Using Your DVR to Skip Commercials is Theft: Thou Shalt Not Steal
Last Thursday we visited some friends across town. The Ladies wanted to dine out, but it was opening night for Baseball. Our host told us he would “tivo” the game and we could catch up when we got home. After returning home from the delightful dinner, we turned the game on and started watching it. We got to the first commercial and someone picked up the remote and instantly skipped all the commercials. I did not know what to do. The people that pay for those commercials expect viewers to watch them. The people that work at the TV station and the announcers expect that income. By skipping the commercials I was stealing from all of them.
We decided to ask the television industry if it was ok to skip commercials.
Reply From Jamie Kellner the chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting, which encompasses everything from CNN to TNT and is a part of AOL Time Warner.
Because of the ad skips…. It’s theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you’re going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn’t get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you’re actually stealing the programming.
Please stop skipping commercials! I plead to all people who have been skipping commercials to please estimate the time you have skipped commercials and spend that much time watching only the commercials until you have squared away your sin.
- Sinful
- Suspicious
- Scared
- Sad
- Amused
- Laughing Out Loud
Author: Senator August Weisz
Retired Hydroelectric Engineer. Now spend my time helping others who won’t help themselves.
http://christwire.org/august-weisz-biography
MA
Fantastic piece, August (MeAwesome)!
I think that those extreme couponers need a firm discussion as well. Our American corporations have a hard time making ends meet in today’s economy. When a commercial is skipped, another American loses his or her job and is driven to the government teat.
Praise Clicking For You My Friend!
BB
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Wow! I never even thought about this! I must tell my niece!
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“The people that pay for those commercials expect viewers to watch them.”
and i expect people to be nice to other people but in that regard you people have clearly showed that we can’t allways get what we expect from others.
“The people that work at the TV station and the announcers expect that income.”
and they do get that income.
they are not payed by how many sees the add but simply by it being shown.
the way it works is that you have timeslots for adds. buying a slot cost money after how good a time it’s on. if it’s likely a lot of people will watch it it cost a lot. but it’s a predetermined amount and has nothing to do with wether you watch it or not.
“By skipping the commercials I was stealing from all of them.”
stealing what?
theft requires you to gain an item on behalf of someone else losseing said item.
so what did you gain that the “tv people” lost?
“Because of the ad skips…. It’s theft.”
funny how there seems to be cut in this quote that would change the entire meaning of it. that and the fact that you made this entire thing up seeing as what follows is bullshit.
“Your contract with the network when you get the show is you’re going to watch the spots.”
no it’s not. nobody ever promised to watch the adds.
just like it’s not stealing or in any way wrong to use the cormercial break to go make a sandwitch.
“Otherwise you couldn’t get the show on an ad-supported basis.”
yes i could because that’s not how add suported tv works as i have allready explained.
if adds didn’t work because nobody saw it they would not be useing them. but clearly that’s not the case.
“Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you’re actually stealing the programming.”
following this batshit insane logic if i go down on a random street and start doing some arbitary sort of performing anyone who does not pay me despite haveing looked at me is stealing from me. but that’s not the case.
yes advertisers want you to watch their stuff. but you are not in any way obligated to do so. the world simply does not work that way.
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Jazze,
That is a real person and a real quote. You can contact the company for verification. Advertisers pay a sponsorship to have their commercials aired on a program. This is how the program makes its money. If no one watches the ads, there will be no more commercials resulting in no more free OTA programming.
This is a real issue http://www.customerparadigm.com/index/49/Skipping_TV_Commercials_Equals_Stealing.php
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yes because the use of adds on tv has been stedialy deciling ever sincde people got the means to ignore it. that’s why i get bombarded with more of the shit than ever right?
if people stop advertinsing then you’d have a point. but they don’t because it still works as inteded.
again as i said i have no obligations to watch that shit ever because it is not part of any kind of contract.
foloowing the same logic i would not be alowed to go for a toilet break during the cormecial break… then what? i have to do it whille the show is on? in that case wouldn’t the tv people be stealing from me by letting the show keep running without me seeing it. i payed to see it but now they let me miss it just because i went to the bathroom?
also your logic does not make sense unless we asmue that it also includes that i MUST buy the product advertised otherwise it’s still a waste of money to advertise.
and once again it is not theft. pure and simple. it is not theft because it does not meet the requirement of theft. it’s the same discusion as with piracy. you might be able to argue if it’s right or wrong. but you can’t argue if it’s theft or not because it’s simply not.
