This is a rant and I probably should delete it.

[AverageOldGuy]

But, here it is.

I watch MSNBC almost every night between 9:00 PM and midnight -- this three hours has (1) at 9:00 the lady who replaced Rachel; (2) Lawrence at 10:00, and (3) Stephanie Ruhle, 11:00 to midnight.

For the last few nights, these three programs are FILLED with commercials for a credit card company -- the commercials feature Kevin (I don't know and don't care and don't want to know his last name) and his "cash-backin' " routine. I mute the sound. I cannot stand listening to this no-talent loudmouth. There are so many of these obnoxious ads on these three shows that I am just about to stop watching them solely because I am tired of "Kevin" and his mouth.

I first saw him in what is likely the worst, most obnoxious TV ad I have ever seen in which some guy had made lasagna and the commercial was nothing but a shouting, shrieking match "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" Kevin: "WHAT!!!" "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" "WHAT!!!" "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" "WHAT!!!" "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" "WHAT!!!" Repeat, and repeat, and repeat. And this was supposed to be funny and was supposed to make me want to buy whatever it was they were advertising.

End of rant -- I'm reaching for the mute button again.

[TwilightZone]

1. MSNBC seems to have a limited number of sponsors.

So the commercials from the sponsors they do have get beaten to death.

Kevin Hart, I presume. In fairness to Kevin, he can only work with what they write for him. Someone on a social media thread said that his career is now annoying people in commercials, so it seems you're not alone.

[LoisB]

2. Don't delete it. It is a righteous rant. nt

[DaBronx]

3. There is also a bunch of new disgusting commercials

I won’t get into the details but I am shocked at what we are asked to consume for the privilege of capitalism.
And it’s getting worse. There needs to be a warning at the beginning of the spot.

[Comfortably_Numb]

14. I despise the pill musicals complete with group dance routine. Who in the world thought that up?

[DaBronx]

25. Such an ear worm!

Hate it!

[Comfortably_Numb]

30. They've improved my reflexes though. I can find the mute button practically instantaneously...

[DaBronx]

33. Very true!

[DemocraticPatriot]

4. Since I don't buy cable, and don't get MSNBC, I do not have the opportunity

to view this ad...


I watch the over-the-air digital channels---
my cross to bear is the medicare advantage ads by a dozen different MA companies....

LOL

Lasagna? I love lasagna! Been years since I had any. Now I am hungry for it....

[MerryBlooms]

5. Don't delete. It's the same problem at my client's home.

He literally screams word for word these commercials, or turns off his TV, then forgets to turn it back on. There needs to be a limit on how many times these companies can run commercials during a day. They are literally driving folks nutty. Camp Legune, Medicare advantage, walk in tubs, etc... plus, they call all damn day! The advantage insurance folks start calling him about 5 in the morning. There needs to be a law stopping this shit. I have threatened harassment, when I answer, the guy laughed and said, you try. And just laughed. Called me a bitch and hung up. This is the shit our seniors are dealing with every day. I have blocked so many calls, it does no good.

[TwilightZone]

7. A few suggestions:

It's already illegal to call at 5:00am. Those calls can be reported to the FTC (#2 below) and/or the FCC (#5 below).

1) Make sure that your client is on the Do-Not-Call list. If unsure, you can check (or apply) here:
https://www.donotcall.gov/

2) You can report unwanted calls to the FTC.
https://www.donotcall.gov/report.html

They do follow-up on reports, but it may take multiple reports about the same organization for them to take action and you likely won't receive any correspondence about outcomes, etc.

3) If the client has a VOIP landline (phone through internet, cable company, etc.), sign them up for Nomorobo. It's free for VOIP landlines:
https://www.nomorobo.com/

4) Many phone providers have blocking available and it's often as simple as dialing a code (*68, for example) after receiving a spam call.

The problem, of course, is that the same organization may call from multiple numbers, so it may be necessary to block a few before seeing some progress.

#3 and #4 made a huge difference for us.

5) The FCC also provides a Consumer Guide with resources, etc., on their website:

https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/stop_unwanted_robocalls_and_texts.pdf

[DaBronx]

26. This is a wonderful list

Thank you

[Demobrat]

10. Get a good whistle.

Break their eardrums.

[TwilightZone]

12. Not likely to be effective.

Most commercial phone systems are designed to clip or deaden sounds like that. It can probably be assumed that the most annoying ones almost certainly have that in place.

[marybourg]

6. And people pay good money to have this come

into their homes. Boggles my mind for the past 50 years.

[Bev54]

8. I watch Lawrence and Stephanie but I tape them and start about 20 minutes later

so I can ff through commercials.

