October 11, 2007

Commercial Skipping=Exploding TV

Exploding TVs: The Big Bang Solution is one of the most hilarious TV-related articles I've ever seen. Written by Mitch Oscar at MediaPost's TVBoard blog, the article is presented as a comical solution to the commercial-skipping phenomenon afforded by technologies such as TiVo that is slowly destroying the traditional ad-supported TV business. The solution: the title should be your first clue. If you fast-forward through a commercial, your TV set will self-destruct. While Oscar does concede that his solution could have a few negative ramifications, it also has its strong points. In tackling the issue of warranties, Oscar points out the an exploding cathode-ray tube TV gives the seller the chance to upsell the buyer into purchasing the HDTV that he's been resisting. Exploding TV's could also pose a threat to children. But Oscar finds an incentive for dealing with this situation as well. The v-chip that enables parents to have control over what their children watch, but which the parents never use, now probably would be used. Disable the fast-forward key on the remote control, give it a generation, and your grandkids will never know that at one time their ancestors could skip through commercials altogether. There are many more gut-busting arguments why exploding TV's are the answer to the ad industries problems, but I encourage you to go check out the article yourself.