Ad Glut Turns off Viewers

Lately, fans of Desperate Housewives, Lost and other top shows have been complaining about excessive commercials that seem more intrusive than ever and slow down the programs they surround. Across prime-time TV, the number of ads and promos has increased sharply over the years. A typical “one-hour” prime-time series clocks in at less than 42 minutes, down from 44 minutes several years ago and nearly 48 minutes in the 1980s. And shaving off the “previously on …” recap, opening credits and a teaser for next week's episode, Sunday's Housewives ran 40 minutes and 30 seconds, meaning for every two minutes of programming, there's a minute of commercials or promos for other network shows. On cable, MTV has even more so-called clutter, with USA and Lifetime close behind. But ABC, which studies show has slightly more commercials than other broadcast networks, has changed its drama format in a way that makes it seem even more loaded with ads. Until recently, dramas unfolded in four segments, or “acts,” often preceded by an introductory teaser that aired before the opening credits. Starting this fall, ABC required all drama producers to carve up each episode into six portions. For some shows, including Housewives, the first segment runs for nine to 11 minutes before the first break. Once viewers are hooked, they're confronted with four more commercial breaks, each about 3½ minutes long, over the next 45 minutes. To prevent channel surfing, networks increasingly avoid airing commercials between shows. Instead, they save several minutes of more substantial scenes for a show's ending and then move “seamlessly” into the next program. The upshot is that more ads and promos air within programs. No federal agency regulates the amount of commercial time on television. Until 1982, the major networks adhered to a voluntary code of the National Association of Broadcasters that limited commercials to 9.5 minutes per hour in prime time. But since the code was dropped, the number of commercials on prime-time TV has crept steadily higher.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Gary Levin]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20051012/d_cover12.art.htm