# When in the US - EXACTLY did this start happening?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-us-exactly-did-this-start-happening/434516
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 22, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-us-exactly-did-this-start-happening/434516 "2008-01-22T16:46:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-us-exactly-did-this-start-happening/434516/1 "2008-01-22T16:46:49Z")
The animations / Information for the current show, upcomming shows on a network. You know, those annoying pop ups in the bottom one third of the screen, as you are watching your favorite show.
I just realized the other day, that I cant recall when they started. It seems like they have always been now.
What day did they start?
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### Author:  [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-us-exactly-did-this-start-happening/434516/2 "2008-01-22T17:48:32Z")
What _day_? Beats me, but I wold wager the year was 2000-2002.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-us-exactly-did-this-start-happening/434516/3 "2008-01-22T17:57:08Z")
These are called “snipes” and just get more prevalent every day. I would agree that 2002 sounds like a reasonable start date - haven’t found an authoritative cite. Here’s an article that talks about them:
> **[As the Fall Season Arrives, TV Screens Get More Cluttered (Published 2007)](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/media/24clutter.html?_r=2&ref=media&oref=slogin&oref=slogin)**
>
> Snipes — promotional ads for TV programs that share the screen with other programs — are just the latest effort by network executives to cram promotions onto television screens.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-us-exactly-did-this-start-happening/434516/4 "2008-01-22T18:02:34Z")
We call them bugs. Now, if you viewers would just behave and sit quietly through the breaks instead of going to the bathroom or getting a snack or (heaven forbid) fastwording through them, we wouldn’t have to resort to these measures.
😉