I have been seeing that on several "Universal" network shows. They even show up on NBC.
Has USA Network "over Twittered" their shows?
I'll preface this comment by saying that I am NOT a Twitterer (is that a word?)
I watch quite a few USA Network shows and I noticed that on just about all of them, during the ENTIRE length of the episode, there's #name_of_show" on the bottom left of the screen. And occasionally, when some event happens on the show, they put something like "Should so and so help do this" or something similar. I find this all incredibly distracting and totally unnecessary. Just by coming here and discussing TV shows, this type of thing gets discussed, no prompting at all. But obviously there's money to be made by having your viewers go to the twitter site, so that's why they are leading you there. But, do they NEED it up through the entire show? Do they need to TELL you what to discuss?
I watch quite a few USA Network shows and I noticed that on just about all of them, during the ENTIRE length of the episode, there's #name_of_show" on the bottom left of the screen. And occasionally, when some event happens on the show, they put something like "Should so and so help do this" or something similar. I find this all incredibly distracting and totally unnecessary. Just by coming here and discussing TV shows, this type of thing gets discussed, no prompting at all. But obviously there's money to be made by having your viewers go to the twitter site, so that's why they are leading you there. But, do they NEED it up through the entire show? Do they need to TELL you what to discuss?
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I've seen it on HBO shows too. Is HBO owned by NBC/Universal?
Nope. HBO is owned by Time Warner. But I would bet an exec at one network thought "Hey that looks like a good idea. We should do that too." Forgetting that fact that we pay to watch the shows, not all the extra clutter on the screen.
With the exception of actual news channels displaying actual news I agree it's an annoying practice to put ANY text or graphics junk up on the screen. I wish they would abolish the little popup animated graphics advertising other shows, station logos (especially on Premium channels like Starz), etc. Starz is also bad about putting up text during entire movies when they're running a free promotion. Why should I have to see that when I'm paying for that channel? Dumb. I especially hate it when my local stations decide to interrupt an entire show with "Breaking News" that takes up 1/4 of the screen which for the past year has been anything but breaking news. Around my town it has been stuff like "Casey Anthony dropped her pen in court today, News at 11" or "the weather 400 miles away looks iffy."I watch quite a few USA Network shows and I noticed that on just about all of them, during the ENTIRE length of the episode, there's #name_of_show" on the bottom left of the screen. And occasionally, when some event happens on the show, they put something like "Should so and so help do this" or something similar. I find this all incredibly distracting and totally unnecessary.
To discuss this thread with other fans:
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#tivocommunity
I have noticed the Twitter hash tags in shows, but I can't remember which ones. It does not bother me at all.
I don't mind the bugs that popup occasionally to advertise something as long as they aren't too big (the broadcast networks have been abusing this practice with bugs that take up about 1/3 of the screen sometimes, full of animation that distracts from the show), but to see it CONSTANTLY on the screen and then TELLING you to twitter something specific about the show, is annoying and distracting. Once or twice a show, fine, throughout 60 minutes of show....too much.With the exception of actual news channels displaying actual news I agree it's an annoying practice to put ANY text or graphics junk up on the screen. I wish they would abolish the little popup animated graphics advertising other shows, station logos (especially on Premium channels like Starz), etc. Starz is also bad about putting up text during entire movies when they're running a free promotion. Why should I have to see that when I'm paying for that channel? Dumb. I especially hate it when my local stations decide to interrupt an entire show with "Breaking News" that takes up 1/4 of the screen which for the past year has been anything but breaking news. Around my town it has been stuff like "Casey Anthony dropped her pen in court today, News at 11" or "the weather 400 miles away looks iffy."
BTW...I find it distracting when watching sports that they flash scroll the scores on the bottom of the screen constantly too. Yeah, it's nice to get the scores like that, but in this day and age, with the internet within reach, I can find any score I want in less than 30 seconds.
I think it is a great idea to advertise a common hastag. People will make up their own but if they see one on the screen they will use it. Heck I even thought about creating a Twitter app that coincides with TV in a special way (think not watching live) and this hashtag aspect of it could help significantly.
They're fairly unobtrusive and don't make noise. I'd prefer not to have them, but they don't really bother me. I much prefer them over some of those huge promos that take up a large portion of the bottom of the screen. The baseball ones where the ball flies in and "cracks" the TV is the worst. In comparison I almost don't even notice these.
We probably aren't too far away from there being paid advertising at the bottom of the screen.
These networks are trying to create some reason for viewers to watch live. By watching live, they can participate in the Twitter discussion. More live viewers equals better ratings and more money from advertisers. Therefore, I'm guessing that what we're seeing so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
Fox also has hashtags on the bottom right corner of all their show.
That will only work if the twits, er, I mean Twitterers (These networks are trying to create some reason for viewers to watch live. By watching live, they can participate in the Twitter discussion. More live viewers equals better ratings and more money from advertisers. Therefore, I'm guessing that what we're seeing so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
), are more numerous than the people who QUIT watching live because it bothers them.
See the thread on last week's "Warehouse 13" -- there was a Verizon logo on-screen throughout the episode.We probably aren't too far away from there being paid advertising at the bottom of the screen.
Granted, it wasn't technically advertising Verizon, it was a promo for "Alphas" (the show that aired after "Warehouse 13"), which was "presented by Verizon." But I have to assume it was part of the "package" Verizon paid for, and could therefore be considered paid advertising.
That is already happening in Canada on CTV and Global owned networks. Canada was about two years ahead of U.S. networks with full-time channel BUGs (Big Ugly Graphics) (aka, channel logos). And they shrink the end-of-show credits to microscopic sizes so that all the people who worked on the show remain unknown. Oh, and there's advertising in the closed captioning too.We probably aren't too far away from there being paid advertising at the bottom of the screen.
Good times!
It's invaded a lot of shows. Not network specific.
FOX did this several times this season. I specifically remember seeing the hashtag #Bones during several different airings of new episodes of Bones.
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