This morning on the Stairmaster at my gym, I decided to watch some TV and was surprised to discover that virtually every channel available was offering advertising in the guise of real content. On one network (I can't recall which) an editor for Travel & Leisure was being interviewed by the host about great travel resorts in the U.S. that are inspired by European destinations. The interviewee was sure to include
web addresses, average price per night and all sorts of helpful information to the viewer in the market for a great new vacation. On another network, I discovered a locally-produced show in which a real estate agent takes a prospective home buyer on a tour of 3 or 4 Manhattan apartments in the range of $1-2 million. The other stations offered more traditional info-mercials not worth describing here.
Of course television has always been driven by advertising. This is nothing new. So why was I so annoyed to discover nothing available to watch that was ad-free?
I imagine part of the blame may lie with cable channels such as HBO or Showtime which, free of advertising of any kind, have raised the bar on viewer expectations.
What surprises me then is that, in view of this increasing competition for the attention of viewers, why do the Big 3 networks seem to be retreating deeper into the fabric of advertainment? By doing so, aren't they making themselves less attractive to viewers and less competitive? What gives?
I'm simply baffled by this! Anyone care to enlighten me on what's really going on here?
