Comments on: CNN using commercial countdown clocks

By: thedetroitchannel

thedetroitchannel — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:30:01 +0000

I’m not, either.

But I do wonder what advertisers think of this and whether they argued for lower rates when it was initiated.

By: thedetroitchannel

thedetroitchannel — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:09:27 +0000

Saf, advertisers generally don’t like anything on the screen other than the ad, because it can distract from the message or just interfere with the artistic vision of the ad. That’s also why in magazines, the page numbers are often missing from the full-page ads.

But when I’m watching a show on abc.com, I actually pay more attention to the ads, partly because I’m keenly focused on the screen already, even if that focus is centered on the countdown clock. I still get the message better, because my attention is intently fixed at the screen.

And I think the message I get is more, “It’s only 14 more seconds till the show returns, so chill. Don’t bother channel-surfing or going to the kitchen, just sit tight for a few seconds and the show will be back.”

PS: I’m not thedetroitchannel.

By: Mark Mascolino

Mark Mascolino — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:18:56 +0000

i’m positive on the idea as well but then again I think the show rundown and clock on PTI is sheer genius so I perhaps have some bias.

By: Safran

Safran — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:20:55 +0000

I like the idea. I wonder how the advertisers feel about a device that, essentially, says “You only have this much longer to sit through our crap before the show continues…”

Although, I’ve seen some shows that could stand to have countdown clocks to the commercial break.