Photo: grenadeIn a plot twist worthy of Lost, it turns out that TV commercials aren’t obnoxious interruptions after all. They’re helpful interruptions, which increase your enjoyment of TV by periodically reminding you how much you’d rather be watching your favorite show.
That’s according to a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, which found that commercials restore a sense of novelty to TV programming by breaking up the cycle which we become bored with following what’s on the screen.
In one of several experiments, the study’s authors screened the sitcom Taxi for two groups. One group saw an episode with commercial interruptions, and the other saw an episode with no interruptions. Those who saw Taxi with commercial breaks enjoyed it more, by a decisive margin.
In the authors’ words: “[A]t every given moment, watching the sitcom will still be more enjoyable than watching a detergent commercial.” That contrast could be one factor that kept the show fresh for viewers in the experiment.
But aren’t TV shows more fun with commercial breaks included precisely because they’re written with these interruptions in mind? Filmmakers don’t seem to need commercial breaks to keep audiences interested. Or could Sam Mendes have pushed his Revolutionary Road into a Golden Globe for best drama by chopping it up with a few well-timed words from his sponsors?
(Hat tip: Ars Technica, via Sam Kallen)
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I actually don’t mind commercials when I am watching TV with friends. It gives us time to chat (and when you are watching Lost, you HAVE to chat during the breaks). I DO mind the commercials being 300% louder. We typically just hit “mute”.
When I am alone, however, I despise commercials. For this reason, I mostly watch my TV shows via DVD. Take “30 Rock”. Each episode is 22 minutes. I can watch 3 of them in about an hour, whereas with a TV broadcast, I could only watch 2.
If this argument is correct I must start hitting my face periodically, so I will enjoy not having pain “more”.
I have a problem with these type of experiments with results that cannot be generalized to other situations. They are too context dependent.
Tribrix raises a good point that the fact that these tv shows were designed with commercials in mind is hard to remove from a study of this nature. I’d assume, like you, that feature films would suffer from commercials, but then again I had assumed that TV shows suffer from commercials too, despite being designed with them in mind (I like watching my tv shows on TIVO or buying seasons of DVDs… I had assumed this was increasing my enjoyment). Maybe commercials would increase the enjoyment of movies too. I’ll wait to see the study to make any guesses about that outcome.
I think it depends to some extent on the show and how it is written. If it is a HBO or Showtime show written to be viewed in one hour-long block, then adding in commercials would probably decrease viewer enjoyment. However, sitcoms like Taxi which air on commercial channels are written in short acts to make room for the commercials.
My bias is against commercials, as I always flip channels during commercial breaks….
If the show is really interesting, then u dont need any commercials..
if its dragging and interesting in bits and pieces, then u would need commercial to relief.
So why do they increase the volume 50% or more so that you autmatically hit the mute button?
Isn’t ter technology that sensies this and stops the idiots from screaming at you?
Has anyone taken into account that Taxi just isn’t as funny now as it was 30 years ago?
Re: the static area on the commercials. I haven’t seen that, but I’ve been wondering aloud since I got my DVR a few years ago why commercials didn’t do something like that, to get at least a FEW seconds’ exposure…
If you need the commericals to make the show more interesting, you’re watching bad TV.
I do agree that commericals are nice when watching TV in a group of friends– gives everyone a chance to talk about what happened, get more popcorn, etc. But its annoying when you’re alone and actually watching something. I’m sure if they need breaks for suspense they could come up with something less irritating.