TV "Last night Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat culture spokesman, said several people had expressed concern to him about adverts on More4, another Channel 4 station. There was a general feeling that the channel was swapped by excessive advertising. "I know people have been concerned about the level of advertising in shows like The West Wing," he said. "The advertising occurs within five or six minutes of the programme starting. It may be channels like More4 are subject to a more relaxed regime but it shouldn't be that relaxed." -- Chris Hastings in The Daily Telegraph
You're not joking. I was watching Friday night's much improved episode of the Wing and the adverts appeared directly after the title sequence and seemed to go one for ever. I ended up recording the rest of it so that I could fast forward. I understand this is the American way but it really breaks up the flow of the drama. Plus they hardly adhere to the US breaks with the ads often cutting into the middle of scenes or transitions to the extent that a musical beat will be broken up with the last few bars being heard after the ads. Terrible. If I wasn't so desperate to see what happens next I'd be waiting for the dvds again. [via]
You're not kidding. Having finally succumbed to temptation and bought a Freeview box a few weeks ago I've been unnerved at the frequency of ads on the free-to-air digital channels. E4 and More4 are bad, but ABC1 are the worst: I find it tremendously confusing watching 'Sports Night' and finding that they throw in one long ad break right after the first scene and another right before the final scene, leaving us to return for the last 90 seconds or so of the show, followed by yet another lengthy promo for '8 Simple Rules.'
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