Getting commercials at the worst possible time

[Zorlac]

Recording the MLB playoffs and haven't had any real issues (though 1 game was cut short at the start of the 9nth inning even though I set the timer to use the 90 minute extension).

However the last 2 games I recorded between Astros/Yankees has been a disaster. Im getting commercial breaks at the worst time, literally just now when the Yankees pitcher was in his wind up about to pitch I get a goddamn commercial.

This can't be FS1's doing because they can't be that stupid. These commercials are from that stupid *service* that Dish uses that injects targeted commercials they think I want to see (A: they're never relevant to me and B: I skip thru commercials when watching DVR content always.). I know its the case because if you rewind the injected commercial either changes to whatever original commercial was showing, or in the case of watching this game the commercial goes away, so its clear there was never a commercial break to begin with.

The targeted commercial crap needs to stop. Its bad enough I was getting irrelevant commercials that were supposedly based on my viewing habits (again, they never are, Im getting these constant commercials for some Spanish speaking shows on Univision or something even though I don't speak or watch Spanish content). But now its actively screwing up my DVR'd content and doing it at the most spectacularly worse possible times.

edit: just finished watching. Lol Yankees.

 

[DISH Support]

Recording the MLB playoffs and haven't had any real issues (though 1 game was cut short at the start of the 9nth inning even though I set the timer to use the 90 minute extension).

However the last 2 games I recorded between Astros/Yankees has been a disaster. Im getting commercial breaks at the worst time, literally just now when the Yankees pitcher was in his wind up about to pitch I get a goddamn commercial.

This can't be FS1's doing because they can't be that stupid. These commercials are from that stupid *service* that Dish uses that injects targeted commercials they think I want to see (A: they're never relevant to me and B: I skip thru commercials when watching DVR content always.). I know its the case because if you rewind the injected commercial either changes to whatever original commercial was showing, or in the case of watching this game the commercial goes away, so its clear there was never a commercial break to begin with.

The targeted commercial crap needs to stop. Its bad enough I was getting irrelevant commercials that were supposedly based on my viewing habits (again, they never are, Im getting these constant commercials for some Spanish speaking shows on Univision or something even though I don't speak or watch Spanish content). But now its actively screwing up my DVR'd content and doing it at the most spectacularly worse possible times.

edit: just finished watching. Lol Yankees.

Zorlac, I know this is a frustrating situation to get commercials in the middle of a game but as a Pay-TV Provider, we are only able to rebroadcast what the channel owner has provided us to broadcast to customers. DISH does not choose what or when channels are aired. -Rosita L.

 

[Zorlac]

Sorry but that's not correct. These are commercials Dish is injecting in DVR'd content using the service that occasionally shows targeted ads. I rewatched some innings just now and it happened again during a pitch, this time it was a campaign ad for Bernie Sanders. I know its the targeted ads because there is always a black screen for a second or 2 when it loads the commercial. If I immediately rewind 10 seconds the ad does not play and the game is uninterrupted. I can absolutely replicate the issue too.

This is on Dish's end, not on FS1. These are not regularly scheduled commercials during breaks. Dish's targeted ad service is screwing up. I can absolutely replicate the issue.

 

[The Fat Man]

Is it where the recording on FS1 had the ad inserted by Dish, or is it the ad being injected while using the DVR. I believe you mean the latter, but just want to make sure. I thought that you could rewind the recording, and catch what you missed. It's like an inserted ad during a YouTube video. If you backup the video after watching the ad, you can watch the video uninterrupted. The ad is then gone. It's a nuisance all the same, and since we already pay subscription fees and DVR fees, perhaps needing to make money off locally inserted ads is just plain greedy at this point. Either charge me the DVR fee and remove the ads, or keep the ads and get rid of my DVR fee.

