I just read an article on John Battelle's searchblog entitled ABC's Shark Jumping Move: Disabling Fast Forward. The article discusses the fact that ABC and ESPN, have made a deal with Cox Communications Inc., a cable operator. The deal is to offer popular shows and football games on demand, but with a condition that Cox disables the fast-forward feature. Therefore, viewers would not be able to skip ads during the programs.
Battelle seems to think this is a bad idea. I, However, think this could be good. Advertisements serve a function. They help pay for the programs, and they also help further the advertising and marketing world. Without them, consumers might not be aware of new products and services. Also, I for one would be out of a potential job if ads became nonexistant. I mean really, what harm do ads to. Sure, they may be annoying when they pop up right in the middle of a good show, but are they really that bad? I didnt think so. I personally enjoy watching ads. I find them very entertaining. Maybe that is one reason why I want to be in advertising, but thats besides the point.
Anyway, whenever I miss an epsiode of Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives, I log on to ABC.com and watch the espisode. The episode isnt in very good qualitly, and I have to watch about four ads online during the hour slot anyway. I would rather watch a show on demand in good quality and sit through a few ads any day.
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This is actually a very interesting article that you found. I have never heard of Cox Communications Inc. This goes along with what we talked about in class the other day. We talked about how advertising is changing with such things as DVRs. It is good to know that companies have realized that and have already taken measures to try to counteract the problem as Cox Communications is doing. I agree with you that commercials are not that big of a deal. I also am very interested in advertising and I enjoy commercials. Some commercials are boring and stupid which is why my ideal job would be to watch commercials and let companies know if they are good or bad, but that is besides the point haha. I know I would definitely not watch the Super Bowl if there were not good commercials in the middle. I think that commercials are huge parts of advertising and that is how I become interested in products. I do not get exposed to products through radio or newspaper, so if there were no commercials or we could fast forward them I would be out of the loop when it comes to finding out about new or improved products. So, I agree with you in that it is a good idea to prevent fast forwarding of commercials, but that is one of the main points of DVRs so I do not think the public would agree with us but at least ABC and ESPN agreed so that is a start!
I have never heard of Cox Communications either, and I think its cool that they are stepping up and trying to make changes.
Along with what you said about not watching the Super Bowl if it werent for commercials, I definately agree. I look forward to all the new commercials very much.
I also agree that the public in general probably wouldnt agree with us either. The solution would be to try and figure out a way to coordinate DVR's and commercials.
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