Bad TV Timing
A TV viewer from the Midwest "Speaks Out."

Don't know if this occurs in the Los Angeles Television market or not, but it does here in the quad state (Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee) market.

I've noticed it particularly with primetime shows on CBS and NBC. CBS seems to keep an accurate hourly schedule, but NBC seems to try and start it's shows one to two minutes ahead of the competition.

One of the most glaring instances of this practice occurs on Thursdays. I'll be watching CSI on CBS, and just as it ends NBC has already started ER. If one stays tuned to CSI for a preview of the next show, one misses the first minute or so of ER.

Don't know who's at fault here, but my word is be fair to your audience start and stop your show on the hour as scheduled, don't try and get a jump on the competition, all it does is create irritation in the viewer.

Something else irritating is the constant placement of logos somewhere on the screen during the entire run of a show (except for commercials of course). Don't you think we know what we're watching?

Filed December, 2002.