# ABC Family Channel, you gotta be shitting me. (perhaps lame, but fuck 'em anyway!) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991 "2008-12-13T05:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/21 "2008-12-14T08:23:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > What’s a RedBox?😕 I assume he means [this](http://www.redbox.com/home.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/22 "2008-12-14T13:14:05Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > And fuck the family channel. I can’t respect any network that carries the damn _700 Club_ The network doesn’t have a choice. Do you know what ABC Family Channel used to be? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/23 "2008-12-14T18:17:01Z")
> [@jhinman](#): > > I assume he means [this](http://www.redbox.com/home.aspx) Ah, Ok, I found it on wiki. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/24 "2008-12-14T19:33:38Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Do you know what ABC Family Channel used to be? I don’t know, what did it? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/25 "2008-12-14T19:45:43Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I don’t know, what did it? It used to be “The Family Channel”, totally owned & run by Pat Robertson. Then he decided he got tired of running it & sold it to Fox with the stipulation that The 700 Club & it’s adjoining women’s show Living the Life always have their place on the station. After a couple of years “Fox Family Channel” wasn’t doing that well so Fox sold it to ABC-Disney, with the same stipulation about The 700 Club & Living the Life. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/26 "2008-12-14T20:12:13Z")
I cannot imagine watching a movie on television, including basic cable. Even in the mid-80s if there was a movie we wanted to watch on tv my parents would tape it and cut the commercials out and we’d watch it later. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/27 "2008-12-15T14:05:25Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > I hardly ever watch movies on broadcast TV and regular cable channels. Too many and too long commercial breaks. Me neither. Unless they’re playing My Cou Billy Mayes here! Amazing Orange Glow cleans anything! Buy Amazing Orange Glow! Available at these fine stores: Walgreens, RiteAid, and SuperMart! Orange Glow! sin Vin Been hurt in an accident? Call Jim Sokolov. Get the money you deserve. Call 1-800-JIM-CASH now! ny. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/28 "2008-12-15T14:10:53Z")
Suddenly, I want to buy some Amazing Orange Glow. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/29 "2008-12-15T14:20:59Z")
But wait, that’s not all! If you watch now, we’ll also subject you to **GIGANTIC** station-ID promos which run over the bottom third of the screen! I hate those “bugs” even worse than the ads. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/30 "2008-12-15T14:48:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > But wait, that’s not all! If you watch now, we’ll also subject you to **GIGANTIC** station-ID promos which run over the bottom third of the screen! During a foreign movie with subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/31 "2008-12-15T16:43:03Z")
I was watching _Chicken little_ on that station a week or two ago. They did the same thing, but to make it worse, they actually rejoined with dvd extras _in the middle of the film_. SO after waiting six+ minutes to see what happens to the characters next, I get treated to a four minute Hannah montannah concert. I about threw a shoe at the television. ---
**Author:** ![bistritapcv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@bistritapcv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bistritapcv)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/32 "2015-06-25T16:34:27Z")
I was watching the Flintstones Movie on ABC Family. I was liking it but then as you say there must be about 40% commercials. And when they show the movie they advertise over the screen. I don’t think I will watch ABC Family any more. I noticed the same thing with TV Land. OK I was watching Gilligan’s Island I admit it. But every 5 minutes of programming there were 5 minutes of commercials. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/33 "2015-06-25T16:44:36Z")
> [@bistritapcv](#): > > I was watching the Flintstones Movie on ABC Family. I was liking it but then as you say there must be about 40% commercials. And when they show the movie they advertise over the screen. I don’t think I will watch ABC Family any more. > > I noticed the same thing with TV Land. OK I was watching Gilligan’s Island I admit it. But every 5 minutes of programming there were 5 minutes of commercials. Dr. Samuel Johnson is right about Olson Johnson’s being right. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/34 "2015-06-25T17:28:34Z")
Yes, yes, we all know TV is just commercials with small breaks for “content”. It has always been so. Bragging about how you “only watch on DVR”, however, is also old school thinking. You’re stuck in the “aughts” when here in 2015 the world has changed yet again. Broadcast programming (cable included) has changed so much so fast. Under 30 minutes of programming per hour is ridiculous! But it’s common. Some channels show 2/5 hour movies in four hour time slots! Plus, as noted above, giant bugs\* take over half the picture for extended time when the actual program is on. Often advertising the show you are currently watching! Who thinks this is a good business model? Who is actually watching these commercials? Are there people so lacking in other choices that they will willing watch a movie under those circumstances (more than a one-time thing as in the OP)? We all know that commercials pay for our TV. But in this modern world commercials have gone into runaway mode. More commercial to capture the fewer and fewer eyes watching. Even people with no other choices to watch still won’t watch 5 minutes of commercials for 6 minutes of content. Will they? I hope not! To me, it’s not just “more of the same”. I think the current model has made movies completely unwatchable on cable. (I’ve tried. I watched Battleship - wanted to see how bad it was. The constant commercial barrage was so annoying that it overwhelmed the badness of the film!) We have several channels set as favorites, and sometimes channel surfing I will see an interesting movie being shown, but I swear that every time I stop on the channel, it’s in commercial. I don’t think that would happen if the content/commercial ratio was 5/1 like it was in the 60s-70s. How can you get hooked in while surfing if the program is never on? \*coming soon to Syfy channel ---
**Author:** ![bistritapcv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@bistritapcv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bistritapcv)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/35 "2015-06-25T18:33:10Z")
You have to admire Ted Turner for showing complete movies uninterrupted by commercials, on TCM ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/36 "2015-06-25T18:51:07Z")
Just as an FYI, this thread is 6 and a half years old. It’s a zombie first grader! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/37 "2015-06-25T18:52:56Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Usually not this bad, though! > > Most standard broadcast programming runs 22 minutes of the show per half hour. That’s a ratio of 11:4 show v.s. commercials. This movie was running at a ratio of 4.25:3.25 show v. commercials. That’s an insane extreme. Our Comcast program summary shows the actual length of the movie; subtract that from the length of the program time and you can tell in advance how much time is taken up by commercials. 90-minute movie in a 2-hour slot, not too bad. 2-hour movie in a 3-hour slot, not for me. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/38 "2015-06-25T18:53:09Z")
People still watch cable/antenna TV? Why didn’t you just Netflix it or something? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/39 "2015-06-25T19:06:22Z")
People still watch Netflix? Pffft. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991/40 "2015-06-25T20:43:16Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > As I am one of those rare people who still use a VCR, I find this very helpful information. I’ve never seen the movie either and taped it last night to watch it tomorrow. Assuming the commercials are 30 seconds long each, I now know I’ll be skipping 13 commercials at a time. Correction “I am the only human being alive who still uses a VCR…” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abc-family-channel-you-gotta-be-shitting-me-perhaps-lame-but-fuck-em-anyway/476991.md?page=3)