On 10 Apr 97, David Allan wrote to All:
 DA> endless self-promotion that they, and many other pay services,
 DA> do between programs... only now, they are running their
 DA> promotional announcements "during" the feature presentations.
 DA> a promo is still a commercial, (it's just for them, that's all)...
 DA> but to interupt a program which we, as subscribers, have come
 DA> to expect to be un-interupted...
I agree Disney is taking self-promotion too far.  But there is a reason they 
are doing it.  Disney Channel is very rapidly becoming a non-pay station on 
most cable systems.  That is to say, it is becoming part of cable "basic 
service" on most cable systems.  Since it's no longer a "premium channel" you 
can expect to see more interruptions in the future, and I would say within 2 
or 3 years, you'll be seeing regular commercials ads for everything from 
energizer batteries to Care Bears merchandise.  Disney is going to become 
more like Nickolodeon and less like a premium service as time goes on.  Right 
now, it's in the metamorphasis stage.  The reason, of course, is that in 
accepting advertising, the cable channel can earn far more revenue than it 
can simply as a subscriber channel.  And we all know that in Hollywood, money 
is the bottom line, not quality of programming or presentation.  Buena Vista 
is no exception to that rule.  Unfortunately.
Disney does another thing that really troubles me.  On their video releases, 
they hype "discounts" on the outside packaging.  But every "rebate" requires 
you to go out and spend, on other products, twice what the rebate is, just to 
get the rebate!  Buy 3 General Mills cereals, it says, and get 5 dollars 
back. At 4 to 5 bucks a box, that's a 12 to 15 dollar expense - just to get 
back 5 dollars!  On top of that, you have to take away from your "profit" the 
cost of the stamp you use to send all that stuff in for the rebate.  It's a 
total scam.  I suppose if you have kids, and already buy those cereals or 
whatever, it can work for you.  But if you don't have kids and don't eat 
cereals, you get no discount at all.  And now, in Hunchback, they had an 
offer of some plastic snowglobe for like, 3 payments of 22 bucks.  Wow!  
That's one expensive globe!  Sounds suspiciously like one of those ripoff 
Franklin Mint things.  Anyhow, the videos are now becoming delivery systems 
for Disney advertisements.  It was one thing years ago to just get a little 
catalog of coming video attractions, but now a veritable boxload of junk mail 
drops out of the clammshell case whenever you buy and open a Disney video.  
The merchandising is disgusting.  Walt would never have approved.
--- GoldED 2.50
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