# if you can fast faorward commercials why are there still commericals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577 "2014-05-29T18:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/21 "2014-05-30T02:50:34Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > Digital Cable doesn’t necessarily equal DVR. I have two HD cable boxes that do not have DVR functionality. Comcast wants more money for that feature and cable and internet are already close to $200 a month without it. Yep, one of my boxes is a plain old HD cable box. It’s entirely possible to have digital cable without a DVR- and as more programs are available on demand, I have less need for a DVR and might end up trading it in eventually, ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/22 "2014-05-30T04:55:14Z")
I read somewhere that they are now designing the ads to be attractive while in fast forward. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/23 "2014-05-30T08:35:12Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > In addition to what’s been mentioned above, there’s sports. We rarely watch TV programs at the time they are broadcast…except for sporting events, which tend to get ‘spoiled’ if we wait a few days. Since we’re watching live, we have no choice but to sit through the commercials (or get up to go to the bathroom, do the laundry, etc.) Just wait 30-45 minutes and you can finish just about when the game does in real time. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/24 "2014-05-30T11:25:07Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Just wait 30-45 minutes and you can finish just about when the game does in real time. It’s amazing to time-save by watching an NFL game in this way. Watch a play, hit the 30 second skip, and you almost always rejoin just as the offense walks up to the line for the next play. You skip the mindless blathering of the announcers, and of course, the always exciting huddle. But, yeah, commercials. I have my Tivo programmed with the 30 second skip hack, and I almost never watch them. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/25 "2014-05-30T11:33:08Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > It’s amazing to time-save by watching an NFL game in this way. Watch a play, hit the 30 second skip, and you almost always rejoin just as the offense walks up to the line for the next play. You skip the mindless blathering of the announcers, and of course, the always exciting huddle. This works for other game shows too. It’s how my Mom watches Wheel Of Fortune. And she uses not only the fast-forward to skip the nonsense, but the pause is very handy too, when she wants to spend some time really thinking about the clues. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/26 "2014-05-30T15:03:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > when revenue from selling 30-second spots falls off because too few viewers are sitting through the commercials, the business model that makes “free” TV programs happen is going to crumble. Most local stations get more revenue from [re-transmission fees](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast_Cable#Retransmission_fees), than advertising now. People still want their local television stations for news and weather, and other local programming, so large cable and satellite companies will continue to pony up $$$'s to the local TV stations for the right to rebroadcast their stations. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/27 "2014-05-30T15:21:15Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Most local stations get more revenue from [re-transmission fees](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast_Cable#Retransmission_fees), than advertising now. How much more? Is it like 60% retransmission fees, and 40% ad revenue? If so, and if the ad revenue goes away, that missing revenue has to get made up somewhere, and right now it looks like it would probably end up being in cable subscriber fees. What about channels like Comedy Central, Discovery, or CNN? ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/28 "2014-05-30T17:07:20Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > What about channels like Comedy Central, Discovery, or CNN? They’re still relying on ad revenue for a significant chunk of their production costs. However, because they’re receiving some revenue direct from viewers, they can afford more expensive shows (or, in rare cases, fewer commercials for the same shows). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/29 "2014-05-30T22:07:05Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > My DVR doesn’t have a magic Skip button: when I fast-forward through commercials, I am watching them, just at high speed, because I want to resume play right at the end of the commercial break… Mine didn’t come with a Skip button, either, but hacks are plentiful. I found one on-line, programmed it into the remote, and now I have a 30-seconds-into-the-future button. This on a Motorola DVR supplied by Comcast. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/30 "2014-05-30T23:22:14Z")
… I love you. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/31 "2014-05-31T01:55:33Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > wow… in NYC EVERYONE has digital cable (some type of DVR box) except for the very poor :dubious: Cite? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/32 "2014-05-31T02:40:16Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I read a survey (that i can’t find right at the moment) that a surprisingly large percentage of DVR users just use them to time shift and don’t bother to fast forward through the commercials. That would describe my parents and my in-laws, except that my in-laws just use theirs as a cable box and don’t even pause it, skip forward and back, etc… It’s like stepping back in time at their house. My parents time-shift all the time, but still don’t rewind, pause or fast-forward through commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/33 "2014-06-01T03:37:53Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I read somewhere that they are now designing the ads to be attractive while in fast forward. I remember reading the same thing, although I can’t remember where. I do remember it being mentioned that it was becoming more common to use TV stars in commercials because if you’re fast-forwarding through the commercials in an episode of, say, _Modern Family_, then if you see Sofia Vergara on the screen you’re likely to hit “play” thinking the show is back even if it’s actually just one of her Pepsi ads. I’d assume there are other tricks like making sure the product and brand name are on the screen long enough to be noticeable even on fast-forward. