[legopelle]

Two things shook me while watching TV on my USA trip.

One is the sheer number of ad breaks in programming. Here in Sweden there's only a few with a good chunk in between.

The second is ads during programs. I mean not even having the courtesy to pause but instead overimpose.

I sort of get it now why USA import shows have the weird breaks though.

Given, I seldom watch TV here anymore, so I might be mistaken.

[viraptor]

> Two things shook me while watching TV on my USA trip.

I turned on the TV in the US hotel once for the experience. I found out that what I'd see as "making fun of the US ads" in the EU, was not even close to reality. It took me a moment to realise that the ad actually had monster trucks with the flag/eagle paint, guns, and explosions and it wasn't a cringe satire show.

[marmot777]

There are millions of people who keep the TV running ALL THE TIME as in it's almost never turned off.

[madengr]

That’s insane. I can’t even think coherently with a TV in the background.

[marmot777]

Trying to understand on why phones are so dangerous combined with driving, now killing more people each year than drunks behind the wheel, research's been done showing people can't really multitask, only switch tasks rapidly. We end up doing a half assed job on everything, including being present for other people whether other drives whose life depends on you being sober and focused but also friends and relatives. I've seen countless parents focused on their phones not paying attention to their kids, which is really sad.

It's craziness as people could be much more productive if they did one thing at a time. That said, people who have the television running all the time probably aren't seeking to optimize their productivity.

[cptskippy]

> I sort of get it now why USA import shows have the weird breaks though.

That's a direct result of networks dictating the # of commercial breaks in the show.

Watching a show like Battlestar Galactica is a bit odd because they liked to have dramatic little climaxes right before a commercial break.

[cafard]

If only it didn't affect athletic contests--maybe they could play a baseball game in two and a half hours again.

[cptskippy]

Sports?

[mrfusion]

I remember a scene on the simpsons where marge stopped mid conversation and got a broom and swept up all the ads on the bottom of the screen.

[resoluteteeth]

> The second is ads during programs. I mean not even having the courtesy to pause but instead overimpose.

As an American it's sort of funny because it's been so long since I watched broadcast/cable TV (10 years?) that I don't think this even existed at that time and I have to sort of imagine what this would look like.

[jquast]

I cord cut 10+ years ago as well, but they've been doing the "overimpose" since the 90's. Almost all of the broadcast stations do this, typically they advertise the next program, or other television programs playing on other days.

[resoluteteeth]

Ah, you mean like little bars that pop up at the bottom for like 10 seconds? I guess I have seen those now that you mention it.