Comments on: Stop Watching Commercials On Television.

By: niki

niki — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:43:56 +0000

I recently downgraded from digital cable with DVR to basic cable (would’ve skipped it altogether but the co. threatened to make me pay more for internet).

Now my son is learning to watch PBS kids. And we are going to videos more and more often. The only commercials you ever see on movies are other movie previews.

By: Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife

Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:39:14 +0000

I haven’t had a TV for more than 10 years. I do have a dvd player and a digital projector. So I watch lots of movies that I get (free) from the library. Also, a lot of TV shows end up on disc, so I can watch those too – sans commercials. Since I don’t have a TV, I don’t really care if I’m watching a show after the last season has aired; it’s new to me whenever I watch it. But mostly I watch mindless movies for escapism when reading isn’t what I’m in the mood for. I don’t miss regular TV AT ALL.

I agree with you that commercials are insidiously effective, and I’m glad they haven’t been part of my life in a long, long time. It always makes me laugh inside when TV viewers gripe about commercials, as if they’re forced to watch TV and the commercials along with it. Also, most people seem to believe that they are uniquely impervious to the effects of advertising. Like you, I know that marketing is extremely powerful, and that I probably would be no match for skillful and well funded advertising. Therefore, I just do my best to avoid advertising whenever possible.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:01:17 +0000

Don’t you think that the content of the shows themselves also contributes to feelings of inadequacy, due to images of shiny happy people? You rarely see “regular” people featured as major characters on TV series. You usually see skinny beautiful people with plenty of money. Television shows are influenced by our culture as much as anything, and our culture is pretty materialistic right now.

I didn’t say it was your job to keep the TV industry in business. I’m saying that if all people stop watching ads, advertisers will stop sponsoring shows the way they do now. That means no money to produce the shows. Either TV will fall apart (which I doubt), or it will find a new model – one in which you pay more money for what you see. Think HBO or Showtime – they are outside the current ad model, and they are more expensive than cable or network.

I do think that watching TV on the Internet is going to get bigger and bigger, and I’m glad. But it will have to feature either advertising (free TV) or subscriptions (not free TV). Just like broadcast.

By: Enrique S

Enrique S — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:37:46 +0000

We skip right through the commercials, too. I can’t believe we ever lived without a DVR. I find that even when I watch live TV, I catch myself trying to fast-forward through the commercials! I guess the DVR spoiled me.

By: david

david — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:09:43 +0000

Cutting out commercials does cut out commercialism. Not every show is branded, but every show has 2 minutes of commercials every 7 minutes. As for the TV industry going out of business, well, I dont believe that for a second. It’s not my job to keep them in business; it’s their job to figure out how to stay relevant with people switching to watching on the internet.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:36:17 +0000

It’s a nice idea, but I think you get just as much brainwashing through the TV shows themselves as the marketing. That kind of influence is more dangerous if you don’t recognize it! I like TV, don’t get me wrong, but cutting out commercials isn’t going to cut out commercialism.

Another thing to consider is the fact that if everyone follows your advice, the television industry will either fall apart or change significantly. Network TV is free (and cable TV is discounted) because it counts on you to watch ads. If it figures out that no one is doing this anymore, it won’t be free/discounted anymore.

By: david

david — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:34:30 +0000

It is a nice feeling, isn’t it? I especially like when shows tell me how long their commercials are going to be. The show “Fringe” does that, and it makes my life even easier!

By: MITBeta @ Don't Feed the Alligators

MITBeta @ Don't Feed the Alligators — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:29:14 +0000

We’ve been doing the same thing for 6 years now, since we got our first Tivo. People always ask me if I’ve seen such and such commercial. I usually give a blank look and then state matter of factly that I don’t watch commercials.

By: kristen

kristen — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:13:46 +0000

We sold our TV when we moved from Texas to California three years ago. I thought we would miss it – but between Netflix and Hulu we keep up with the shows we watch (all three of them) on our computer. The only benefit I can see to having a TV right now would be a bigger screen than our laptop!

I don’t miss having a TV. I don’t miss the commercials and the overdone news “reporting” and the terrible reality TV that has taken over. I don’t miss being a slave to when a certain show comes on. We’re not big sports fans so we don’t miss watching games (we went to a friend’s party for the Superbowl).

What I really don’t miss the most is the influence TV and commercials have on my kids. It’s really nice and lets them just be kids.

By: Annie Jones

Annie Jones — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:08:37 +0000

I agree with SaveBuyLive, that commercials really don’t influence me much. I mute them, go into another room, or otherwise ignore them.

We don’t have DVR, and we are considering giving up our cable when our contract is over. The only show we ever make a point of watching is Lost, and often we miss it and end up streaming it from the ABC website the next night anyway.