A study by the NYU Stern School of Business found that when people found TV shows more interesting when they were interrupted by ads. Well done scientists, you proved your hypothesis!
“It is the purpose of this article to examine the key hypothesis that program attitudes are related to future program exposure. Specifically, we will compare the relationship of current attitudes and program exposure to future exposure (that is, future program ratings). If program attitudes are as strongly related to future ratings as prior exposure, they should be regarded as a valid criterion of program effectiveness.”
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Chewing won’t help — the bottom line is that these guys wanted to prove that people stay interested in a TV show when it’s taken away from them for a few minutes by commercials. Yeah, and when you take a nookie from a baby, kid goes “waaaaaaa”.
James Hibberd of The Live Feed writes:
“Researchers at the NYU Stern School of Business found viewers say they preferred to avoid advertisements, yet rated their overall experience of watching a TV show higher when commercials were included.”
So is the assumption that ads are an unwelcome interruption, wrong? Maybe not. Maybe our brains like the tease — it’s possible that some sadomasochistic trigger in our brains wants the show to be taken away, only to be returned once we’ve been submitted to the pain of advertisements. Like a paddle to a bare-ass, do we love hating ads?
We don’t know about you, but our preference is to watch a show via DVD, all the way through — thereby absorbing the story line without interruption. Hell, that’s why the “play all” feature exists.
The researchers say their study was funded by NYU, not advertisers. Regardless, we’re not biting on this one just yet. What do you think? Use this handy poll to share your thoughts.
Do Commercials Make Shows More Interesting?
( polls)
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