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/34 "2014-06-01T05:56:59Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > My prediction is this: when fast forwarding gets too widespread, they will start devoting screen real estate _during the program_ to advertising. Maybe a band across the bottom with a scroll of ad copy. Or maybe just static images. Or worse yet, eye-catching moving images, like you see on web pages. The plus side: no interruptions. The downside: no avoiding them. Or, what they used to do in the old days when the actors in the show would do the commercial and it would be part of the show. They did this alot with Philip Morris cigarettes on “I Love Lucy”. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/35 "2014-06-01T09:55:47Z")
In Australia an enterprising so and so realized that - the Commercial TV stations rely on adverts and would love to block the ability to fastforward during commercials & - With the change to Digital, People would value a recorder that was certifified Australian digital TV compatible. SO… he arranged that the any PVR marked as “Freeview”, must be \*fully compatible and - unable to forward past commercial …the idea of “Freeview” as a standard has died the death it deserved. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/36 "2014-06-01T12:31:55Z")
Some examples of techniques used to stop FFing: _Mythbusters_: They’ll drop in a short bit with the build team in the middle of a block of ads. Makes you stop FFing since you think the show has resumed. _Mad Men_: Ads featuring actors from the show. _Orphan Black_: Saw at least once a quasi-coming attraction ad. Again, looked like the show resumed. _Rizzoli and Isles_: Promos for other stuff that feature sets that look like the sets of the show. You have to be clever. But there are too many Lou Averys and not enough Don Drapers. **Mrs FtG** watches baseball (ergo, I do, too). There are a _very_ limited number of different ads run. So you see them over and over and are sick of them after just one game. Nevermind the season. Despite watching the games using the DVR and skipping commercials almost all the time, we still know every single commercial by heart within a month of the start of a season. The ad companies have done their job despite our best efforts. I will watch really good looking ads for movies of interest the first time. But they need to be the first in the block. I think that first ad slot is becoming even more desirable than it previously was. (The first and last were favorites. Sometimes the same company would take both.) My old ReplayTV (which was recently retired) has anti-commercial skip. Really weird watching TV that way. Not 100% perfect, but really good effort given the tech of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/37 "2014-06-01T20:27:05Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > **Mrs FtG** watches baseball (ergo, I do, too). There are a _very_ limited number of different ads run. So you see them over and over and are sick of them after just one game. Nevermind the season. Despite watching the games using the DVR and skipping commercials almost all the time, we still know every single commercial by heart within a month of the start of a season. The ad companies have done their job despite our best efforts. > > . Speaking of sporting events, go to a professional game and practically everything you look at or what’s on the field has some sort of commercial ad or sponsor attached to it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Passing\_Through](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Just\_Passing\_Through](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Passing_Through)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/38 "2014-06-01T21:07:51Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by Tim R. Mortiss View Post My prediction is this: when fast forwarding gets too widespread, they will start devoting screen real estate during the program to advertising. Maybe a band across the bottom with a scroll of ad copy. Or maybe just static images. Or worse yet, eye-catching moving images, like you see on web pages. The plus side: no interruptions. The downside: no avoiding them. > [@jayjay](#): > > This is already a thing, at least for network/channel promos. Annoying as hell, too. I hate that f’ing thing. Whoever pioneered it should be de-balled. Slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577/39 "2014-06-01T21:38:40Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > well, the survey mentioned on this thread caught me by surprise… i would of said everyone FF commercials… i guess not Everybody who watches time-shifted, on-demand and pirated TV on laptops in their dorm or starter apartment zips commercials. While that audience may be some overwhelming majority here on the netz, it’s not any majority out in the real world. Ads have also evolved to combat zipping, zapping, muting and time-shifting. Most ads are 15-30 seconds of blipverts, each blip carrying the full weight of the ad on its own. Catching a second or two, or watching a compressed 2-3 second zip, or hearing almost any part of the audio content is almost as effective as sitting through the whole ad realtime. Making ad timing (positioning and length) almost random tends to make it an even bigger PITA to zip or zap effectively; a surprising number of people just give up. So that’s why they still exist. They still have immense power, much greater influence than pretty much all other advertising put together. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-can-fast-faorward-commercials-why-are-there-still-commericals/689577.md?page=1)