From: collins_w@cubldr.colorado.edu
Subject: Annoying Broadcasting Practices
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 15:51:43 GMT


   Do other  people find  the following  broadcasting practices  of  television
stations (and cable) annoying during  programs & movies,   or  am I one of  the
few? :
	   Not showing  all of  the  closing credits  (including  producer/
	distributor logos - sometimes  the closing credit's song  continues
	during these!).

	   Voice-overs during the closing credits (and beyond - see above).

	   Station ID Logos during the program.

	   Putting the  closing  credits  into  a  window  so  someone  can
	announce on screen  about the  upcoming newscast (which  is also  a
	voice-over).


   Is it too much to  ask for the entire program  or movie to be shown  without
anything being removed,   and not  to mess with the  video or audio during  the
program itself?   The television stations can do whatever they want during  the
commercial breaks,   just let us enjoy the  program!   The FCC told me that  TV
stations are only required to identify their  station on the hour (or within  a
reasonable amount of time).  So Station ID Logos during programs are completely
unnecessary.  Our local stations heavily advertise for their other shows,   and
display their logo during this (which is a very appropriate time to do so), and
also during Public Service Announcements - they don't need to do it during  the
shows also!   Here are some of the reasons I told a local TV station of why not
to cutoff the closing credits or to do voice-overs:   Viewers sometimes like to
read the credits to see which actor played a role, what year the show/movie was
produced, listen to the ending song,  ... .  Any other reasons?  These problems
should be very easy for TV stations to fix.   It does not involve changing  any
programming, and in fact should make their job easier (it takes work to display
a logo or add a voice-over)!

   I wrote a local station, KDVR FOX-31 (Denver,  Colo.),  to ask them to solve
these problems with "Saban's Adventures  of The Little Mermaid".   I  explained
that it was especially important to broadcast this show all the way to the  end
because it has  many different closing  credit's songs.   I  also asked if  the
Station ID Logo  was necessary.   Since  this is broadcast  at 6:30AM  Sundays,
voice-overs were not a problem, but I brought it up anyway to be safe. A couple
of broadcasts later (after  a second letter  - which is when  I brought up  the
logo problem), the problems were gone!  They are still broadcasting the show to
the very end,    but the logo  reappeared after three  episodes were  broadcast
without it.  I wrote them again (don't give up :-) ).  But since then they went
off the air before the midpoint,   put on another show (listed as a  commercial
program,  but was a cartoon - and no logo),  and finally showed a whole episode
(but with the damn logo!).  And even worse,   they switched to a new logo a few
weeks ago which is even worse!   In the last letter,   I asked them to consider
fixing these problems for all shows, but at least for the above show (I thought
it would be more likely for them to fix one particular show, than all).  I also
asked some questions in my letters,  but have never received a letter back.   I
think this is terribly unprofessional.  Have other people had this same type of
experience?

   Maybe if more  people complained,   these  problems might be  fixed for  all
shows, at all TV stations! What are your thoughts?


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|				  Neil Collins				      |
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