Do we need longer TV ad breaks? Consultation on extending them

[cakeorwine]

There's a consultation to make TV ad breaks longer

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61997064

The regulator's current rules state that, for channels three to five, the "total amount of advertising in any one day must not exceed an average of seven minutes per hour of broadcasting".
The channels can run advertising breaks of up to eight minutes per hour during prime time periods of 18:00-23:00 and 07:00-09:00

I have lived in the USA - admittedly a while ago - and they seemed to have endless ad breaks.

But TBH - I tend to record a lot of things and skip through the ads. Or watch on streaming platforms.

If there were long ad breaks, that would be really disruptive to a film or series. I can just about cope now, but it's annoying when they come in the middle of a crucial plot point

I only watch stuff on Netflix and Prime, partly because terrestrial is so dire, partly because I can't abide ad breaks. Increasing ad breaks sounds like a terrible idea to me.

Good heavens, no!

Wouldn't bother me - I record anything with ads and skip through them. Or watch Netflix/prime.

Does anyone even watch adverts any more? I always record everything I want to watch just so I can skip adverts.
They are bringing them too Netflix too. 😡

Too many already and far too long as it is.

Well apart from the fact that I record most everything & ff through adverts wouldn't that completely & totally f'up all the scheduling. Surely an hours program is made for certain advert break allowances, going forward that could be changed, but what about existing programs???

(I might not be thinking clearly though. I'm not at my best as I've been up since 4:30 & not had coffee yet!!)

I always mute the ads, and look away. Who wants to be knowingly brainwashed

When on holiday in the US, after a busy day walking round theme parks etc, you sit down to watch a film on telly.... if it starts at 8 it often won't finish til nearly midnight! Bloomin ridiculous. No, do not want MORE time for ads in UK.

How can you skip through ad breaks? If I watch something on catchup I have to sit through them.

The ads are annoying. I can quite honestly say I cannot remember a single thing I have bought because of a TV ad.

I mostly record and zoom through ads anyway. Don’t watch much live, except documentary-type progs. on Beeb 2 or 4, which don’t have ads anyway.

I wouldn’t mind ads so much if they were more like some of the brilliant ones in the last, e.g. Boddington’s. Now they’re nearly all either boring or full of ludicrous/pretentious twaddle, or both.

I don't watch anything on "normal" tv anymore, mainly because of adverts, so making the breaks longer with more adverts sounds ludicrous. I generally watch iPlayer, prime or britbox.

It drives me mental that 4OD has ads that you can’t skip through 😠 puts me off watching

Absolutely no one wants longer as breaks as a viewer.

It doesn't make sense as most people hate ads. I record to ff or watch streaming.

They are bringing them too Netflix too.

😱

Actually I can't ff the sky ones which annoys me so I deliberately do something else or look away

We as the public watching them don’t

but they production companies desperately do they have lost huge amounts of viewers in the last five years as we nearly all have Netflix etc

i have watched tv in the states and haven’t even realised they have gone into an add break as it’s so quick and thought I couldn’t keep up with the plot

I don't watch live TV anyway. Makes no odds. Don't know many people who do.

I too dislike the ads unless i need a quick toilet break but seriously where do you think their revenue comes from? 🤔would you rather pay a fee for all channels instead of just BBC?

They are and they aren't. They are going to add a new basic subscription service with adverts.
This will be different to the current subscriptions which will still be ad free. The worry is the ad free price might rise steeply.

One of the main reasons I've gone back to watching the BBC.

My parents do but I don’t know anyone else who else who does.

I never watch live TV because there's too many ad breaks already.
Ads aren't clever and fun any more either, I used to love the Guinness adverts, everyone used to enjoy the debut of the John Lewis Christmas ad etc.
Now it's all shouty gambling shite or heart string pulling charity bullshit.
I stick to subscriptions now

Netflix ads sound awful - if they do anything like the USA does.

I know that networks need ads to generate revenue - but too many ads definitely detracts from what you are watching.

This is just penalising poorer people though isn't it?

We have Sky, Amazon, Disney, Netflix. I can remember the last time I watched something live on TV. But people who can't afford streaming services will get shafted by this.