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This article is the most fallacious and obtuse piece of “journalism” I have read in some time. There is absolutely no contract, legally or morally speaking, to watch television commercials. And while the author implies that watching the commercials are what pays for the programing and that otherwise people do not pay for what they are viewing, this statement is also false and misleading. Most television networks today are on cable only, thus the consumer is most often paying to view they station that also has commercials.
Furthermore, it is clear that the author has no understanding of the workings of the television industry, their ratings, or advertising. Currently, the industry anticipates viewers skipping commercials and can accurately anticipate how many viewers will watch a specific commercial spot through their rating systems.
Finally, as a moral question, the viewing of commercial is an amoral issue if anything. Are you actually trying to state that a person that sits an watches commercials is more moral than one that doesn’t? Am I also more moral if I pay closer attention to those commercials than someone that doesn’t? Do I have a moral obligation to buy that product that is being advertised? After all, the only reason they are advertising is to increase their sales, so if I follow your logic I would be stealing if I didn’t frequent the businesses that advertised on the shows I enjoyed.
There are far more important things in this life to focus on and consider the more implications of than watching or skipping commercials, which has been common practice and was assumed by advertisers since their creation. Of course advertisers are going to be against it, it is in their own best interest. But calling it theft is ridiculous and only serves as a way to gain attention to a non-issue. If this site really wants to be taken seriously, it needs better editorial control to throw out half-cocked article ideas such as this.
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Matt,
Thank you for your reply. Yes if the viewer enjoys a show they should pay attention to the commercials and try and purchase the products or services in the sponsor’s spots. If you do not your show may be cancelled.
Critically acclaimed quality television is being canceled because so called intelligent people with spending power are ignoring their consumer obligations. How else does a quality show like arrested development get canceled after two and a half weeks but low-brow shows such as hell’s kitchen and 2 and a half men keep on rolling?
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Arrested Development first aired November 2, 2003; its run ended February 10, 2006. It was cancelled because the show never climbed in the ratings during its run.
It’s called “viewers”, August. Networks air shows because people are watching them, and advertisers buy commercial spots during those shows to try to target those viewers. That’s how networks make money. It’s a simple economic fact. A show will not be “cancelled” if people don’t watch the commercials or buy the products advertised; many people use the commercial breaks as an opportunity to do such things as make a sandwich or fix something, simply because commercials are rarely interesting.
A show can be cancelled if it does not attract enough viewers, or if the show’s ratings are not high enough. Some shows have been cancelled due to differences between the network and the show’s creator(s), or because the show does not attract the right demographic of viewers to the network. In any event, shows are not cancelled because people aren’t watching the advertisements.
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Did U mean 2 ½ seasons instead of weeks. That was a great show and was only canned because they could not find advertisers to pay 4 slots.
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Yes, two and one half seasons, sorry about that. But that is my point, if more advertisers thought they were getting a return on their sponsorship then they would still be on the air.
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then they have to make a better show.
now i haven’t actually watched the show in question because it’s not exactly my style. but it may very well be a highquality show. and that might very well be why it failed. people don’t want quality. they want simplicity. that is why stuff like hells kitchen and 2 and a half men keeps running. it might not be high quality entertainment but you get what you expect every week: a good laugh.
and you don’t even have to think. don’t get me wrong i’m not saying this is a good thing nor is it a bad thing. but people will watch a show if they like it.
and the show was cannceled not because of people not watching the comercails but because of people not watching the show.
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You guys are idiots. Suck my cock
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Did you know that the same contract exists with highway billboards and bumper stickers? So when you’re reading a billboard and smash into another car, the advertiser on that billboard will pay all the damages.
It’s also true of females with big milk sacks. If you’re staring at them, and you get slapped by your wife, the girl with the pendulous sacks is responsible.
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I guess that is why we see so many tobacco advertisements on television with glamorous spokespersons. Google and Microsoft also seem to use cigarette advertising dollars as well.
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I can google, too. According to what I found, Jamie Kellner said that. In 2002. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Kellner Technology has stayed EXACTLY the same in the past 9 years, so that quote was as relevant then as it is today.
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I think my son and daughter in law are using commercial time to smoke reefers. During how I met your mother they came in smelling like burned pine tar and they both hate cigarettes.
I make a point to use the restroom and prepare any snacks or drinks BEFORE a favorite program begins.
