[Carl246]

As most of you know, I'm from the UK. In the UK we have commercials just like you do on our TVs, but the biggest difference is that our commercials are well spaced apart. In some cases twenty minutes apart or at least it was when I was there last (five and a half years ago). Over here, your commercials are every five minutes when the movie you are watching is a big and popular one. Or a show like House is on. Doesn't this drive you to distraction?

In the last two years I've completely stopped watching American TV, not because it isn't any good, on the contrary I love shows like "Bones" and "Lie to me" "House" and "Lost" but I simply cannot deal with these Ads, it makes the watching of any of your good TV unbearable.

Instead, I wait for the seasons or a movie to come out onto DVD. So how do you deal with it all? Have you just accepted the way it is, or would you like to see it change?

Carl

 

[MichelleR]

DVR.

 

[Monique]

Record. Fast forward.

 

[JRTomlin]

Tivo...  

Edit: Don't watch much television anyway but I don't remember the last commercial I watched. LOL

 

[MegHarris]

I often order shows off Amazon the next day.

 

[Terrence OBrien]

DVR...click...click

 

[Jud]

I suppose we acclimated to it by now.  It's been that way for years. 

 

[anne_holly]

I don't have television - cleared the problem right up!

 

[Sarah Fawkes]

DVR and fast forward here too.

What's this have to do about writing though?

 

[Budo von Stahl]

I remember when, many, many moons ago, they tried promoting the (golden rain) out of subscription TV (cable) as having no commercials.  What was the first thing they broadcast?  Yup; a real 'gotcha sucker' deal.  I didn't own a TV then and I still don't, that's how I put up with it.

 

[R. M. Reed]

DVDs. I'm not home much when shows are on so I rent seasons from Netflix.

 

[Holly A Hook]

I cope by not watching television.  I have a TV, but it's only used for movies and video games, and only when I have people over.  I don't have time to watch TV, anyway.

But yes, the commercials are very annoying. 

 

[daringnovelist]

First of all, I don't have cable.  I watch TV entirely on Hulu -- which has slightly fewer ads than they used to have when TV ads were regulated. (It used to be two minutes out of every fifteen -- Hulu is about one minute.)

I also watch some shows as podcasts.  Otherwise, like others here, I watch on DVD.  Or I watch old TV shows.  Very old ones.

Camille

 

[Carol (was Dara)]

As most of you know, I'm from the UK. In the UK we have commercials just like you do on our TVs, but the biggest difference is that our commercials are well spaced apart. In some cases twenty minutes apart or at least it was when I was there last (five and a half years ago). Over here, your commercials are every five minutes when the movie you are watching is a big and popular one. Or a show like House is on. Doesn't this drive you to distraction?

Yes, it does. Unfortunately I don't think they're likely to stop on my account.

 

[Budo von Stahl]

OK, I do need to backpedal on that last post.  I should have said 'didn't watch'; like Holly, I do have one for the kids' movies and games.  Hard to think of it as a TV.

 

[StaceyHH]

hulu, netflix, etc.

 

[BTackitt]

dvd both seasons of "Castle". Working on getting all seasons of "Bones". then it's all back seasons of "NCIS".

 

[IndiaLeeBooks]

Television is it's own world in the sense that commercial breaks are the norm and those who write for TV write around it.  With many shows, it's become a creative element to work with - so much so that when the shows are released on DVD, it cuts to black in order to preserve the use of a commercial break as punctuation within the storyline.

As for movies that get put on TV, commercials are a much more intrusive situation but it also comes with the notion that by the time it makes it to TV - most people have already seen it so what does it matter? Of course, many viewers still find it a bother which I totally understand.

 

[MichelleR]

I do the DVD series thing too -- we still have a little of The Wire to go. We should have been done with it a while ago, but I hate saying goodbye. 

Anyhow, if a series gets good reviews and seems like my thing I'll take the leap and just go ahead and get it, sight unseen.

 

[KindleChickie]

TIVO, ff thru the commericals and the ones that are repeated enough for me to remember them I will write the companies and explain to them just how annoying it is to see their tampax commerical 8 times in a one hour show.  I then nicely explain to them they have caused me to have a serious aversion to their product it has left such a bad impression on me.