And they do it anyway! Who cares if you pay for it, you get money when you have people paying you and ad revenue at the same time! Happy Happy Smile Smile!

I can't imagine it's that big of a nuisance. Is it just a banner running below the screen for a small period of time or what?

If so I wouldn't mind knowing what's on later.

If the choices are to pay and watch ads and not pay and not watch ads, guess which I'll be choosing? Bye-bye, Showtime.

Oh my God, an ad during a movie !!! God forbid.

Pick your battles Consumerist, if seeing an ad for Californication during a showing of Cool Runnings gets people all up in a fuss, we've got to find a way to mellow out America.

Next time you see this, send an email and CC every contact email address you can find associated with the movie, including the studio, distributor, director, etc. It may not help, but sometimes the people who made the movie get irritated about things like this. Particularly if it occurs during dramatic moments in the movie:

"THIS IS--" Be sure to catch the premiere of The Comebacks this Saturday "--SPARTA!!!!" just doesn't have quite the same feel to it.

"a number of our subscribers appreciate learning about the premiere of a series in such a manner"

Never in my life have I met a person who didn't find that type of advertising massively annoying. I'd be impressed if Showtime could produce one. I'm guessing the "number" that they are talking about is zero.

The issue is not that there was an ad during a movie but that there was an ad during a movie that you PAID for.

What you are paying for is an ad-free movie otherwise just watch regular TV.

@WNW: Zero is a number, after all. =)

I don't get Showtime... my pet peeve is watching certain G4 shows like "Ninja Warrior" and "Ultimate Banzuke". These are subtitled Japanese game shows. G4 starts running those little banners that KenSPT doesn't think are a big deal.... and winds up covering the subtitles with them. =/ I want to know what cheesy line they're pretending someone uttered after they've fallen while trying to hop up a few stairs on a unicycle!

Guise I'm super serial.

@Moosehawk: I think just about everyone who has Showtime also has an interactive channel guide from their cable/satellite provider. I have no problem finding out on my own time what is coming up on the channel without interfering with the movie currently on.

Ever notice how media companies keep answering this sort of complaints with "actually we find that customers enjoy having part of their view of the movie on a service they already pay for blocked so we can bombard them with advertising".

Who ARE these customers who "appreciate" and "enjoy" this sort of thing? Do they actually exist outside of marketers' highly imaginative minds?

bla that's why i gave up on TV. All the damn animated banner ads running thru a show, or the station logo that takes up 3/4th of the screen. When I watch a movie I don't want to be distracted by anything, it ruins the experience for me. And to all the people that say they might know about a new show, give me a break the beat you in the face with upcoming stuff between everything they show. The Disney channel is the worst, they will show commercials for themselves during a movie they produced 40 years ago.

@KenSPT:

I think you're missing the point. What this is about is how advertisers have tilted the cost/benefit equation. It used to be that with traditional broadcast TV, the consumer received programming and the only cost was the time spent for the commercials. But more and more, there's poorer programming and more commercials. Those who were capable and saw benefit moved to fully paid TV because the equation there was better.

Now, Showtime wants to change that equation and chew away a little more for themselves. Sure, it's a promo snipe for their own program -- right now. But who is to say that it'll stay that way, maybe it'll be a snipe for Coke, or microwave popcorn.

I think the people who are upset see the program time as *their time*, and programmers need to take a hands-off approach to that time. It may be a little more intense because they are certainly paying money for that time.

Would I be upset? I can't say, I don't subscribe to Showtime, HBO, et al because I see NO value to the $14 per month. For $14 a month, I can see a lot of movies I really want to watch via Netflix, not the same crap these people provide. But I can understand why they're upset.

@KenSPT:

Say what you will, but its a premium channel they are talking about here. If showtime was included as a basic channel, sure, whatever, let them do what they want. But its not. Its a premium channel, included only on request, for which subscribers pay an additional fee. Its the sort of thing that makes people cancel subscriptions to premium channels.

This practice to me is like pr0n pop-ups when reading something important like The Consumerist.

I think it's shit. I pay over $125/mo to gain all the premium channels, and they pull shit like this. I tolerate it on the lower rung providers like TNT, TBS, Etc that inundate you with commercials every 5 minutes, but the past few years have been getting worse and worse. Now those banners have sound that interrupts the show/movie and consume 1/3rd of the screen!

It especially pisses me off with subtitled movies, when the stupid banner ad covers the text and you lose a minute of conversation.

I'm ready to just unplug it and get my content from ThePirateBay. Then they can advertise all they want and TV will be free again...

These are called "lower thirds", and I've previously ranted about them on my former blog. The Turner channels (TNT, TBS, and Peachtree TV) are out of control with them. It's gotten to the point where I've told TiVo I no longer have them. As for Showtime, the first time I see one, I'll be cancelling it. I'll be sure to let them know why.

@zentec: For $14 a month, you can see 1.4 movies here in Atlanta.

If you are offended by Showtime presenting any sort of additional information overlaying the display of content that you have paid to view then CANCEL THE SERVICE.

When their subscriber rate drops precipitously in a short period of time they will realize they screwed up.

Personally, I find not spending the monthly subscription fees on HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. and instead renting movies on DVD (from Netflix) works out about to be much cheaper and I get to watch movies I really want to see.

@clevershark: NO. no, they don't. But the companies have to justify the money that they're getting from the people paying for the ad time in that annoying fucking banner, so they make up reports and bullshit polls that say people like it. Despite having channel guides an VOD and DVRs people still think that we enjoy having our pay cable service interrupted by ads. It wasn't enough that we had to sit through 10 minutes of commercials to watch a 20 minute show, but now they're putting bumpers and bugs and animated little fucking things all over the screen while the show is running.

