Intrusive ads are ruining my cricket viewing

[Dissector]

I am sure all the Indian posters know what I am talking about. I caught a bit of the test this morning and Neo Sports has plumbed new depths of intrusiveness and annoyance even by the standards of Indian sports channels. Every few balls they have to shrink the screen to show a logo. After a wicket they switch immediately to ads instead of showing a replay. And though it isn't an ad, they have an annoying full screen when they return to live cricket after a replay. And of course the replay itself itself is an opportunity to plaster a logo.

Now I know that ads pay for the broadcasts but beyond a point they become counterproductive. Certainly the sheer annoyance and frequency of the ads makes me watch less cricket than I otherwise would. Is that what Neo wants?

And the brands that do this need to re-think their marketing strategy.In moderation I can enjoy well-produced ads but constantly annoying me while watching cricket is damaging not promoting their brand.

[Langeveldt]

Welcome to the future, cricket is a game which is now driven by money over substance, get used to it or find a different sport to obsess over..

[Arjun]

This has been raised a few times already, because this has persisted for over a decade. Things were a lot worse when Doordarshan had telecast rights to cricket in India. It's annoying, no doubt, but a lot better than it was then.

That Dial C for Confrontation is a whole story by itself. I wonder what really is the plan behind that show.

[Dissector]

Originally Posted by Langeveldt

Welcome to the future, cricket is a game which is now driven by money over substance, get used to it or find a different sport to obsess over..

See, the thing is that even from the point of view of making money it's a bad strategy. For one thing if the ads become really annoying they tend to drive away viewers who have lots of other entertainment choices. Secondly companies pay money to promote their brands and improve their image. Constantly stuffing your logo down the viewers' throats doesn't really do this. Focus on making creative, entertaining ads that viewers actually enjoy watching. Quality matters more than quantity and beyond a certain point quantity actually damages your brand.

If the advertisers and channels showed just a bit of moderation everyone would be better off. Cricket fans would get a better viewing experience. Channels would get more viewers and advertisers would genuinely promote their brands instead of annoying fans.

[Dissector]

Originally Posted by Arjun

This has been raised a few times already, because this has persisted for over a decade. Things were a lot worse when Doordarshan had telecast rights to cricket in India. It's annoying, no doubt, but a lot better than it was then.

That Dial C for Confrontation is a whole story by itself. I wonder what really is the plan behind that show.

The old DD coverage was terrible in terms of technical quality and commentary but I don't really remember intrusive ads popping up during the cricket itself; no doubt because they didn't have the technology. I think the problem is getting worse actually with a greater frequency of pop-ups. And my impression is that channels like ESPN/Star which used to be better are becoming almost as bad as the others.

[Richard]

Have heard about this for a good few years. What I'd say is that people who have realised that there's much money to be made out of something generally tend to have the eyes go bigger than the stomach for a while (as we're seeing currently) then, eventually, realise they've gone too far and find the happy-medium.

Hopefully eventually this will happen with the ads on Indian cricket saga.

[Shri]

Originally Posted by Arjun

This has been raised a few times already, because this has persisted for over a decade. Things were a lot worse when Doordarshan had telecast rights to cricket in India. It's annoying, no doubt, but a lot better than it was then.

That Dial C for Confrontation is a whole story by itself. I wonder what really is the plan behind that show.

Moments after India won the second Test, we were watching Tendulkar on a bike rather than on his team-mates.

I will take the ad thanks.

[Pratters]

Indian broadcast of cricket is pathetic.

[Arjun]

There's this Eng/SA game on TEN Sports, and at 23.3 overs, with Roelof about to bowl, I see what looks like a massive flash drive. Then, at 23.5 overs, the screen gets squashed for an ad graphic underneath.

All channels have this problem. It isn't worse for any channel, and surely a lot better than those dark days of DD. We now have the ads around the footage, not running through it! So it is an annoyance, but nowhere a turn-off as in the DD/Sahara era.

[zaremba]

We've got it lucky in England. I suspect it has to do with the domination and influence of the ad-free BBC, and also state broadcasting regulations, but the intrusiveness of advertising in British commercial broadcasting is a fraction of what it is elsewhere. Even Sky is pretty good about it.

[Jono]

I've watched some Indian feeds when I'm in Singapore (they have like three 24 hour cricket channels, wtf Foxtel? Get your act into gear) and yeah it can be ****ing irritating.


What's getting ****ing woeful here in Australia is Betfair ads during the ACTUAL COVERAGE on Channel 9. Firstly, I am quite a big sports gambler (in terms of frequency, not necessarily stake) and secondly, I use Betfair. So I'm not anti-gambling or anything.

But I do not need to know the odds of random markets every 30 minutes. Yes I understand that corporate sponsorship involves having to give up time on air, and add value to the company. But FFS.

Plus one of the markets they advertised today was "WI highest runscorer - Gayle, Dowlin or any other batsmen"

I was on that exact market when they showed it, there was $7 available for "any other batsmen" which was offered at - $2.20. At least choose a ****ing liquid market!

[GingerFurball]

Could be worse, could be listening to that **** Tony Greig on channel 9.

At least some of the Indian ads are funny. Wasim Akram's ad for the fake sugar is so bad it's brilliant.

[Dissector]

Originally Posted by zaremba

We've got it lucky in England. I suspect it has to do with the domination and influence of the ad-free BBC, and also state broadcasting regulations, but the intrusiveness of advertising in British commercial broadcasting is a fraction of what it is elsewhere. Even Sky is pretty good about it.

Yes that is my theory as well. The BBC sets high standards which shape audience expectations and constrain private channels as well. In India the state broadcaster is crap and heavily commercialized anyway.

[pasag]

Originally Posted by Dissector

I am sure all the Indian posters know what I am talking about. I caught a bit of the test this morning and Neo Sports has plumbed new depths of intrusiveness and annoyance even by the standards of Indian sports channels. Every few balls they have to shrink the screen to show a logo. After a wicket they switch immediately to ads instead of showing a replay. And though it isn't an ad, they have an annoying full screen when they return to live cricket after a replay. And of course the replay itself itself is an opportunity to plaster a logo.

Now I know that ads pay for the broadcasts but beyond a point they become counterproductive. Certainly the sheer annoyance and frequency of the ads makes me watch less cricket than I otherwise would. Is that what Neo wants?

And the brands that do this need to re-think their marketing strategy.In moderation I can enjoy well-produced ads but constantly annoying me while watching cricket is damaging not promoting their brand.

All spot on.

From the little I've seen the Indian advertising industry seems to think bigger, louder is better. The ads during the cricket seem to just have a lot of shouting and seem very tacky. Advertising during play is smart, but there has to be a balance and subtlety to it and over-intrusivness can hurt a brand. I know there's a lot of competition to get noticed in India, but quality in terms of creativity should trump quantity. Was watching the NZ Dilmah tea party thingy the other day during lunch in the cricket and at one stage it did get a bit over the top which I think most people wouldn't have appreciated.

That said, this Indian ad is brilliant - YouTube - Neo Sports Gas

[Shri]

Originally Posted by GingerFurball

Could be worse, could be listening to that **** Tony Greig on channel 9.

At least some of the Indian ads are funny. Wasim Akram's ad for the fake sugar is so bad it's brilliant.

The one with the guitar thing at the end?