Lost Scheduling

A couple of months ago, I noted that Channel 4 are running Lost in a timeslot that lasts 65 minutes. What I didn’t know was how many ads they were squeezing into the slot. Today, Ofcom upheld complaints about the way the ads were scheduled within it.
The problem seems to be twofold:
1) C4, recognising that they’ve got a hit on their hands, are stuffing the show full of the maximum advertising and promotional spots within it.
2) There are Ofcom rules about how far apart breaks should be. The trouble is that US series, with break patterns built into them from the script stage, are based on the premise that there are breaks fairly soon after the start and before the end, since programmes run seamlessly in the states without breaks between them. UK broadcasters won’t use these “early” spots, so using the built in breaks leaves central sections too close together. This can mean that UK broadcasters have to find their own breakpoints.
Despite (2), the real problem in my view is that a 42 minute show without ads should never run 65 minutes when they’re added. You just annoy the viewer.
You’d think it was in C4’s interest to get people to import the rather fine region 1 box set rather than watch C4’s broadcasts. It doesn’t cost much more than the half-series they’re selling in the UK just now.


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