Ofcom considers longer and more frequent TV ad breaks

TV & Film TV & Film: In The News
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TV advert breaks could get longer and more frequent as part of a review of UK broadcasting rules.

The regulator, Ofcom, has said market developments, including the availability of online streaming services, mean it would consider an overhaul of advertising regulations.

Currently, public broadcasting channels are limited to an average of seven minutes of advertising an hour across the day, while private channels are allowed nine minutes for advertising and an extra three for teleshopping.

Ofcom said that while the expanded choice of entertainment was “generally positive” for audiences it “put pressure on broadcasters, squeezing revenues, and made it harder for them to maintain their current offer”.

The regulator said: "We’re scoping a range of options, but before we form any plans we’ll listen to different views and examine what TV viewers say.

“We need to strike the right balance between protecting viewers’ interests and sustaining our traditional broadcasters, which includes helping them compete with American streaming platforms.”

Ofcom said it expected to give more details about the potential changes later in the summer.

I rarely watch “live” TV so the decision won’t affect me but, given that, one way or another, many viewers “skip” over the ads, it seems self-serving and self-destructive 
 :man_shrugging:

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@Omah l agree Omah, lfthe ads get any more time on tv l will definitely
get rid of my tele!!!
If enough people do the same then there will no point in broadcasting
as there will be nobody the viewing the ads ??
Donkeyman! :-1::-1:

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Trouble is 
 some of the adverts are better than the programmmes.

Who can forget the riveting romance with the Gold Blend coffee ad.

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That’s so last century 
 :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

As is this:

makes me smile 
 :grin:

and even older:

makes me laugh 
 :rofl:

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I rarely watch terrestrial TV these days, except for things like the Sewing Bee or Portrait Artist of the Year. If I want to watch something on any of the commercial channels, I record it so I can skip through the ads. Since having Netflix and Prime for so long, my tolerance levels of adverts has diminished drastically!! In the old days, before pause/rewind/record etc., the breaks were always welcome, for a trip to the loo or to put the kettle on, but these days, they’re just a nuisance.

I honestly don’t think this will be a solution for the terrestrials, because more and more people will desert them, or record and skip adverts. I bet it won’t be long before they find a way to stop the ability to fast forward through the ads :woozy_face:

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Exactly 
 :+1:

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We’ll soon be watching adverts interspersed with a tv programme

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I do wonder if this government quango is surreptitiously stacking the deck in favour of the BBC? I wouldn’t put ANYTHING past this lousy government.

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Hadn’t thought of it that way. Good batting, Thinkman. :+1:

Almost all of the programmes we watch on the commercial channels have either been recorded or downloaded first. Then, when the ads come on, we fast forward past them.

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We gave up on live TV some time ago and anything we do watch has always been recorded. Now that said, I’ll be watching Silverstone live Sunday on C4 :+1:

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I won’t - I gave up watching F1 years ago when it became too much of a procession round the track.

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I record everything l watch so that l can watch at my leisure and fast forward the annoying adverts.
I wouldn’t know any of the adverts, only the annoying, ‘Go Compare’. Even with no sound and speeding forward, you can still see that silly face with the silly thin moustache!