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Smoking Reefers is wrong. You can turn them in for a reward. The reward should be used to buy products from advertisers they ignored.
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so following your Logic we must Buy everything that a commercials show to use
you know how Many comemrcials pass a day at the end of day we will be Poor
so Your fact go straigt down the drain
so for Now I’m going to buy 843745675 Toyota car seriously
continue sucking on corporation and kellner destroyed by himself so Many great show who was very Popular
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Hi Millennium,
Thank you for your time. I think the language barrier is keeping us from understanding one another. However I did understand this:
“so for Now I’m going to buy 843745675 Toyota car seriously”
Congratulations on your purchase. I would have preferred you buy American but helping the Japanese these days is not a bad thing. That number? Is that the license plate?
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what you didn’t buy a toyata? THAT’S STEALING!!!!!!!!
you have most certainly watched a toyata cormecial and by not buying their car you have STOLEN FROM THEM!!!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!! MAY GOD SMITE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
do you see how ridicolus this is? now go buy a toyata for every toyata cormecial you have ever seen or admit you are wrong.
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I have watched the commercials Jazze. That is the point. In the past you have always paid more astute attention to details like this. Is something wrong?
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“I have watched the commercials Jazze. That is the point.”
Yes, but according to you, the sole purpose of the commercials is to buy the products. Just watching and not buying isn’t helping anyone, so next time you see a Toyota commercial you better get your ass off your wallet and buy a damn Toyota. That’s obviously what you think the rest of us should be doing.
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Claire, you are irrelevant. Please post more movie pictures.
This was a discussion about commercials and dvrs.
Yes a sponsor would love to know it if you walked into a store and purchased a product because of a commercial you saw on a specific show. But this is not what I have written about.
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see how stupid you are august
843745675 Toyota cars = The number of cars I bought
because the License number of the car is actually 3 number and 3 letters
I could said I bought 843745675 Cars instead, would have the same Impact
what you said is blaintly stupid
Kellner (the Guys you spoke off in your article ) DESTROYED MANY great show including WCW) these show was actually VERY POPULAR and gave enough money to sustain themself
Oh and I studied in Cinema and I know what I speak of
There is No stealing if you don,t watch commercial since we didn’t asked for them and most of us has cable and we paid for cable every Month
Also these network as enough Money to Buy the entire USA if they didn’t already
Last Note : do you Love corporation ? Mister august
The same corporation that Run your country
The same corporation that put you In recession
The same corporation that will strip you from Freedom if they have any chance
if we Buy everything that we see as commercial in ONE day, we will be Poor
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Millenium,
“843745675 Toyota cars = The number of cars I bought”
Wow that’s great. You single handedly have saved the global economy.
“Oh and I studied in Cinema and I know what I speak of”
And it shows!
“do you Love corporation ? Mister august”
Which one? Some are nice like Boeing, Westinghouse and General electric. Come are downright evil like apple computer. If you can be more specific, I can provide more details.
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Fuck Westinghouse. I hate them for what they did to Tesla. And why do you have apple?
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I consulted for Westinghouse Canada for several years. Actually Westinghouse does a lot for third world nations; Westinghouse even does work for third world countries under US tech embargos. They do it through Westinghouse Canada.
For apple. Did you know apple almost failed in like 1996. Microsoft bought huge amounts of non-voting stock, just to keep it alive. Then apple attacks Microsoft in advertisements
Apple is the definition of an evil corp. They hold users and vendors to strict overpriced hardware standards. When ids the last time you bought an apple compatible computer from anyone else? Also their software and store is so restrictive they make fascists look like hippies.
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I would like to clarify what I said.
I did make my fair share off Apple stock in the 80’s.
Apple is a company that can do what they want.
However they openly exploit a cult like following of people who buy overpriced apple products.
They are very successful at advertising.
They treat overseas suppliers and their own employees in a very harsh and legalistic manner.
Open markets do determine supply and demand.
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Actually, it’s pretty easy to modify apple hardware. Not only that, but they (Apple) also allow you to customize your computer to a near-gaming-grade. Nothing like an underground PC company or custom-built, but still more than passable. I bought an Apple capable computer from Asus last year. The BIOS can run both Windows and OSX. It just came with Windows pre-installed. If you’re going to talk jargon and scare people away from decent technology, you’ll have to go through me first.
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wcw was a great show? I must have missed it. does it stand for something? white christ winning? possibly?