Personally, I've always hated targeted local ads going all the way back to the standard channel tuning cable boxes when I had Media One. During the first season of South Park, my town expanded its channel lineup, adding Comedy Central amongst other channels. We were plagued with local ads being put on in place of the start of a segment of programming. The April Fools episode in season one when they teased that they were going to reveal Cartman's father, then made the episode about Terrance and Phillip was a huge mess. We sat watching the episode not knowing what was going on, because the April Fools gag explaining the episode and the first 90 seconds of the episode were cut off by locally inserted commercials. That was they day I hated grew to hate the lady with the lisp who wouldn't shut up about Eco Bags. I spent a long time mimicking her lisp yelling eco bags over and over again, due to that commercial being the last one before the episode started.

 

[Zorlac]

Black screen then commercial. Rewind 10 seconds, commercial goes away. These aren't broadcast commercials but Dish's literal own service that is at fault. For me I became really annoyed when Dish started showing those Wells Fargo commercials with that annoying song (the 2 idiots in the hotel listening to a very annoying song wearing headphones while their kid is sleeping). Then I started getting these corny Spanish only commercials, even though I don't speak or watch Spanish speaking content. I subscribe to Polish international pack so how that makes me fluent in Spanish is fuzzy. The targeted ad crap is total nonsense and just plain doesn't work.

 

[DishSubLA]

Sometimes the system designed to insert commercials from the local HDD will do so when it should NOT--like in the middle of a program, or it will mis-fire and then end late and dump us into the program already in progress, along with other stupid things and interruptions it causes.

The ONLY good thing about this is that in almost every instance--becaue the commercials are on the local HDD--I have been able to to REW/FFW or whatever "Trick" I play to get me to a point where the local insert commercial can't play--usually the content that was sent as part of the live stream via sat the the local HDD commercial plays OVER--and then it proceeds to showing me all the content I had missed because the live stream is still layed down on the HDD becasue I managed to get to a point AFTER the local insert HDD commercial would received it cue to play, and then I see the content is replaced with the previously live stream for the sat and continue watching the missing show content the stupid local HDD ad played over.

I kind of got the hang of doing it, but there are some nights when there a SEVERAL instances of the insert technology not working properly that I have to do my tricks multiple times an night, and then other nights it seems to work as it should. Just be aware the content is still there to be viewed, but it takes a trick to learn. I hope that made sense. I'm certain others on this forum MUST also perform the slight of hand trick dealing with the local HDD commercial inserts playing over the content we want to watch.

 

[DishSubLA]

Black screen then commercial. Rewind 10 seconds, commercial goes away. These aren't broadcast commercials but Dish's literal own service that is at fault. For me I became really annoyed when Dish started showing those Wells Fargo commercials with that annoying song (the 2 idiots in the hotel listening to a very annoying song wearing headphones while their kid is sleeping). Then I started getting these corny Spanish only commercials, even though I don't speak or watch Spanish speaking content. I subscribe to Polish international pack so how that makes me fluent in Spanish is fuzzy. The targeted ad crap is total nonsense and just plain doesn't work.

UTTERLY AGREE about that STUPID Wells Fargo local insert commercial, and I have you to blame for resurrecting that memory of HORROR after I had forgotten all about it. He, he, he!! The worst was that the Wells Fargo ad was being played like--ALL THE TIME--and because it was a local HDD insert, pressing forward SKIP would not necessarily take you OUT of the commercial. Sometimes and can take 6 Skip Forwards just to advance OUT of a 30 second local HDD insert commercial. I had panic attacks when the stupid Wells Fargo ad played. Expanding to commercials NOT inserted locally, I find ALL Geico commercials utterly stupid, not funny, nor amusing, nor creative, a the product of truly inferior writers like the experience of watching an episode of Small Wonder compared to supreme writing of The Golden Girls.

Unfortunately that DS does not know his/her own product well enough to even reply with a "Sorry, but live with it" response because that would at least indicate that they really understand what you are talking about. .

