Isn't that taking a rather narrow view, mate?

Either that or you're related to Prince Charles.

Nope, but it might be rather narrow-minded.

Again, no!  I can run a 100 yards in 48 minutes...if'n the wind's at my back.

Ol' Charlie runs it in 48 hours.  Yeah it's all the wind resistance with those frickin' ears.

Trouble there is, the premium channels here in Oz have begun to run ads as well... not as frequently as free-to-air, but they're still there.  Once that began I gave Pay TV the flick.... I can not tolerate the idea of having to pay for unwanted/unwelcome ads.

When the ad breaks begin on free-to-air my receptors turn off and I turn my attentions elsewhere... to my PC or make a cuppa, etc.

I haven't had Pay TV for a while, but just before I ditched it about 5 - 6 years ago, ads for consumer products were beginning to appear in between shows with monotonous regularity, and occasionally during shows where an ad break would have been scheduled for free-to-air.  As I recall it was TV1, a Fox channel, that started to do it, during shows like Stargate SG1 and the like, then other channels followed suit, and that's when I told Foxtel to shove it. 

I subscribed to Pay TV to avoid damned commercials, so there was no way I was paying Foxtel for ads, not to mention the numerous repeats over and over again.  It had become just as bad as free-to-air in that respect, if not worse.  Some of the Fox channels run the same shows 3 times a day in 8 hour shifts... then, when they come to the end of a series they'll start it over from scratch again... and again... and again. 

Yup, some of the very same shows/episodes I was watching 10 years ago are still airing today... yet they've regularly tested me out over the years [since I ditched it] to see if I'll take it up again.  Hmmm, that's when I become rude and arrogant nowadays, and tell 'em to stick it where the sun don't shine... a message they should have gotten about 5 -6 years ago when I offered it politely.

Or you could install AdBlock+ and just block the annoying Stardock all ads.

With AdBlock you sometimes need to add your own filters... ie, right click on the image> scroll down to AdBlock~Block Image... a dialog box will appear to give you the option to block ads not already covered by the default filters.

Hope this helps.... being I hate ads more than most  [that Larry Tate & Darrin Stephens have a lot to answer for]

Ads exist because they work.  Blame all the weak minded fools that are influenced by them, not the companies who are just trying to get their brand and products out there. 

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go drink a Coke, while smoking my camel light, as I drive my Ford to go pickup a new iPhone from AT&T.

That about covers it as far as I'm concerned...

No, I blame the advertising companies.  Why? Because they will saturate anywhere and everywhere regardless of whether ads work or not.  The idea being that they can charge their clients even more with the greater exposure... so no, when ads don't work they just find other ways to ram unwelcome shit down your throat.  And when ads 'apparently work, they just stick them in more places or run them more frequently for even greater earnings from greater visibility. 

Next to bankers, advertisers are the second worst [huma... er, non-insect/non-animal] parasite on the planet.

@ Campaigner.  LOL, you obviously have greater patience and tolerance than I have... especially when it comes to TV advertising. 

Newspapers ads don't bother me because I never buy newspapers [not anymore]. Cinema ads don't bother me because I never go to cinemas [haven't for 25+ years]  Radio ads don't bother me because I don't listen to radio anymore... most stations play top 40's crap repeatedly between 5 - 6 minute commercial breaks, so to avoid the whole frustrating kit and kaboodle, I play the music I want to hear from my own collection. 

Yup, I'm good at avoiding ads whenever and wherever I can, but when it comes to TV, because there are some shows I do like to watch, I get really pissed off bigtime.  It's not just that the ads are there, but the fact that some advertisers pay for X amount of prime time exposure and stations will run those specific ads up to 3 times in one 5 minute ad break.... like WTF didn't I get about it the first fucken time around?  Yeah, between 7.30 and 10.30pm, we can be bombarded by the same half dozen ads up to 30 - 40 times.  In just 3 hours?  Now tell me that wouldn't test your patience.

Another reason television advertising pisses me off is the times a station will cut into a show at a non-scheduled break to run ads.  Yeah it happens all the time here of Aussie free-to-air.  How do I know this? Well, I've bought the DVD's of various shows and can clearly see where the scheduled breaks are, then I'll see a TV station run one and insert ads where there was no scheduled break before.  Besides, they don't always get the cue right and you can tell bits are missing... like when they come back halfway through a sentence, etc.  However, the biggest reason it pisses me off is that the station will run overtime and you can often miss the beginning of a show you want to watch on another channel.  How do they make up the time for themselves so all their scheduled programmes air?  They cut off things like the credits to accommodate more ads.