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“For apple. Did you know apple almost failed in like 1996. Microsoft bought huge amounts of non-voting stock, just to keep it alive. Then apple attacks Microsoft in advertisements”
It’s a free market. Apple is allowed to compete with other companies. Have you noticed that all Apple computers run Windows software? That was one of the requirements of their deal with Microsoft.
“Apple is the definition of an evil corp. They hold users and vendors to strict overpriced hardware standards. When ids the last time you bought an apple compatible computer from anyone else? Also their software and store is so restrictive they make fascists look like hippies.”
While I am not a fan of Apple computers and products, if they want to charge someone $1200 for a Macbook, and there are plenty of people willing to pay that amount, why bother changing that? It’s that sort of spending that allows companies like Apple to employ more people, and to be a successful corporation. The horror!
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“Yes a sponsor would love to know it if you walked into a store and purchased a product because of a commercial you saw on a specific show. But this is not what I have written about.”
According to you:
“Yes if the viewer enjoys a show they should pay attention to the commercials and try and purchase the products or services in the sponsor’s spots. If you do not your show may be cancelled.”
“Critically acclaimed quality television is being canceled because so called intelligent people with spending power are ignoring their consumer obligations.”
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Yes, those are not part of the article, and nowhere do I say that not buying something is wrong. However I say again.
“Yes a sponsor would love to know it if you walked into a store and purchased a product because of a commercial you saw on a specific show. But this is not what I have written about.”
I do not ever say that failing to purchase a product is theft. However, skipping the commercials deliberately is.
I’m very tired of wasting my time discussing the trivial with you Claire. Lately, even millennium has made for much better discussions than you. You must be too busy praise clicking yourself.
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“You must be too busy praise clicking yourself.”
Yawn. How do you know your wife hasn’t been logging onto this site and praise clicking me?
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but in that case your argument is pointless. teust me the advertisers do not care in the sligthest if you have watched their stuff unless it also makes you buy shit.
they do not gain anything whatso ever from you watching it… nobody does. the goal is to sell shit so if it’s stealing to ignore the sales pitch then it’s stealing until you have bougth the product.
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Advertisers pay money with the assumption viewers will be exposed to their product. That is all.
If everyone skips commercials, advertisers will not pay. Networks will be forced to find different revenues of income in order to produce a product and to make a profit. That different revenue will be licensing fees to providers. Providers pass that on to you. OTA stations wont be able to do that and will die.
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Wow you are very stupid. Microsoft can honestly thank Apple for attacking it in commercials. Because Apple is a serious competitor, the market is an oligopoly. Because of this Microsoft does not need to worry about the government trying to break up due to it being a Monopoly. This sort of government break up has accord in the past, most notably with the telephone companies in 1984. Because Microsoft has what small competition it does from Apple, it is safely in a legal oligopoly. This in turn allows for the two companies to operate almost like a Cartel. Basically, Microsoft needs Apple and the competition, it drives prices up for both, due to upward pricing.
Not watching commercials is not stealing. If it was, then you wouldn’t be able to flip the channel during a commercial, and watch something else. It is your right to choose what you watch. Not watching a commercial will not hurt the companies, they most likely won’t even notice.
“consumer obligations” – have you ever heard of consumer rights? No one is obligated to buy anything in a free market economy. Consumer obligation is a term first used by the communist revolution following the october revolution and during Stalin’s economic reform of Soviet Russia. Thank you for just promoting your communist views on this site…I thought this was for people who LIKED GOD!
In short, you know nothing about economics. You now nothing about advertising. Your knowledge is about as extensive as an episode of Mad Men. I hope you some day learn about economics.
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I don’t understand how skipping commercials is stealing. You pay extra for the Tivo, with that extra fee you are allowed to skip commercials. If they didn’t want you to skip commercials the cable/satellite provider wouldn’t offer the technology to do so. With the logic that if I don’t watch commercials I am therefore stealing, I guess I’m a criminal every time I take a restroom break during commercials. Oh no. Shame on me
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This is probably one of the only sensible articles on this site. I never do skip the commercials, I am one to like a large number of them due to their humor.
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By this logic, if you go to the restroom during a commercial, you are stealing! Hold it in!
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So I’m expected to pay my insane cable bill each month AND waste my time watching advertising? You act as if people haven’t been using the bathroom, making sandwiches and flipping channels during commercials since the advent of the commercial.
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