"Coming up next" and other annoyances

[lazarus]

This "coming up next" crap with previews for immediately after the commercial break drives me crazy. I'm already watching your damned show, just get on with it. Teases are just annoying.

This is particularly bad on reality TV. Top Chef, Shear Genius, all the Bravo shows do it to death. Luckily, Survivor and Amazing Race are very limited. I think Survivor has only ever done it once in the middle of a two hour episode. I can't remember TAR ever doing it.

Anything like this annoy you?

[lpbk2713]

1. Just a filler so they don't have to come up with actual content.

Just like when they show "what has happened so far" when they come back from the commercial break.

It's like providing 35 or 40 minutes of actual content during a 60 minute period is a real challenge.

They don't even seem to try any more.

[Duer 157099]

2. ...another reason to not view live TV

And by live, I just mean when it is being broadcast. I will either record the show and watch it later or use the DVR and let the show start about 15 minutes before I intend to start watching, just so I can skip all that crap.

Yes, it drives me nuts, both before and after the commercials.

I wonder if our society is becoming so ADHD/short attention span *because* of these sorts of things, or if they are a result of our attention spans...?

[lazarus]

3. Interesting chicken and egg conundrum

I think they're desperate to not lose viewers. With all the options out there now, people wander off apparently at the drop of a hat. But if I'm watching a show, I tend to stick with it if it's interesting. So, in my case at least, the best way to keep me through the break is to make your show interesting.

We rarely if ever watch anything live. We time shift just about everything. The DVR is a miracle device.

OTOH, DVRs are going to cause advertising to change. Watch for more product placement to be shoehorned in. 30 Rock is the only show I've seen that handled it right. They did an in-show spiel for either Snapple or some cell phone, and at the end one of the characters said, "Can we have our money now?" They make their product placement so obvious it adds to the humour.