What really irks me to the core, like what ads don't, is those 30 minute infomercials. Now those really get up my nose with their repetitiveness right throughout [the same people saying the same damned thing over and over... like I'm not fucking deaf or stupid, I heard you the first fucking time].  So okay, I don't have to sit in front of them, but when ALL the commercial stations are running them from midnightish until 5 - 6 am in the morning, there's eff all to watch, and when you're a disabled insomniac with only so much you can do to occupy yourself at that hour, it gets a lot more that just annoying.  So why do our TV stations do this to us?  Yeah, well I was curious and asked them that myself.

One of the reasons given is that we cannot/do not produce enough home-grown television here in Australia, so we buy various TV shows from overseas [predominantly from the US], and that comes with various conditions and stipulations. For example, if Channel 10 buys Supernatural from its US producer, it will HAVE to buy a block of shows AND AIR them as well.  Now in that block of shows there will be things like House and Nurse Jackie, for example, but, and this is a BIG but, Channel 10 MUST take AND air a half dozen infomercials nightly, as well as that Letterman idiot... whose show, BTW, is a sad, sad indictment on what makes Americans laugh.  However I digress.  Sorry about that [the digression, that is].

The thing is, getting back to my bitch, is that the infomercials MUST be aired in order for Channel 10 to keep receiving the episodes of the shows it bought and wants to air. If it does not then the contract is torn up and Channel ten cannot provide its audience the content it wishes to see. Now imagine that you're halfway though a season of something that has truly grabbed your viewing attention, and suddenly it is yanked off air on a cliff hanger.  Well Channel 10 doesn't want to cop the backlash from such an event, and it cannot fill the space with just homegrown or repeats of repeats to placate the masses, so [being the largest part of the population is in bed at that time] it runs infomercials from midnightish until daylight every freaking night.

To me that's blackmail, having to take shit [which is essentially advertising] that makes you unpopular, but the TV stations here are stuck with it if they want to keep the majority viewing. 

Anyway, to summarise it all, advertisers have infiltrated every conceivable facet of human life and they're still not happy. If there's a blank space to stick an ad on, they'll use it, needed or not.  Everything they do is designed to part you from your cash, with ads being forced down your throat each and every which way you turn, but at the end of the day you have only so much cash to make ends meet and you can't spend it everywhere.  Yes, advertising, in its right place, serves to bring producers and consumers together, but it has gotten to the point where it has become highly intrusive and is over-servicing, and that's my bitch.  You can't draw a line in the dirt and tell an advertiser "this is where it ends", because the bastard will stick an ad on your line and tell you to get out of his effing way.  Parasites, the f**king lot of 'em.

Okay... 

*rant off*

Well that's a part of it.  Another reason is that production costs have gone through the roof and industry insiders have priced themselves out of a job.  Another part of it is a shrinking talent pool with so many actors, writers, producers and technicians heading overseas to cash in on the charm of Crocodile Dundee with US audiences.  Yup, now there's more Aussie soap stars working in the US than there is here in Australia. 

Still, that does not explain why Aussie TV stations are forced into taking infomercials for US crap we shouldn't be importing if we want to reduce the national debt. Now don't get me started on that!!! That fucken Howard and his free trade agreement [which surrendered Aussie business rights to the US] have a lot to answer for... as does Keating for when he deregulated the banks.  Now we have open slather regarding fees in that sector, with banks charging like wounded bulls regardless.  However, I digress. 

There's also the shows that have little or NO relevance to us at all... like Conan, Leno and that Letterman idiot, whose shows has no relevance to Oz whatsoever and are an insult to even the dullest Aussie of intellects.  Yup, the networks are forced to carry these imbeciles, AND the damned infomercials, if they wish to purchase and air other US content... now tell me that's free trade. 

Oh what a lovely way to capitulate... turn the 'total waste of breath' back on me. ......

Yeah, I know, quit while I'm ahead.

Anyway, it's not that there are ads. If done tastefully and with respect for the intended audience they have a place and are at least tolerable.  No, it's the fact that ads are too often repetitive; invasive; designed by slimy and exploitive individuals with the intent to separate other individuals from their money... and most often they are an insult to one's intelligence.  Now I don't mind an informative, clever and/or funny ad, but those are the rarity while the inane, stupid and pathetic ones are the norm, taking up far more air time than they deserve... or should be given.  So in a nutshell, we are over-serviced by advertising while advertisers continually seek new and inventive ways to get in our faces when most of us would rather not be seeing ads at all.

That to me is sheer arrogance at its worst... and why I dislike advertising so much  I mean, would you appreciate it if a local farmer came daily and put a dollop of shit on you front and back door steps to advertise he has great manure for your roses, and even though you've repeatedly told him you're not interested, there's a new dollop of shit on each doorstep every morning?  Well it's the same with advertising.  Advertisers need to respect peoples boundaries and not overstep...

... just like your manure provider.

Anyhow, it's 12.39am... g'night.

Might be of interest- although OT. The illusion of choice (the reference to "The Sun" has changed, obviously):

Speaking of Australian movies, I really liked Animal Kingdom from a couple years ago.  That's some messed up crap.