I recently moved to an apartment with cable included. I haven’t had any paid TV service like this since 2009, when I cancelled my DirectTV (satellite) subscription.

There are whole channels airing marathons of a program called “Dr Pimple Popper?” And, oh man; the commercials! All channels sync their commercials, so you can’t even just bounce between them to avoid loud ads for things from the USA that you don’t want and can’t get here.

I’ve been sick, so I spent a full day in bed away from my main TV with the Nvidia Shield. I’m still sick, but I don’t care: I’m going to the living room where Kodi and SmartTube keep me ad-free and watching what I choose.

Maybe I can get a credit on my rent if I opt out of the cable…

  • jqubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    13 天前

    TV channels more or less synchronized their commercials for automated Nielsen ratings systems. I’m not sure if those boxes are still in use (I finally left TV for good in 2018), and I almost think I saw Nielsen ratings aren’t as important anymore. The way it worked, though, is the system measured viewers dividing the hour up into 4 fifteen minute segments. To count as watching a channel the box would need to register that the viewer stayed on the channel for at least 8 minutes. So at the start of the hour the station will keep their content on for at least 8 minutes. It’s pretty rare to see a commercial break before the :08 minute mark on any scripted program. They’ll run their first break soon after, then often try to get a second break in that needs to be finished before the :15 minute mark. Then the cycle repeats: long segments that lasts until at least :23, then a short segment and another commercial break leading into the bottom of the hour. That’s the main reason everyone tries to hit commercial breaks at the same time. Keep people watching long enough for it to count, then show them ads as soon as possible thereafter.