DVR - Is It Good or Bad?

                Nowadays, peoples’ patience is a fraction of what it used to be. Back when television was first invented, no one minded watching the commercials in between segments of their programs. However, with the speed and “instant gratification” that the internet, smart phones, and a number of modern conveniences provide today, many peoples’ patience has shriveled up. Everyone wants everything instantaneously, whether it’s fast food, online purchases or TV shows. When my brother is watching videos online, for example, it’s usually best to walk out of earshot if the video takes more than seven seconds to load; his lack of patience is displayed in his colorful language. You also don’t want to be around when a commercial interrupts his show; even sailors could learn a few things from my brother when he’s met with 60 seconds of commercials. What many people don’t seem to appreciate, however, is that those commercials help pay for the programs we love to watch. Running a TV station isn’t cheap, and it certainly isn’t free. Expecting commercial-less, free TV shows is like expecting to have perfect spring weather year-round and then being shocked and offended when winter shows up as scheduled.

                Although modern conveniences like DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) are certainly convenient, one should consider the impact of thousands of people using such devices. If a large percentage of the people watching television shows are watching them from pre-recorded devices, skipping past “annoying” commercials, why would companies continue paying for expensive advertising slots? There’s no point in advertising on television if no one is going to be watching your commercial. No one’s going to be tempted to buy your product if they don’t see the advertisement for it in the first place. If companies stop paying for advertising space, then the TV stations they advertised on will make less money and will have to lower the prices of their advertising slots. When companies decide that advertising on television is too expensive and yields too few results, they’ll decide to advertise elsewhere. Meanwhile, TV stations will be stuck with all of the same expenses as before, but will receive less and less revenue from advertisements. Television as we know it may well come to an end if TV stations aren’t able to cope with this loss of revenue.