the tv remote vs the greed of tv stations : part 1

gma7 fought with the advertising industry and the kbp on too much commercial load a few years ago. the kbp fined gma7 for putting too many commercials into its tv shows, violating kbp guidelines on the maximum number of commercials allowed that was followed by the industry.

the kbp, like the adboard is a self-regulating body created by the industry itself and everyone for many years have followed its rulings and guidelines. gma7 was adamant with its stand, saying first they did not violate the rules then later on when given evidence said they said were not bound by the rules of the kbp. when it was clear that gma7 will be sanctioned by the kbp and supported by the advertising industry, gma7 did the most despicable move that demonstrated guilt - it withdrew its membership to the KBP so that it is no longer bound by it's rules and regulations.

i thought that was a dumb ass move that would eventually not only hurt gma7 but more importantly hurt the broadcasting industry and advertising as whole. i felt gma7 was simply satisfying it's greed for revenues and profits (more commercial load, more ad revenues) putting the broadcasting and advertising industry in jeopardy. in satisfying it's gluttony, it was killing the industry that it was getting it's food from.

more importantly, i thought that move will eventually hurt the tv audience. let's not forget, people watch television for the shows, not the commercials. ask any tv viewer and i'm sure 100% of them will probably say they prefer not to watch commercials at all.

aside from the unwatchable tv shows, the large number of tv commercials in a show are two reasons i hardly watch local tv stations. i prefer to watch cable tv where there is a tolerable number of interruptions. i usually force myself to watch local newscasts and when i do that, the tv remote is always in my hand and would switch channels every commercial break. i am practically on a commercial free viewing, thanks to my tv remote.

and that is what i find as most striking in what abrera said - "when we overload shows with commercials, we are actually teaching the audience to avoid them".

tv watching is not just a behavior, it is essentially a habit that modern humans have formed. it is formed over time and through constant repetition. habits are formed when humans acquire something good or pleasurable out of it or on the other side of it, to avoid something bad or unpleasant.

the latter - avoidance of something bad or unpleasant is what abrera is referring to when she said "we are actually teaching the audience to avoid them". every tv has a remote these days and that means every audience has one in his hand. the power to watch or not to watch anything is literally in the hands of the audience.

that is the impact of what gma7 did. it's over and beyond revenues, fighting with the KBP or fighting with the ad industry, it's affecting audience behavior, the group everyone i mentioned above are after.

any marketer and advertising practitioner know that the core of what we will do is first affecting an attitude change that will lead to a habit change, forming a new one or changing an old one.

gma7 for sure knows that. and it is sad that one of the two largest tv networks in the country is involved in the formation of a new habit that will hurt not only itself but most specially the whole ad industry. if abrera is right, and i think she is, it looks like gma7 gave itself and the whole ad industry a poison pill.

gma7? a WAWAM!

more on this, next in WAWAM!...