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Kellner: Viewers could pay for skipping commercials.

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Kellner: Viewers could pay for skipping commercials.

Old 07-15-02, 10:48 AM
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Kellner: Viewers could pay for skipping commercials.

Man, I want to smack this guy.

Viewers Could Pay for Skipping Ads

Jul 14, 3:31 PM (ET)

By The Associated Press


PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Television viewers could face paying for channels they now receive free if digital video recorders kill commercials, said Jamie Kellner, chairman of Turner Broadcasting System.

The wider use of systems like TiVo and ReplayTV, which allow viewers to easily skip through ads, would force a change in how broadcast and basic cable TV is supported, Kellner said Friday.

"Don't think for a moment there's a free lunch involved in this," Kellner told the Television Critics Association. Viewers could end up paying about $250 a year above any cable or satellite fees, he said, based on his own rough calculation.

Kellner had been asked to expand on remarks to CableWorld magazine in which he said viewers who skip commercials are "stealing" programming.


His comment was misinterpreted and not serious, Kellner said. But he said he was concerned about the impact new technology could have on TV, just as the music industry has been affected by Napster and other inventions.

A recent survey showed that about 70 percent of DVR users skip past commercials, Kellner said. Although only about 1 percent of TV homes have the devices, their use could proliferate if they are routinely included in set-top cable boxes and satellite systems.
Old 07-15-02, 10:53 AM
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You and me both.

das
Old 07-15-02, 11:22 AM
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Did this guy say the same thing when the remote control (especially the flashback button) was invented?
Old 07-15-02, 11:38 AM
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How much does will it cost me a year to go to the bathroom during commercials?

das
Old 07-15-02, 12:09 PM
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Can I get my money back for all the cable channels I don't watch, then?
Old 07-15-02, 12:27 PM
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Why are only 70% of DVR users skipping commercials?
Old 07-15-02, 01:25 PM
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This talk is all a bunch of BS. Its not any different than the commercial skip feature on a VCR, or going to get a drink/food during a commercial.

I'm sure this guy loses millions of dollars each time i take a crap instead of watching commercials.
Old 07-15-02, 01:37 PM
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Originally posted by UAIOE
I'm sure this guy loses millions of dollars each time i take a crap instead of watching commercials.
*ahem* He's not losing it ... you're stealing it.

das
Old 07-15-02, 01:56 PM
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I'm suprised he "allows" us to use the MUTE button. Isn't that half-stealing?

What a pompous idiot.
Old 07-15-02, 02:02 PM
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I wonder if they realize that the people who are actually swayed by advertizing are the same people who can't figure out how to use a PVR.

das
Old 07-15-02, 02:03 PM
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My god what an idiot.

It's the "stealing" line that just makes me want to bitchslap him.
Old 07-15-02, 02:09 PM
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I'm sure this has NOTHING to do with Time_Warner creating thier own Tivo like device, by Scientific Atlanta, for their cable customers, nor the video on demand feature that allows them to "order" or watch a movie or show whenever they want.
Old 07-15-02, 02:10 PM
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Kellner's approach to high-tech television viewing: the ever-popular Clockwork Orange chair...
Old 07-15-02, 02:26 PM
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Originally posted by das Monkey


*ahem* He's not losing it ... you're stealing it.

das

If he wants me to pay him back im sure i can find something to send to him.
Old 07-15-02, 04:38 PM
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Give me commercial free TV. I'll pay the $20 a month he wants for it, with the caveat that programming improves to something worth watching. Wait, that may be too much to ask...
Old 07-15-02, 05:33 PM
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i skipped commercials before my pvr entered the pictured. i would leave during commercials and get food, turn the channel to the preview guide, use the 30 second button on the remote, record shows with my vcr and fast forward. sure it is easier with a pvr, but it is not like you can fast forward thru them if you are watching it live
Old 07-15-02, 05:47 PM
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Didn't we have an article on this guy a few months ago? He hasn't seen the light, huh?
Old 07-15-02, 11:10 PM
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Originally posted by steelcurtain
Give me commercial free TV. I'll pay the $20 a month he wants for it, with the caveat that programming improves to something worth watching. Wait, that may be too much to ask...
You see, you pay the 20 bucks and you get the same worthless dreck!

Wasn't cable TV invented as a commercial free/limited enterprise where you paid for the privelage of getting that extra material without the fluff?

