellner "our friend" -- if we properly exploit this story as an example of why Hollywood wants control over our consumer electronics, Kellner just might dig their graves with his big mouth."

Comments

It already exists

[rodbegbie]

With DirecTv, I pay an extra $13 a month for HBO. That buys me not just the ability to watch television without commercial interruption, but also television without commercial interference.

By which I mean, they're not bleeped, cut or badly overdubbed when someone swears. I can see the actresses breasts whenever the director felt it artistically valid to show them.

And, let's face it, shows like Larry Sanders, Dennis Miller Live and Mr Show would never have been made on networks that had to pander to the advertising dollar.

So, Mr Kellner, here's the deal. For my annual $250, I demand to see programming that isn't lowest common denominator bullshit that only exists to fill the time between you showing me the clips trying to convince me to buy more cornflakes.

Sound good?

rOD.

Why the fuss?

[kyz]

I'm not sure why broadcasters are up in arms about PVRs skipping adverts. Anyone who records a program rather than watch it live is going to forward through the adverts anyway, when they get around to watching it. Advertisers already know this, and they're still willing to pay for advertising because most people watch TV programs live rather than record them.

Surely, what broadcasters are worried about is the whole concept of a TV recording machine that people watch instead of live TV. The fact it skips adverts in the recording is just icing. I think they're mostly worried about losing the eyeballs of the lucrative AB demographic -- high-earning types who only watch a few select TV programs anyway. But don't they think that attacking their own viewers and branding them "thieves" is a bit misguided? How is that going to get people to watch the TV more?

Tough fucking shit

[dh003i]

Like anyone actually buys crap from ads on TV anyways.

A new technology comes along, which allows us users to save time, not having to spend so much time out of our busy day watching commercials, that's just fucking tough for advertisers.

Furthermore, intelligent advertisers have started to insert "ads" into TV shows. For example, All My Children promotes cosmetics company Revlon within the show, by having one of their actresses take a job at Revlon within the show.

I'd pay it!

[markwelch]

I'd gladly pay an extra $250 per year for the commercial-skip feature, if it were actually available somehow, at some price. (Hmm, does that price include commercial-skip abilities for all programming that comes into my home, including cable-only channels like Comedy Central, or just broadcast channels?)

I really want the ability to record programs, and later watch them, and I'd pay a premium for certain PVR features like:

• Dual tuners (so I can record one program while watching another, or record two programs at once)
• A meaningful "commercial skip" (I'd even accept a 30-second-skip button or a working fast-fast-forward mode)
• Accurate programming information (not data that's six weeks old, but data that's updated to reflect programming changes
• I'd pay an additional premium for a system that would not record the last 10 minutes of an overtime sports event and then cut off recording 10 minutes before my program ends.
• I'd pay extra for a system that recognizes my programming preferences and suggests new programs I might enjoy.
• I'd like the ability to pause live TV.
• I'd like the ability to "record the past," with my PVR recording and storing the last minute or two so I can hit a command to save it to watch again (hey, sometimes those nude scenes are worth seeing again, and sometimes you want another look at a flash of skin in a commercial).
• Proper synchronization so I don't lose the first 2 or last 2 minutes of programs because the system decides that it's 7:59 when Fox thinks it's 8:01.

Each of these features is worth money, and if I have to pay a premium to get some or all of these features, I will do so. If the broadcasting networks think that it's worth $250 extra per year to receive their programs without commercials, then why don't they try offering it? Couldn't they offer their content without commercials on a series of premium cable channels? Gosh, no, it turns out that it's not just about skipping commercials -- I think people are more interested in the time-shifting ability than skipping commercials. I certainly am.

While each of these features is promised by one or more companies that claim to manufacture PVRs, I have been unable to see any PVR in use, except for one demo of UltimateTV (which I later learned I cannot use because I apparently can't get a signal at my home).

I've recently been shopping for a PVR and have concluded that none are currently available from companies likely to be in business in 6 months.

I really, really want a Personal Video Recorder, and I'd gladly pay a premium. Indeed, I actually bought an RCA UltimateTV unit and satellite dish, but I can't get a signal and neither DirecTV nor UltimateTV could suggest the name of any installers who would not charge me huge fees just to confirm that I can't get a satellite signal. I sent the system back.

I wanted to try TiVo, which has a "fast-fast-forward" but they signed an exclusive deal with Best Buy, which won't demo the unit (and doesn't have them in stock anyway).

ReplayTV demands a huge premium (charging roughly a $300-$350 premium for its prepaid lifetime subscription for programming -- but the money isn't put in escrow, and I assume that if the company loses or settles the pending lawsuits, it will abandon all customers.)

And that leaves . . . nobody. Oh, yeah, DishTV offers its own PVR, but of course I don't expect to get a DishTV signal if I can't get a DirecTV signal (and I understand the companies are merging).

I really want the ability to record programs, and later watch them, and I'd pay a premium for certain features like dual tuners (so I can record one program while watching another, or record two programs at once), a meaningful "commercial skip," and accurate programming information and proper synchronization so I don't lose the first 2 or last 2 minutes of programs because the system decides that it's 7:59 when Fox thinks it's 8:01.

I'd gladly pay a premium, and $250 per year for the commercial-skip capability would be well worth it.

Re:Are networks screwing with program start times?

[unitron]

No, it has not always been that way. Once upon a time not so very long ago you could count on the ABC, NBC, or CBS programs to start exactly at 8:00pm, exactly at 9:00pm, and exactly at 10:00pm. I think what they're doing now is stretching the highest rated shows from 60 minutes to 61 or 62 minutes so as to insert more advertising within that particular show. For instance, NBC starts ER on Thursday nights a minute or so earlier than 10:00pm in order to be done exactly at 11:00 when the local affiliates make their major money on the local news (which now runs until 11:35pm instead of 11:30pm so that the locals can insert more ads). Whatever Fox is running just before the 9:00pm airing of 24 on Tuesday nights doesn't actually finish completely (ending credits, etc) until about 9:01pm. Same deal with CBS and "Survivor" or whatever that show is that they think is worthy of a news story the next morning.

Are they doing this to screw over VCR users? No, that's just a fringe benefit for them.