Something is bugging me!
There is something bugging me… well it’s not just me the problem is also bugging others as well. The problem is bugs… no not the kind that fly. The bugs we are talking about here are the on screen graphics and logos which are starting to appear on more and more television channels.
The bugs first started out as channels just putting their logos on the screen so folks would know what channel they were tuned into, but it is now getting worse with the bugs turning into animated commercials or text ads for upcoming shows which stay on the screen for the entire show.
The first time this new phenomenon bugged me (sorry) was this past weekend when I tuned to USA Network to watch the original “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. For the entire movie there was not only the USA Network logo on the right hand side of the screen but also an ad for their new show “In Plain Sight” and let me tell you that ad was in plain sight for the entire 2 hours of the movie.
I was upset with this practice which was new to me and went to the king of home theater websites AVSFORUM.COM when I went too air my unhappiness with USA Network and that’s when I found that I was not alone in my hate of this practice. AVSFORUM has over 600 complaints on this very subject!
I also found out that it’s not just USA Network doing this, NBC, FOX and others we also doing it as well. But the king of screen clutter award has to go to TBS, which not only runs its logo in the right side of the screen but also puts up full-animated graphics (as seen above), which takes up, and entire corner of the screen as well as text ads. (As seen below)
But TBS also seems to enjoy aggravating its viewers as they have recently started having comedian Bill Engvall actually “pause” programs in the middle of scenes to tell us about his new season of shows on TBS!
Are these folks trying to push us away from watching their channels? I know some folks have issues with the channel logos on the screens for the length of the program, but I personally don’t have an issue with this, as in this day and age people flip through the channels and the networks want people to know what channel they are tuned into. But these on screen text ads which stay on for the entire show, the animated commercials which also air over the top of the shows and especially this “pausing” of shows just to advertise an upcoming show is just plain wrong and needs to be stopped asap.
I have just removed TBS from my channel list at home and am getting tempted to remove NBC and USA as well. When will these companies realize doing this only drives people away from their product?
And that’s what’s bugging me.
david b commented:
I couldn't agree more with ALL the posts on this freakin' annoying habit. I have sent heated e-mails to some of the worst offenders like BBC America and others.Most completely ignore the complaint. I think it's time to organize a boycott of the regular advertisers' products on the worst offending networks. THAT might get their attention. Who's with me?
Travelfan1 commented:
I am famous :-) My avs original post is listed on Scott's column :-)
From where I sit, these bugs are annoying and are getting worse by the minute! And they don't make me watch anything that I don't anyway.... In fact, since my original post back in Dec 07, IMHO, it's only getting worse and worse.... For instance, what Fox in Spanish does during the Copa Libertadores matches robber about 1/3 of the screen for 30 secs several times a match!
CNR commented:
From where "I" sit, I see the day when advertisers will be using these "bugs" to promote their product(s).
Since we can DVR thru commercials, the advertising will probably take place in a PIP format.
stevo commented:
Funny thing is that I dont even notice the logos anymore...It's like I automatically ignore it. That boing said I hate these things as well I seldome watch anyhting on tbs anymore becouse of it also if a channel has alot of crap on the screen during a program I just change the channel and wont watch the program...its just not worth it. But the bug I truly hate is the one on the Starz channels I am paying for a clutter free experiance and dont want to see the logo, if they are that worried about piracy then put it up for a few seconds at the beginning anf end of the movie but not the whole thing. All I can say is thank god for netflix so i never have to watch a movie on commercial television.
Fitz commented:
This is one of the main reasons I prefer(ed) watching Voom channels. They're commercial free/pop-up free (except for their logo about twice an hour). I've locked out all the worst offenders like TNT, and TBS from my channel lists, too. I cant watch anything with commercials unless i've recorded it, so I can FF thru the commercials. Hopefully there will be a time when advertisements no longer exist.
wet willy commented:
Ironically, these morons will now thing that superimposing all this crap on the screen is successful marketing due to all the response (even though it seems to be 100 percent negative) to this practice and probably will ratchet it up.
Bubba commented:
Regarding the link Scott posted: If that is the future of television (and I suspect it is!), take me back to the days when we had just a few channels that came in over an antenna! Next thing of course will be real commercials superimposed over actual programs. I've already seen some of that on Fox. Commericals for Fox feature films in the middle of "The SImpsons" for instance! I've seen the future and frankly it sucks!
SCOTT GRECZKOWSKI commented:
Helps if I include the link (doh!)
www.kottke.org/08/06/tbs-and-their-annoying-interstitial-commericials
SCOTT GRECZKOWSKI commented:
BTW to better show what I am talking about check out this video below of Bill Engvall pausing a show in progress on TBS.
richiephx commented:
Some of the premium pay stations are also adding screen clutter. The worst offender is ShowTime. They include self-promotion pop ups during regular programming. Since ShowTime has turned a deaf ear on viewer comments, including mine, I have canceled my ShowTime subscription. STARZ has recently introduced in pulsing orange station bug that appears each 15 - 20 minutes during programming. The sad part is, they have used a transparent station bug previously but prefer the more obtrusive graphic. Unfortunately, the only recourse we as viewers have is to not watch or, cancel our satellite or cable subscriptions. Most people will not do that though, and, the networks know that so why should they change what they are doing?
Bubba commented:
Those bugs truly suck and as you say Scott they are getting worse. I really don't care to have my TV screen looking more cluttered than my computer desktop, thank you very much! I'm old enough to remember when no network or local channel had bugs and consider them one of the worst things that cable and satellite TV brought us. We KNOW what freaking channel we are tuned into and our guides let us know what channels we are surfing through while looking for something to watch. If there is any doubt all we have to do is hit the "Info" button on our remotes while watching a program. "You don't have to show us no stinking bugs!" to paraphrase a famous line from "Treasure of the Sierra Madre"!
I find it annoying to watch a movie when that network bug is continuous (as it is with MGM HD). How would you like to go to a movie theater and see an "AMC" or "Cinemark" logo superimposed on the screen all through the feature? The way TCM and HDNet Movies do it and the old Voom movie channels did it with just a periodic 15-20 second bug every 15-30 minutes is just barely acceptable but I can live with that.
I absolutely detest those %#**%# animated bugs that show up well into each segment of programs and are rapidly increasing in popularity. Extremely annoying and distracting and they are taking up more and more of screen safe. No way that I would ever watch a movie on TBS or TNT! Thank you HBO and Cinemax who I believe still run all movies without bugs of any kind!
Pepper commented:
I'm glad people are finally starting to take notice. This practice has been driving me crazy for years.
Arguably, a TV show is a form of art. Not very good art most of the time, but art nonetheless. And the broadcasters deface this art with all the stuff you described. Kind of like going to the Louvre to find out the bottom third of the Mona Lisa has been pasted over with advertising. This should not be allowed.
The artists (performers, directors, stagehands, etc) should be up in arms about how their product is mangled before the public gets to see it.