It sounds to me like he wants to charge people for not being couch potatoes. We used to watch more TV, we didn't have other things/channels to distract us, but now that we do, unless we go back to the world of watching the same channel all day long we have a surchage.

This is all amazing since Kellner's a young guy, you would think he would be so bass ackwards about things.
Old 07-16-02, 04:36 AM
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Let's remember one thing...TV and RADIO are NOT there for your entertainment.

TV and RADIO are there to attract people to ads. ...Laugh and blow me off if you want too, but that is the truth of it. If you happen to get entertained by it then you're lucky.

Shows and Music is stuff to play between ads.

Rock music attracts young white males so who buys ads on rock stations? Beer companies, Custom auto shops, strip clubs.

R&B attracst Blacks so who time? Black hair care makers, Bail bondsmen, and Church's Fried Chicken.

Pop music attracts women so who buys? Maxi pad makers, Slim Fast, and clothing companies.

Don't forget why "Soaps" are called "Soaps"....Soap makers created "Daytime Soaps" to catch teh attention of women working at home back in the '50's and '60's.


So you flippin' thru ads just defeats the purpose of TV and ad revenue.

SHAME SHAME SHAME on you!!!!! You Napster havin', CD burnin', ad skipping bastards.
Old 07-16-02, 07:55 AM
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OK, I'm a Tivo-loving, commercial skipping person here also, and love it (Most sitcoms have about 18 minutes of actual programming, hour long dramas about 40 minutes...), and not that I feel guilty abuot using the Tivo to skip, but...

He's kinda right ::::ducks::::

Programming on everything but premium pay channels is supported by advertising...if this technology becomes widely available, this is going to cause some problems because advertisers are buying ads on certain programs expecting them to be VIEWED...if they're not being viewed, then advetisers aren't going to buy, and programming wil need to find a new source of revenue.

Skipping commercials is not the same as getting up and going to the bathroom during a commercial break...the commercial is still being played during the break, you're just not in front of it to view it. And the % of people that skip with Tivos is I'd guess more than the % who leave the room while the commercials run.

'Stealing' to me is a bit harsh...but the networks are going to have to do something if everyone is skipping commercials...I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts or ideas...

Ed
Old 07-16-02, 09:37 AM
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I'm surprised that Hollywood has never tried to slap a big YOU'RE A THIEF tax on TV remotes. Kind of like the fee they added to all blank audio tapes since it's assumed that you'll be doing nasty, evil things with them.
Old 07-16-02, 09:39 AM
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Don't feel bad. I made a long post the last time this jackass opened his mouth talking about how he was partially correct and things needed to change. However, the way he's taken a legitmate issue and grandstanded it into "stealing" diludes any real point he may be trying to make.

das
Old 07-16-02, 04:26 PM
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I heard this the other day, but I don't buy it. VCRs enable viewers to fast-forward through commercials, which has been done for years.
Old 07-16-02, 04:49 PM
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The other option is to have pop-up adds when you hit the pause button on your PVR. Sonic Blue periodically does this to promote products on my Replay-TV. I don't have a problem with this.
Old 07-16-02, 09:37 PM
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Originally posted by das Monkey
I wonder if they realize that the people who are actually swayed by advertizing are the same people who can't figure out how to use a PVR.

das

das, seriously - every day you say at least one thing to crack me up. Thanks.

I wonder if they realize that by making good, clever commercials, people are at least not annoyed by them (and don't have bad feelings about the product's company) but by making annoying as he!! idiotic ads they not only make people want to avoid every commercial out there but they also drive people away from EVERY product they sell? Based on bad commercials I avoid the featured products and companies like the plague. Whatever happened to making a good product/providing a good service at a good value and people will buy it?!? If they weren't trying to trick the consumer into believing something or wanting something they didn't need/wouldn't work for its intended purpose, they might be successful without bombarding the public with cr@ppy ads. And we'd all get to watch tv without bugs on the screen, pop up ads, constant commercial interruptions, horrendously misplaced and overused product placement, tickers, cut off pictures, etc.

How about filming all tv in widescreen and selling the black space for ads? Widescreen tv owners would be exempt from having to view the ads. Seriously - I'd pay $10-20 more per month for all networks to be ad free. Imagine - Alias, 24, Buffy, Angel, and all other great shows with no ads at all?!?!? It would be like having the dvd of the show years ahead of time.

Last edited by WarriorPrincess; 07-16-02 at 09:41 PM.

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