 

[eddie willers]

I find ALL Geico commercials utterly stupid, not funny, nor amusing,

What are you...a caveman?

 

[DishSubLA]

What are you...a caveman?

Oh, especially the CAVEMAN ones were UBER STUPID.

 

[eddie willers]

Oh, especially the CAVEMAN ones were UBER STUPID.

Would a roast duck with a mango salsa sooth your umbrage?

 

[Jim5506]

Oh, especially the CAVEMAN ones were UBER STUPID.

But you remember them, that's the point of advertising. You may not buy their product, but you remember it and it is in your mind. Others will buy.

 

[eddie willers]

Oh, especially the CAVEMAN ones were UBER STUPID.

But you remember them, that's the point of advertising. You may not buy their product, but you remember it and it is in your mind. Others will buy.

They should bring them back and show cavemen trying to cancel Geico on Twitter and Facebook.

 

[DishSubLA]

But you remember them, that's the point of advertising. You may not buy their product, but you remember it and it is in your mind. Others will buy.

NO! the point of the advertising is NOT that I or others remember them, but that I and others remember them AND PURCHASE their product or service. Yes, some ad campaigns are all about anything than the product itself (1st stage is to get name recognition, but the 2nd stage is to get people to BUY the product or service) , but the ad company will not be retained if the ultimate goal of increased sales is not evident.

In addition to remembering the ad, it is essential that the viewer has a positive impression that will draw the consumer with the expectation of a positive experience, even if that experience is all about their ego or how the product presents a desired image to others such as the car your drive or that $1000 phone that says something about you/us, but when it comes to insurance, the vast majority of people are looking at the bottom line ONLY or coverage/terms/deductible/cap, bundled savings, etc. and reputation/service--the last example often word of mouth or recommendation of your insurance agent who is NOT influenced by caveman commercials, but by what they get out of singing you up to that company. A particular insurance company is not something we are able to display for others to judge us in an acceptable/cool way. Maybe the kids will go for the caveman company, but most grown-ups will often find satisfaction with the countless unheard of names in insurance (often owned by the well-known big names in insurance) because we like the product better and even the better treatment, however slight, should we have to deal with people at that company.

There is an advertisers' nightmare of being remembered for the wrong reasons. I remember LOTS of bad products and services and I have NEVER purchased such things again. The negative experience--especially the negative experience of watching a horrible commercial can just as powerfully dissuade you from a product/service or company in general--of having used a bad product or service is remembering something for the wrong reasons that will not result in an ultimate success.

 

[Jim5506]

Remembering has got you half way there.

 

[Tampa8]

Sometime ago there was a list of popular commercials that were ended by companies because they weren't increasing sales or not by enough. That's not to say popular ads you remember can't also increase sales, they do.

I knew nothing about Geico insurance when the Caveman ads came out, in my case they have had my business since - but they kept it not because of their continued great advertising they kept me because of the rates.

 

[DishSubLA]

Remembering has got you half way there.

UM, but the other half is KEY: motivation to buy the product or service. First half of campaign: Name Recognition (which can also be achieved with the powerful "word of mouth" that in today's technology spread like wildfire on social media, the internet; but THEN WHAT? Name recognition will NOT result in sales, but the second half is what makes all the difference in the world.

I suspect that Geico's stupid, humorless, commercials are targeting YOUNGER demographics who choose a product for its "cool" commercials, while grown-ups eventually--after the "stupid" commercial want to hear about attributes of an insurance company that relate to them (and past negative experiences with insurance companies) such as price, coverage, deductible, bundled savings, or annual savings, willingness to insure higher risk people (and they pay for it) and even some people are willing to pay more if an insurance company has a better reputation of paying legitimate claims within reasonable times instead of the companies who are extremely slow with the checks, constantly putting you off and/or NOT paying legitimate claims, (denied claim) where you may have to escalate things to your state insurance commissioner--if that fixes things, and that is still a PITA. Just getting half-way there is still NOT getting there.