Lawtalkers and TV fans, check this out

[CountDeMoney]

Will AutoHop kill commercial television?

Cable providers and networks insist that, should AutoHop, a technology that allows viewers to skip through commercials with the click of a button, enter the marketplace, it would all but destroy the commercial television "ecosystem."

To be clear, AutoHop is not Tivo or a regular DVR feature where you wait to fast-forward through commercials. Rather, it's a one-click-and-they're-gone ad-skipping tool for all pre-recorded programs the day after they air. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Dish Network is currently locked in a lawsuit with broadcasters— Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS — over whether it can deploy AutoHop. (For now, it appears Dish is coming out ahead, according to the Los Angeles Times).

If Dish could deploy the service, it would be a boon for the company as it continues to compete with cable television providers, which have been fighting to woo customers even as other pay-for services emerge on the scene, including Netflix, Apple TV, and Hulu+ (which is partially owned by NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company and Fox parent company News Corp.).

Mobiledia's Joe Arico has a good exploration of what the ramifications could be if AutoHop is allowed into the market. He writes:

"Auto Hop will likely turn from an isolated problem to a widespread issue if the court rules in Dish's favor. Other providers are likely to copy the company, causing headaches for networks across the country as they're forced to review their strategy."

He then concludes:

"Customers may be excited about the prospect of a technology like Auto Hop allowing them to skip commercials. But what they may not realize is that skipping commercials greatly disturbs the traditional broadcast model by devaluing the very content that makes TV valuable to advertisers, and could begin to affect the type of programming they see on their favorite channels."

In short: A lot of the things you probably don't like about television programming (product placement and cheap-to-produce reality TV) are likely to be more of what you'll see as ads surface less and less during programming hours.

So, is AutoHop the death of television as we know it? Not yet. But as consumers continue to crave ways to dodge ads, they may just end up killing, at least for a time, the very thing they love to consume: Quality programming.

[11B4V]

Fuck yea, but I think it will inpact the industry.

[CountDeMoney]

Fuck yea, but I think it will inpact the industry.

Gee, ya think?

Our programming strength and power--that American Exceptionalism we cherish! Squee!--is driven by the income generated by commercials.  What, you want to pay a tax like those filthy Euros instead?

[Josephus]

I can't remember the last time I saw a commercial.

[HVC]

I can't remember the last time I saw a commercial.

if i haven't recorded a show i watch like two or three at a time. i know that commercials pay for the stuff i watch, but i just can't stand them

[Ideologue]

Christ, people are fucking entitled.  Watch the commercials.  Sometimes they promote valuable products.  Sometimes they are amusing.  In any event, they pay for your shit, so keep your part of the deal.

That said, I don't even have a TV up here.  But the principle applies to blip videos and such, and I happily watch the dumb ads, because I know the revenue pays for the show I watch for free.

Goddamned tragedy of the commons.

[11B4V]

Says the man with no TV. 

[HVC]

Read the ads in the paper? Those pay for your news. Read your fliers? They subsidize your mail system. Ads are just annoying and repetitive. Make better ads

[Ideologue]

I don't read the paper, I have Tim and garbon.

[HVC]

You didn't mention the fliers

[katmai]

I don't read the paper, I have Tim and garbon.

Suddenly it all makes sense.

[Ideologue]

You didn't mention the fliers

I don't like people who put me in the position of either taking their fliers off my car and tossing them on the ground, thereby littering, or putting them in a proper receptable, thereby cleaning up their garbage.  Ideally, they'd all be in camps.  In any event, I don't see how they're analogous.

[HVC]

Meant mail fliers. They're analogues because both types of ads subsidize a service we enjoy (namely crappy tv shows and mail). You can't chide someone for ignoring one while you ignore the other. Well you can, but it's dirty pool

[garbon]

I don't read the paper, I have Tim and garbon.

Suddenly it all makes sense.

Anyway, I agree with Ide on this issue.

[Ideologue]

Meant mail fliers. They're analogues because both types of ads subsidize a service we enjoy (namely crappy tv shows and mail). You can't chide someone for ignoring one while you ignore the other. Well you can, but it's dirty pool

You assume I "enjoy" the mail.  Let me assure you that I do not.