My question is about a tv program?

This may be an obvious question. I've noticed when a TV news program goes on a commercial and I switch around to other TV news programs, they ALL seem to go to commercials at the same time. Is this planned so people won't surf? It's VERY ANNOYING!

• Answer:

  I would guess that the networks and advertisers have done research that shows what the most effective times are for the viewers to be receptive to ads; then all the advertisers use that same effective time scheduling. It seemed that many years ago shows would roll the opening credits and then go straight to a commercial. Now they seem to go right into the show's first scene and save the commercials for the middle and toward the end. From this observation, I'd say you have a better chance of keeping the viewer stationary because they're already comfortably still from watching the first scene. Useful tangent: TV is about ads, not shows.