There was a time when commercial television was free, entirely subsidised by advertising revenue. Generations of viewers were raised in the latter part of last century with a mutual understanding of the implicit TV contract: in exchange for free programming, you will accept interruptions for commercial advertising.
Then along came Cable, which introduced a fee for the privilege of clear reception and other premium services. Yet the ads did not relent. In fact, the ad-to-programming ratio steadily rose to record heights. Some measures estimate this today at an average of 74%. This means that for every 10 minutes of programming, you get 7.4 minutes of ads. Not to mention the 93% increase in cable rates since 1995.
So why is it that in return for a hefty charge, the TV viewer gets rewarded with more ads rather than fewer? The TV portion of my cable bill comes to $104.82 per month, or $1,257.84 per year. Is this not enough to cover programming costs?
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I can see that these business classes are helping you to quantify these injustices, LOL. Great post.
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