dopey (11/01/82)
In yet another triumph of expediency over honor, the Chicago PBS station (WTTW, channel 11) has gone to an essentially commercial format. I have no doubt that the next step will be to start cutting up NOVA to provide more commercial time. Heaven deliver channel 25 in Cleveland from this. Question for all of you "public" television fans out there: 1. Have any other PBS stations begun airing commercials, or is Chicago the first to enjoy the fruits of progress? 2. Does anybody know how WTTW is rationalizing this, if indeed they are defending it in any way? Perhaps the commercials are educational: "A sociological look at contemporary society." 3. Is anybody else bothered, or am I just an idealist? I'm afraid there's no hope for PBS, james c "distressed" blasius somehow!ihps3!ihuxq!dopey
mel (11/02/82)
Our PBS, Channel 13, has plenty of commercials - - - all about itself ! I wouldn't mind a variety of tasteful commercial messages in place of the cute-sy tones and flashy symbols and endless blather about future programs; particularly if the income from the ads would reduce the time spent in tele-thons to raise money. Mel Haas , houxm!mel
kpk (11/02/82)
I have no arguements with commercials on PBS as long as the take the air time from those tiresome auctions and telephone pledge appeals. ...but I'll never forgive them for dropping Monty Python Ken Kretsch ...!5941ux!kpk
thomas (11/02/82)
Our local NPR (radio) station has taken to making discrete announcements before and after each hour of programming that "the (preceding/next) hour of programming was brought to you, in part, by .... (quick blurb about commercial establishment)". I don't mind these at all, and they do bring in needed funds. Seems to me that, given current govt budget cuts, if the "public" doesn't want to give enough money, the station has two choices: 1. Go off the air. 2. Air commercials of some sort. Given that (1) is completely undesirable, they don't have a choice. However, some control can be exercised over the content of said commercials. You really don't want to see the typical used car ad, for example, on your PBS station. (You've just finished watching "Upstairs, Downstairs", and then Joe Blow comes on with the hard sell about his Chevy sale.) Most PBS stations air program announcements between shows, anyway, so it's just a matter of content, really. Now, if they start interrupting the show every 5 minutes, like the "commercial" stations, that's another matter, entirely. In summary, if the public can't support the station, somebody must. And most businesses don't give something for nothing. =Spencer
jere (11/03/82)
I too watch channel 13 (PBS) but I've done something that is far worse than channel 13's contiuous self praise. I never sent them the money I pledged. I promised to pledge the basic $35.00 subscriptionbut money is tight right now and I planned to send the money at some future date. Channel 13, however, has mailed several notifications to me indicating my promise to pledge the money. I figure they've spent about $15.00 on postage and printed materials (I really have no idea!!) telling me I owe them $35.00.If jerks like me renege payment, that's one thing. For a PBS station who constantly cries poverty and then spends a good deal of money to encourage me to make good on my pledege, that's crazy. Why don't they just right me off as ano
bstempleton (11/04/82)
So far my local PBS is not showing commercials. What would bother me the most about them is that they might feel forced to cut into shows, most notably BBC ones, that are exactly 30 or 60 minutes long. Have you ever seen what happens to a good show that is full BBC length when it gets on a commercial station? Usually absolute butchery. I've seen Monty Python on Global (A commercial network) and it really bothered me. Commercials between shows are acutally fine if you can fit them. They give a break to go fetch something from the fridge or answer the call of Mother Nature. What's best is to watch only programs recorded on a VCR and use the wonderful fast search button. A favourite idea of mine would be to implement something like Qube or whatever (telidon or whatever is in every viewer's home) This way when a commercial comes, viewers who don't want to see it push the button. If enough push the button, they they get enough deducted from their accounts to pay for the revenue the station misses for not showing the commercial. More drastic, the first time any new commercial is shown, all the actors, writers, ad company executives and clients should be put in a locked room with 50 pounds of high explosives. After the commerical is run, the viewers may push their button if they felt the commercial was offensive to a sane intelligent mind. For example, it might have been a toothpaste ad. If enough people push in, the explosives are detonated. They'll never do it again!
ARPAVAX:UNKNOWN:upstill (11/04/82)
Channel 9 in San Francisco HAS been known to cut into shows. Not for commercials, but for Pledge Night! I'm not talking about shifting the program 15 minutes, I'm talking about actually excising program material. I've only seen it happen once (they cut out one movie from a Sneak Previews in the most obvious way), but considering I only watch one PBS program, it's alarming. Talking about freeloaders, I have subscribed in the past, but I refuse to subsidize this kind of flagrant behavior, and I've told them as much.