# If we paid for TV per episode, could we cover advertising costs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-paid-for-tv-per-episode-could-we-cover-advertising-costs/381603 "2006-11-24T02:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-paid-for-tv-per-episode-could-we-cover-advertising-costs/381603/21 "2006-12-15T04:33:35Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Does to me. I don’t give a shit about sports one way or the other. The only reason why I watch the Superbowl is for the commercials. Why should I have to pay for something I’ll literally _never_ watch? Certainly unfair to other people to have them pay for channels I like that they’ll never watch. [/QUOTE] **Ellis Dee** pointed out that ESPN is a must-have because they have the NFL rights. This is reason enough that every cable company is going to carry ESPN. The fact that Disney owns ESPN has doesn’t matter – ESPN would still get picked-up. I thought your point was that extra Disney channels get picked up because of ESPN, but now I realize you’re saying it is the other way around. I don’t agree that that happens. ESPN gets picked-up because they paid a huge pile of cash for the NFL contract. But yeah, I get the point that if you could mix-and-match and just pay for the channels you wanted, then that would be ideal for the consumer. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-paid-for-tv-per-episode-could-we-cover-advertising-costs/381603/22 "2006-12-15T06:31:41Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee] I pulled out the latest EW to cite some concrete numbers, and notice that they list the top 20, not 10. Last week, the top rated tv shows were: 1 Desperate Housewives (22.3 million) 2 Dancing with the Stars (22.0) 3 CSI (20.8) 4 Dancing with the Stars (20.7) 4 Grey’s Anatomy (20.7) 6 Sunday Night Football (19.4) 7 Dancing with the Stars Recap (18.2) 8 Criminal Minds (17.6) 9 Lost (17.1) 10 CSI Miami (16.8) 10 CSI NY (16.8) 12 60 Minutes (16.2) 13 House (16.1) 14 CMA Awards (16.0) 15 NCIS (15.4) 16 Without a Trace (15.2) 17 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (15.1) 18 Cold Case (14.8) 19 Deal or No Deal (14.7) 20 ER (14.6) [/QUOTE] Hijack. I’ve only ever watched 2 of those shows (60 minutes and ER) in my life. The other 18 I’ve never seen. A few I’ve never even heard of. I’m such a bad TV owner. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-paid-for-tv-per-episode-could-we-cover-advertising-costs/381603/23 "2006-12-15T11:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=Seven] Hijack. I’ve only ever watched 2 of those shows (60 minutes and ER) in my life. The other 18 I’ve never seen. A few I’ve never even heard of. I’m such a bad TV owner. [/QUOTE] That’s worrying… I’m in a different freaking country and I’ve heard of all those shows! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-paid-for-tv-per-episode-could-we-cover-advertising-costs/381603.md?page=1)