ABC1

hey,
is it me or is ABC1 the most shambolic and most unorganized stations ever. i love the channel and its fantastic programmes (ellen, mad about you, scrubs...) but its adverts seem to be in the most oddest of places, like 5 minutes from the end. is it me or does this not bother anyone else?

Thats because it shows adverts at the same points in the programme as when they were originally broadcast in the US. Its supposed to be that way as this eliminates the need for edits to be made to the programme and isnt 'shambolic' at all.

It bothers me! This is how ad breaks are done in america but I don't understand why they have adapted this way, just because the channel originates from america?

That makes more sense.

I've always liked the way ABC1 do their ad breaks. It means that you get most of the programme without interuptions but it is quite annoying when it's nearly the end and it goes off. Isn't that they way they do it in the US? I'm also a fan of where the DOG is. Doesn't get in the way of people's faces.

By the way, Rodney is fantastic if you haven't seen it. Home Improvement is just as good aswell.

in america they don't have 2 commercial breaks in a 22 minute episode of scrubs. if you see the programmes it shows quite clearly halfway through that there is a fade out for the commercial break. they don't do that on channel 4.

Is Scrubs made by ABC? If not, that'll be why they are in the middle because not all stations do that.

Im not quite sure what youre saying. Are you saying that when you watch on Ch4 there is a black fade? If so, thats where the ad break would be in the US and Ch4 have combined the two parts. Plus, I think youre wrong in saying there arent two ad breaks in a 30min slot in America. From what I have seen of American tv there always is. When Sky show the CBS news they have three ad breaks in the 30min slot.

Scrubs is broadcast by NBC.

lol. what i am saying is on channel 4, they use the 'black fade' in the middle of the programme to show there commercials, just like they do in the US. but on ABC1 they just carry on through the black fade and put the commercials on in ridiculous places.
btw i am only talking about 30 minute shows, longers shows have breaks in different places

Err- that's the point. If you wanted to move the ad breaks then you'd have to re-edit the shows to move the break junctions, which would cost money.

By keeping the ad breaks in the same place in the ABC1 showing as they were in the original US ABC broadcast, they remove the need to re-edit the shows...

The way they seem to get round the UK not allowing as many minutes of adverts and hour as the US, is by not putting ad-breaks between shows? (And I guess the breaks are shorter)

Personally I find the US ad breaks too frequent and too disruptive - but I can see why ABC1 have done it. They need to keep the channel costs down if they are going to make any money...

I'm not sure if they still do it now, but in the BBC2 cult slot a few years back they would always remove the fade to black before the next scene and just mix the music into the next scene. They did that with things like Thunderbirds and Quantum Leap if i recall.