Why is it such a problem for me to want to watch my show without having something else jumping up and down trying to get my attention during it?

@qitaana: I once had an argument with someone who argued that 0 wasn't a number, but a concept.

We were drunk.

@ptkdude:

$14 at netflix is 4 dvds out at a time as many times as you want a month and unlimited PC views

@woodenturkey: Point taken. Netflix is out of mind for me since they still advertise with pop-ups.

@mgy: Recommended reading: "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife. An interesting read on how zero was heretical for a long while...

The idea of "paying" for a premium "movie" channel (or just a pay-per-view movie) is to watch said "movie" without commercial interruptions ... otherwise, you just watch it on a normal station.

Advertising, DURING the movie you payed for is unacceptable. Doesn't matter the content of the advertising.

I don't subscribe to any movie service at all ... I play World of Warcraft instead. If Blizzard decides to scroll advertising banners across the bottom of my game, then I will quit using that service and find another :-)

What good is learning about a premier of a series, when you now know the screen of said series is going to be littered with visual clutter? It always ends up obscuring important visual cues, gestures, subtitles, etc. I make it a point to change the station when that crap happens.

@woodenturkey: Actually, $14 is 2 DVDs at a time as many times as you want per month and unlimited PC viewing. 4 DVDs a time is $23.99.

I don't think you even have to consider yourself a movie snob to feel that an advertisement appearing during a movie like that would "take you out of" the experience, especially if it's a good movie.

What is worse is on FX, they like to have little sound effects that go with their pop up ads. So not only do they cover up the screen they cover up the dialog. F that. However this is because DVR's are making regular commercials almost non-existent.

@ptkdude:
Agreed. TBS is the worst.

This crap has got to stop.

Next these marketers are going to make me watch ads before a movie!

I don't know if I was watching a movie in 720p or 1080i, that advertisement would cut off QUITE A BIT of the movie.

I usually watch onDemand in which case I can see what else is on and I can watch it whenever the hell I want.

@UpsetPanda:

oops i was close

@KenSPT: At what point are consumers (or anyone else) allowed to complain about ads? When did we sign on to be bombarded with advertising just by walking out the door?

On a related note, I used to answer and/or forward viewer mail for IFC. This was around the time the burn-in logos started becoming standard for all the "tiers" (remember there was a time before this??). I felt terrible when a letter would describe the burn-in damage to the person's HDTV (which I guess was pretty common at that time). I would forward these and follow up, but the response was basically, "oh well, the logos rank above damage to a few viewers' TVs.

Don't lose hope when writing to complain, since I was actually one of those employees who took the time to respond personally and follow up, within the scope of my limited power.

@ptkdude:

?? pop ups, you mean on webpages? i havent seen a pop up in years

They're not ads, they're promos. Geezus people, don't confuse the two.

As with movies (trailers are awesome, commercials make me force-heave into the (hopefully empty) chair next to me).

remember when AMC used to be commercial free? 'twas my favorite movie channel.

now they show commercials as much as any other turner station, turning an 80 minute movie into a 3 1/2 hour marathon.

i don't watch AMC anymore. :(

i don't care for those banners....they usually cover up something i wanna see....the show "letters from iwo jima" was all subtitled ,and the station running it would flash a banner every so often covering the subtitle....

i have showtime and hbo. i've been considering dropping one of the two. looks like they've made the choice for me.

Sounds like boiler plate response. Especially since the guy writing it doesn't have any authority to make those changes.

The old, sympathasize, then say while other's appreciate it, then the typical "we take your comments seriously." and say the "appropriate people" will be notified.

Perfect answers for when people don't plan on doing anything about the problem. They never say who, exactly, is being notified, or if they will ever follow-up with you. Really all that's done is add a +1 on a database of complaints. Do the +1's add up to be more than the $$$ generated? Apparently not.

I appreciate your concerns about global warming and how you feel like it is affecting our environment. A number of other people are enjoying the warmer weather, not having to use snow chains everywhere they go, and staying out on the golf course later. We take your concerns very seriously and will look into

@Trai_Dep:
WTF is a promo but a commercial for their product. good lord

@woodenturkey: Yes, that's what I mean! And they've gotten good: they even get past pop-up blockers (the good ones, too. Not just the crappy one that comes with IE).

@woodenturkey: WHAT?! How are you getting 4 at a time for $14?! I'm paying $17 a month for 3 at a time!!

@theblackdog: Should have read further down the comments...

this is the first time ive even heard the name Showtime in years! im looking forward to not watching them for many many more!

This is what I don't understand. They're running commercials to reach people who are ALREADY PURCHASING THE SERVICE. Whether they LOVE the promo and come back to watch the advertised show, or HATE the promo and vow NEVER to watch the show, THEY DO NOTHING TO ALTER SHOWTIME'S REVENUE STREAM. So what exactly is the point?

This doesn't make me miss cable at all. I hope I can convince the boyfriend to live the cable-free lifestyle when we eventually move in.

@KenSPT: This is actually an example of why the consumerist exists. Showtime was informed of the paradox of them running commercials during the middle of movies that people PAY FOR because they are uninterrupted. Their reply was, "fuck you, we are gonna do it anyway."

Having a bar on the bottom of the screen DOES distract you from the movie. Admittedly, it is less intrusive that 5 minutes of ads but it is still intrussive. People pay for uneditted AND uninterrupted movies on these "premium" channels and a banner ad is an interruption in that it interrupts your attention from the movie it is partially obscurring.