Google Ad Revenue To Top UK Broadcaster's

GoingTurbo writes, "By the end of the year advertisers in the UK will have spent more money advertising on Google than they did on the UK's Channel Four TV station. The article suggests we will see the slow erosion of traditional television broadcasting, and with it, the death of the great TV ads of the past. The article offers an alternative possibility for the future of television." From the article: "The US has been forced to contend with heinously patronizing and crude TV advertising for decades, but the UK's advertising industry has managed to create art out of the dirty act of selling. Some of the best short films of the last century have been television advertisements... Even if some of these make the transition... online, they'll lack the spectacle of their TV equivalent."

Comments

Tivo like solutions not popular in UK

[thelost]

The roll out of Tivo solutions in the UK have not been nearly as popular as in America. I have noticed since the launch of Tivo in the US it has got to the point where it is culturally referenced in films, tv, media, everywhere - in other words it's practically reached Hoover standard.

The reasons why DVR solutions are of course more complex then the point I am making here, but I would argue one of the reasons is that we have two terrestrial channels that have no adverts (bbc1 and bbc2) and three (ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5) which we grumble about, but honestly aren't that invasive - compared to American television.

With the advent of digital tv we actually have access to a great many more channels, but for the most part all the bbc channels are ad free - it's what we pay a tv license for.

Re:Tivo like solutions not popular in UK

[RealSurreal]

"Tivo did a deal with Sky. They're known as SKY+ in the UK."

Got a reference for that? Cause I got one that says you're wrong : http://www.garysargent.co.uk/tivo/TIVOvsSKY.htm

Re:Tivo like solutions not popular in UK

[iainl]

The BBC has as much advertising for what else is on TV this week as any other channel during the breaks between programmes. The real difference is that they don't break off immediately after the opening credit sequence, and strictly, literally every 5 minutes after that, to advertise stuff DURING the show.

Thanks the the fact that most stuff on the BBC is going to be shown on some other, ad-funded channel at some point, shows are an odd number of minutes long. So they fill the 2 mins between shows with stuff; I can't say I'm that bothered by it myself.

I dont believe in the death of TV

[Ksempac]

First the kind of advertising you get on the web is very different from the one you get on a TV.

Usually what you get on the Web is : Video Games, Movies, IT solution, Websites... Things people who surf are interested in.

And you get on TV : Food, Detergent, Soap, Cars, ... Things a whole family needs on a day-to-day basis.

Additionnally, TV got some help from the web : Now everytime a major TV serie come out, there is a dedicated website to create a buzz and provide some informations to get more people in front of their TV (Lost comes in mind).

Re:Who cares about channel four ads?

[thelost]

Is that supposed to funny? Could I direct you here to the BBC's policy on advertising. to quote:

The BBC is not permitted to carry advertising or sponsorship on its public services. This keeps them independent of commercial interests and ensures they can be run instead to serve the general public interest.

Has this guy ever watched UK TV?

[mgblst]

Some of the best short films of the last century have been television advertisements... Even if some of these make the transition... online, they'll lack the spectacle of their TV equivalent."
 
What a load of rubbish. Art, indeed. Yes, the high art that is Car Insurance adds and refinancing company adds - I swear, 50% of adds on UK tv consist of these two "products". A nodding dog, a red car... has art really become this?

Re:Who cares about channel four ads?

[TommyMc]

I'd rather have adverts and not pay the license; the time between programs would stay about the same.

How d'you figure that? Every channel advertises it's own programs either side of the adverts, and none of them less so than the bbc. Buy a dvd with a bbc produced show on it and see how long the half hour shows are (usually around 28 minutes), and then look at the ones that run at half an hour on channel 4 (the simpsons on the bbc was a twenty or twenty five minute show if memory serves).

Go to the USA and watch tv, it's intolerable: the adverts are every two minutes (or feel like it). At least with the bbc the commercial channels are forced to regulate how often they break, for fear of pissing away viewers..

Additionally if we lost the bbc to advertising we'd lose a hell of a lot more than just the time between programs. The license fee means that they are publically accountable (and therefore not to the highest bidder). It allows them to innovate (I direct your attention to all the innovative comedy programs it's produced in the last 30 years). The website is a fantastic, in depth resource. The Radio stations cater to all tastes, they have informed debaters, all sorts of music for all cultures and we're saved from the embarrassement that are Radio Adverts. There's a million reasons why the bbc is hugely beneficial to British culture: "Time between programs" is not one of the big ones.

Re:Who cares about channel four ads?

[Alioth]

The most telling thing: In the US, the Simpson's takes a half hour slot. When the Simpsons was on BBC2, they fit two episodes in a half hour slot.

Typical US advertising for a half hour program goes:

Ads
Intro credits
Ads
Programme first half
Ads
Programme second half
Ads
Ending credits
Ads

Typical UK advertising on a half hour slot:

Ads
Intro credits
Programme first half
Ads
Programme second half
Ending credits
Ads

Generally, the ad breaks are shorter, too. When I lived in the US, I practically gave up watching TV because the advertising was so frequent, invasive - and especially car adverts - loud and obnoxious.

Re:Who cares about channel four ads?

[Chacham]

When the Simpsons was on BBC2, they fit two episodes in a half hour slot.

In the words of Raplh Wiggum, "That's unpossible!".

US shows of late take about 22 minutes (down from 25 some years back). Two 22 minutes episodes do not fit into a half-hour. So, either they snipped parts of the show (e.g. 1 min of intro, 2 min of credits, and 4 minutes randomly) or it wasn't in a half-hour.