You know those ads at the bottom of the screen that some networks display while a show is airing? The ones that have gradually gotten larger and larger, finally reaching the point where some cover 40% of the screen? I was just watching Family Guy on TBS, and they actually paused the show so the ad could play back with audio. That’s pretty damn horrifying, if you ask me.
How long has this been going on? Has anyone seen it on a network aside from TBS?
More importantly, does anyone have email addresses for TBS and Bill Engvall so we can complain about them?
It wasn’t bad enough to have little logos in the corner, they had to have little banners across the bottom of the screen during a show.
Then they had to have banners across the screen that covered nearly a quarter of the screen.
The latest is going too fucking far.
I’m sitting here enjoying an episode of Family Guy when one of those banners comes up promoting the Bill Engvall show. Then they PAUSE Family Guy in the middle of a sentence so that Bill Fucking Engvall can promote his show. Fuck you fucking fuckers!
This is all TiVo’s fault.
Fuck TBS, I was a Braves fan, but the home of the Braves hasn’t shown a fucking Braves game yet this year!!! I may be wrong, but I would really like to see the Atlanta station carry the Atlanta games.
Eat me, Ted.
SSG Schwartz
I was watching the same thing. Seriously, are they trying to make us stop watching TV?!
That pissed me off too. I don’t know why they think that would make anyone WANT to watch that stupid show. I don’t even know who Bill Engval is, but those promos make me hate him, and make me hate his ass face.
You could always luck out if they make it into the post-season…
Mark your calendar. THERE’S ONLY ONE OCTOBER!
I didn’t see that one, but I couldn’t help but see an NBC olympics one that took up the bottom third of the screen. All the way across, a third of the way up, animated. Do they really think I would have problems finding THE OLYMPICS without the reminder? For that alone, I’ll be happily tuning into CBC when I want to see Olympic coverage.
[Anti-Engvall rant]
You should hate him anyway. His whole standup schtick revolves around calling people dumbasses for trying to make conversation.
He sets it up by saying that stupid people should have to wear signs that say “I’m stupid”, so the rest of us can avoid them. He then says he’s going to give some examples. Sounds like a quality setup; laughing at the idiocy of your fellow man is always a good time, right? Problem is, the examples he gives aren’t generally of people being stupid, they’re of people trying to be nice and him being a douchebag to them for their trouble. Specifically, he has a burning hatred for icebreaker comments; heaven help anyone who tries to start a conversation with the man.
Well fuck you too, prick! I know it’s a joke, and seeing as he’s still alive I have to assume he doesn’t actually say this shit to people, but what’s supposed to be funny about (hypothetically) being an asshole to people and then making fun of them for it?
[End anti-Engvall rant]
The expanding logos, banners, etc are getting on my nerves, too. What’s particularly annoying to me is when the bottom of the screen is completely covered while the opening credits of the show are being displayed. Hello! Does it occur to these assholes that some of us might be interested in knowing the names of the actors on the show we’re about to watch? I’m surprised the TV actors guild (or whatever they’re called) hasn’t complained about this. What’s the point of having credits if no one can read them. Not to mention that sometimes there might be something, uh, relevant to the story being blocked by this crap.
I’m about ready to give up on watching TV and just waiting for shows to come out on DVD.
Thank the gods that I’m not the only one getting completely fed up with this shit. They have gone waaaaay overboard with the ads during shows. The worst one I can remember was when I was watching a show that had some people in several scenes who didn’t speak english, so they were subtitled…but guess what…ads at bottom of screen…so for all of their dialogue, you just had to GUESS what the fuck they were saying. Bugged the shit out of me. I’ve got to the point now that if a show I want to watch has scrolling ads, or the annoying pop up over half the fucking screen every 30 seconds ad, or a constant GIANT fucking logo of the station (yeah, I amlost totally fucking forgot that I TURNED it to this station, thanks for the reminder), I’ll just turn the damn channel. I dont’ watch as much TV as I used to…sigh…
MT
When I moved back to the farm on '06, I made a choice to get satellite internet instead of satellite TV. I get 2 stations with the old TV antenna, and I am just fine with that. 99% of the time there is just crap on anyway. There is a bunch of sites on the internet where I can watch TV shows if I want, movies too.
I have 700+ DVDs and my collection grows monthly, I love movies and I hate commercials, stupid reality shows and idiotic sitcoms, so it’s perfect for me.
Merged the MPSIMS and Pit threads so you guys can appropriately express your outrage at this latest moronic TV marketing ploy. That’s a horrible way to advertise, and I’m more than a little amazed TBS - always at the forefront of the annoying ad race - has found a way to make Family Guy worse. 
Blame TIVO +1.
People who use this have reaped what they’ve sown. . .and reaped it for the rest of us.
Add that all those jokes sound like they were cribbed from Al Jaffee’s “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” in Mad.
I haven’t watched TV in months. I don’t miss it.
And that, dear advertisers, is what your grasping excess has created. Hope you like the silence.
You’re right, we forced the networks to start interfering with their own shows, even though bugs showed up on the screen before TiVo did. I feel so responsible.
To paraphrase an argument against the RIAA- “Your failed business model is NOT my problem.”
Well, clearly it is, if the annoyance of the OP is to be believed.