Infomercials in prime time

[nomadcowatbk]

KSHB has been airing Time-Life infomercials in the 6:30PM Saturday Slot. Some stations pre-empt network programming for infomercials disguised as an infotainment show like KSDK did with Community a few weeks ago.

 

[azumanga]

Except that 6:30 Central was a local slot, and many stations tend to show commercials on occasion Saturday evenings.

 

[AlanB]

KXAS-Ft. Worth did the same thing last night. On New Year's night with bowl games all around, you might as well give up and sell the half hour to Time-Life.

 

[mjlarochelle]

I've seen this practice in the 7:00 hour on Saturday nights on both WICU and WJET in Erie, PA.

 

[landtuna]

Are Friday and Saturday evenings really considered "prime time"?

 

[quadraphonic]

I didn't think they were.

 

[firepoint525]

I've seen this practice in the 7:00 hour on Saturday nights on both WICU and WJET in Erie, PA.

Isn't 7:00 p.m. eastern NOT considered "prime time"?

 

[anotherguyTN]

Although I hate infomercials, a regular 6:30 PM Saturday slot (which is still local time) for them isn't as bad as showing them in place of a network program, which some stations are doing and should be stopped by the FCC and the networks. At least it's in a regular local slot, and people who don't want to see it won't be tuning in expecting another show.

 

[WPPCProductions]

7pm to 8pm is early pre primetime access .the affiliates can place any programming in these timeslots.shows like ET,Extra,Access Hollywood,Inside Edition, and the Wheel and Jeopardy live at that timeslot.I have to agree 100 percent them not running Infomercials at that time slots.I happen to get one of those Time and Like Country Cd's on my DVR timerset run which supposed to be Entertainment Tonight at the time.

 

[JackBauer112]

KSEE 24 in Fresno once had some great shows on the weekends (CA Lottery's Big Spin, Inside Edition weekend, Sports Central, West Wing and Big Spin's Replacement show, Make Me a Millionaire), but since these shows are gone, there stuff nowadays are all infomercials 6:30 and 7:30 PM saturdays, 12:30-2 PM weekdays and 11:30 PM Sunday Nights. That really needs to be filled in for really good shows, not infomercials.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I wouldn't object to watching that classic country informercial if I just had some way to watch "Jeopardy". I watch every Satyurday night and it's rare that I can remember watching the first time,. There are three episodes from the past year that were pre-empted for weather and if those happen to come on I want to see them!

Two stations in my area seem to show the same ones, when they show them, on the same Saturday night. I would like to think the stations that pre-empted an episode could get THAT one.

 

[FreddyE1977]

if you really start seeing infomercials in Prime Time (8 to 11PM Eastern) I would suspect
that station will be having their Going Out of Business Sale shortly afterwards.

 

[azumanga]

if you really start seeing infomercials in Prime Time (8 to 11PM Eastern) I would suspect
that station will be having their Going Out of Business Sale shortly afterwards.

I wouldn't say that -- there are a few healthy network affiliates that have been known to bump some network programming in the past. The aforementioned KSDK, which no doubt is miles better than KDNL, bumped an episode of "Community" for an infomercial, I think, for a local hospital.

 

[ssetta]

WBZ in Boston has lately been showing Time-Life infomercials on Saturday night in place of Wheel and Jeopardy! I've actually been thinking the same thing, I can't believe it looks like a lot of stations are doing this.

 

[sandiegoinexile]

Money Talks. At some point, everyone will finally realize that broadcasters do not exist for their customers. They exist to make money for their investors, like any other commercial enterprise. Clearly, an infomercial will bring in more revenue than whatever local ads can be sold during that time.

 

[azumanga]

Of course, many stations are likely to do this on Saturday, as it is the least-viewed night on television (unless college football is scheduled). If they do this any other night, either the station's hard up on funds, they have a blank space to fill on the schedules (especially at the start of the season), or an advertiser is paying a station major bucks to bump a show for a night. (No doubt bumping a network show like "Community" doesn't come cheap.)

 

[landtuna]

Money Talks. At some point, everyone will finally realize that broadcasters do not exist for their customers. They exist to make money for their investors, like any other commercial enterprise. Clearly, an infomercial will bring in more revenue than whatever local ads can be sold during that time.

If that logic were true then the only thing airing would be infomercials. Clearly the industry would die quickly if that were the case (along with equipment manufacturers and a boatload of entertainment providers).

 

[WPPCProductions]

I can see all the emails and phone calls that the stations receive about pre empting a hot primetime shows for a infomercial on facial hair.The classic country infomercial was great.I rather sit for a full hour then watching a stupid reality show.

 

[sandiegoinexile]

Money Talks. At some point, everyone will finally realize that broadcasters do not exist for their customers. They exist to make money for their investors, like any other commercial enterprise. Clearly, an infomercial will bring in more revenue than whatever local ads can be sold during that time.

If that logic were true then the only thing airing would be infomercials. Clearly the industry would die quickly if that were the case (along with equipment manufacturers and a boatload of entertainment providers).

In this tough economy, it has become increasingly true, especially if you are in a smaller market. Obviously, local 30-second TV ad costs vary by location/time, but if a station cannot sell 10 ads in a half-hour and Wen Haircare Products (or any Gunthy-Renker product) will fork over more money, it's a no-brainer. I am currently exiled to a media market in the 150-200 range and now that the political campaign is over, there are barely any commercial placements. Lots and lots and lots of station promos and more and more 30-minute commercials. Also, there's almost always at least one station in each media market that is nearly exclusively brokered/infomercials.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

Here in New York, WABC-TV ran a Time-Life infomercial in the 7:00 PM half-hour this past Saturday night (Jan. 1), pre-empting a Jeopardy! rerun. I'm not sure if the rerun of Wheel of Fortune that usually followed at 7:30 was also dumped in a similar manner, but I would not have been surprised.

It is notable only because this station airs the least amount of infomercials (or any paid programming, for that matter) of any station in the market. Infomercials on WABC-TV are virtually non-existent. But, given that it was a Saturday night at the tail end of the holiday season I guess I understand the logic.

I also agree with a few other posters who said they would rather watch the entertaining Time-Life music collection infomercials than, say, Walk-Fit, No-No (the hair remover thingy),any skin-care product or anything that has to do with Kevin Trudeau or colon-cleansing. But I'll take a months-old Jeopardy rerun any day.