[Mr.Bill]

9. We got rid of cable TV around five months ago when we moved.

We can't get Direct TV where we are now, too many trees in the way of the satellite. So we are using streaming services. But even if you just have internet, try this YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@msnbc

It lets you pick and choose individual segments from all the MSNBC shows, so no long commercials. I find I can see what I really want to see in about one hour that would take 12 hours of MSNBC watched live.

[oasis]

11. Not a game.....

....cash backin".

[Earth-shine]

19. It is the worst, most stupid commercial of all of them.

It's worse than all the other Kevin Hart Chase commercials, which themselves are worse than other Chase commercials, which manage to be more annoying than even the Jardians and Skyrizi commercials.

[Demobrat]

13. I'm with you. I finally ditched the cable last year

because I was sick and tired of paying to watch commercials. I can still get msnbc and cnn live via Sling if I want to - but I usually don’t. I’d rather just watch clips.

I can’t quite give up the option to watch current events live, but at least Sling is less than half the cost and has other shows that are better than anything on cable.

[Mr.Bill]

15. I remember in the early days of Cable TV

when salesmen came to your door to sign you up for cable TV when it came to your neighborhood. I think it was costing 10-$15 dollars at the time. They said "Once you get Cable TV you will never watch another commercial again".

[Demobrat]

18. Yeah that was supposed to be the whole point of pay TV.

No commercials. Joke’s on us.

[Silent3]

16. If you want really obnoxious ads, listen to SiriusXM radio

Quite often what I'm listening to on SiriusXM in my car is MSNBC (which 95% functions perfectly well as audio-only content), but no matter what the program material, SiriusXM replaces a good portion broadcaster ads with its own, so you'll hear many of the same ads anytime you're not listening to one of their ad-free channels.

A lot of these ads really scrape the bottom of the barrel. Lots of "health" supplements that nearly always need a disclaimer like, "Not FDA approved. This product is not intended to prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease." Time-share cancellation services. California Psychics. Online gambling sites.

Ugh.

[jmbar2]

17. So many of the ads are screaming

I have written MSNBC asking them to please stop SCREAMING ads.
- Loudmouth Kevin
- The walk-in shower ad
- Limu Emu
- Coventry direct
- The old woman scarecrow ad
- ServPro

So much screaming.

[camartinwv]

20. Kevin Hart is a comedian.

[Earth-shine]

21. You seem to suffer from a lack of perspective.

To TV executives, the station exists to play commercials, and you exist to watch them.

The programming between the commercials is your enticement to tune in.

As a viewer, you have no rights, except to be able to change the channel or turn it off.

Don't single out MSNBC. Many of these ads run on CNN and other cable stations equally loud and annoying.

This is a product of our capitalist society -- the dumbing-down of the population by constantly propagandizing people into buying things.

[Delmette2.0]

24. You are right, other networks have the same commercials.

I really don't want to be yelled or screamed at. My list starts with paper towels, online Bingo games and Kevin.

My next least favorite are local commercials that use children to tell us how great grandpa is.

And what happened to the promise that commercials would not be louder than the programs.

[calimary]

22. Well, when a commercial break comes,

I often…
- visit the powder room
- check my messages
- go to the kitchen for snack possibilities
- check the animals
- check the weather
- check the laundry (if I’ve done a load)
Aaaaaaaand the list goes on!

Some commercial breaks are WAY tooo long.

[Prairie_Seagull]

32. Same here and

frequently get lost doing other stuff and miss out on some content I was intending to watch. Are you listening channels?

[tulipsandroses]

23. Lol, I respect the rant. I love the new Kevin Hart Ad. Basketball fans will get the joke

If you are not familiar with 76ers great Allen Iverson’s infamous rant about practice, then this is not going to make sense. I’m sure the ad was meant to be over the top because the press conference being parodied in the ad was over the top and one of the funniest rants in sports history.

That rant has been memed to death. Iverson also appears in the ad.
The one in the airport is a home alone parody.
But humor is relative, feel free to mute.

[GuppyGal]

27. I like Kevin Hart...next time these commercials come on I'll raise the volume in your honor. nt

[hunter]

28. I've removed television commercials from my personal universe...

... largely for mental health reasons. I don't need those voices in my head.

I block any advertising that moves or makes noise from my web browsing too.

The television in our home plays DVDs and two or three commercial-free streaming services. That's all it does. No cable, no satellite, no broadcast television. And best of all, no commercials.

I used to watch television news and opinion, just like my dad does, but quit in disgust shortly after September 11, 2001. My wife has never watched television news. We read all our news.

[HAB911]

29. You don't mute ALL commercials?

LOL, try it, you'll like it and you will eliminate one more of life's little hassles

[Ferrets are Cool]

31. Record and watch commercial free.