Tell me about your TV in the USA

[voodoopenguin]

We are in the middle of the series Heroes on BBCTV here in the UK and I'm really enjoying it. Number two daughter suggested I watched as she has already seen it twice on a satellite channel. Something I noticed is that each episode runs for about 41 minutes but I'm guessing that over with you it fills a one hour slot. How do you cope with all those adverts interrupting the flow? How many breaks would there be in a one hour show?

On the BBC there are no ads during a programme and just 2 or 3 minutes in between where they advertise other programmes. Even on the commercial channels (ITV, Channel 4, 5) the ads including other programme ads won't go over 10 minutes in an hour. I also noticed the last 'opening' credits were running over 12 minutes in so would there have been at least one commercial break before that?

[mattkime]

>>How do you cope with all those adverts interrupting the flow?

More channels. More junk food breaks.

(kind of explains a lot about our culture, right?)

[dmann]

The ads easily take up 20 minutes of programming in a 60 minute broadcast, and yes, they do interrupt the flow of the story. This is why people are so fond of Tivo and other recorders that let you skip commercials.

Depending on the show, there are 4-6 commercial breaks.

DM

[Zoidberg]

I wait for the series to come out on DVD, then I rent it via Netflix. Sometimes, if I'm really into the series, I'll buy it.

On the rare occasion I want to watch something during the season, I record it via DVR and then speed through the commercials via fast-forward.

I almost never watch 'live' TV anymore.

(FWIW, I've not yet seen HEROES, thought Season One did just come out on DVD...)

[Z]

Which gives meaning to the title of the Canadian comedy show, 'This Hour Has 23 Minutes'...

Sigh.

[davester]

There is no way on earth that I could watch regular TV here with the mass quantity of advertisements inserted. That's why I bought a couple of ReplayTVs (similar to Tivo or other DVRs). That way, the Replay automatically skips through all the commercials. I never ever watch live TV except when I'm visiting relatives in england.

[ztirffritz]

I use a TV tuner card in my Ubuntu Linux box running MythTV. I will let me skip the commercials too. I don't have an actual TV anymore.

[rgG]

How do you think we all post while watching TV? And that is probably why we are all ADD, but we do get to go to the potty more, so I guess it can be a good thing.

Actually, I think we have just gotten used to it. Commercial TV has always been that way here, except for PBS. The premium channels like HBO, Showtime, etc are w/o commercials, so there are alternatives. I don't really mind the ads, but sometimes that is because the ads are better than the programming.

Now pop up ads on-line, I just can't stand.

[Mactel]

I do the same as others here and just dvr the show and then fast forward past the commercials.

What I hate are the ads that cover the screen during the show. Makes me want to stop watching said show all together.

[Ken Sp.]

Are shows like Heroes available from BBC online?

I know torrents and such are available--I just mean in a simple viewer from BBC?