(This is from Carol:)
Yoo Hoo, David!
On June 9th '97 you wrote to me:
 DM> CK> Anything Disney does can be "fair", to Disney.
 DM>
 DM>         I disagree. It's fair to Disney, but not fair to customers who'd
 DM> like to record their favorite movies.
Ever hear of the "pause" button on a VCR? ;-)  Or "paws" since we are
discussing TLK. ;-)  We record movies off air all the time and edit the
commercials or breaks out.
 DM> There's no room for commercial
 DM> breaks in movies like the Lion King. It messes up all the atmosphere.
The broadcast networks and TV stations have aired movies with commercial
interruptioons all the time, for years.  Besides, TLK is available on
home video, professionally recorded, no interruptions.  The trend Disney
home video seems to be doing lately of loading a trillion promotional
spots at the head of new video releases is obnoxious, however, IMHO.
 DM> Well, this is just my opionion -- I could be wrong. However, when I get
 DM> to receive pay tv here, it's normal not to see any commercials while
 DM> they show a movie. No TV station logos, no breaks for weather
 DM> forecasting, and most of all no one who annoys the viewer to buy
 DM> something.
Same here, except, as I mentioned originally and you requoted, The Disney
Channel _as it exists in the US_ is negotiating to be a basic/enhanced
basic programming service, like CNN is, for instance.  Last week News
Corp. which owns FOX, announced it has purchased the Family Channel on
US cable (the channel owned at one time by preacher Pat Robertson).  News
Corp. plans to put FOX Kids programming on the channel.  You see, they
all see the fantastic ratings Nickelodeon gets, and they want similar
ratings too, so Disney and FOX want to compete for that audience.  The
Disney Channel in Europe generally or each European country may be
different.
 DM>         Yuck. This is what I meant. I wouldn't be bothered if it was
 DM> like this: (I hope that explains it much better) =)
 DM>
 DM> 20:00 news
 DM> 20:15 commercials
 DM> 20:20 Lionking
 DM> 21:55 news
Oh, you just want a 24 hour a day/365 day a year Lion King Channel!!! ;-)
 DM>         I'm sorry if you disagree with this, Carol, but it's just my own
 DM> little opinion, and I'm happy when I've a nice movie on video to watch
 DM> without being bothered with commercials or something. =)
It's not a matter of "disagreeing".  It's a matter of observing how these
huge corporations are competing with each other for a share of a certain
marketplace.
 DM> CK> Disney is negotiating with cable companies all over the US to put
 DM> CK> the channel on basic or enhanced basic programming tiers rather
 DM> CK> than on premium "pay extra" such as HBO and Cinemax are.  The
 DM> CK> reason is that Disney Channel wants to compete with Nickelodeon,
 DM> CK> which is a very top rated (in terns of number of viewers) cable
 DM> CK> channel and that channel's commercial appeal is to kids and
 DM> CK> families.
 DM>
 DM>         There had been Nickelodeon on TV here as well, and I liked it
 DM> very much. Unfortunately it's gone and I have no idea why and where.
If there is a date when this started, perhaps you can go back to a business
newspaper to research why.  Major corporations do announce stuff like this.
Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom.
 DM> So,
 DM> the Disney channel will soon not be a pay tv channel anymore?
It's being negotiated, yes.  In the *US*.  In Europe the Disney Channel is
fairly new and is now expanding.  I have no idea what their business
practices and competitions are over there.
 DM> Carol -- ?
David???? ;-)
 DM> I wish I could explain better how I meant that when I was so sad with
 DM> the commercials. It's just that I find them highly disturbing. And often
 DM> annoying.
Disclaimer:  My husband helps make TV commercials for a living. ;-)
OK:  Yep, sometimes commercials can be annoying.  But commercials and
advertising are accepted business practices.  So is "cross-promotion",
in which you see Coca-Cola bottles touting winning a free trip to WDW
and WDW prominently selling Coke, or McDonald's doing a lot of Disney
toys and merchandise if you will come in and buy large enough quantities
of their food, and the prospect of McDs operating restaurants on Disney
theme park property.
 DM> Sure Disney needs their own commercials, but I'd never like to
 DM> see them in movie breaks. I think that would make me a little angry
 DM> then, and that's sure not what those commercials are made for.
Use the remote control of your VCR to "zap" through the commercials.
And nowadays it's tough to find _anything_ without some sort of commercial
purpose or tie-in.  I just noticed on "Disney Inside Out" yesterday at
the Goofy Barnstormer rollercoaster at WDW's MK is sponsored by Friskies,
a cat food manufacturer.  :: shrug ::
 DM> CK> Current Disney Channel management, BTW, does come from Nickelodeon.
 DM>
 DM>         =) Do you like it too? Nickelodeon?
A lot of their shows I do like, yes.  "Rugrats" is funny, and they
rerun "Tiny Toon Adventures" on the weekends.  Nick is _very_ highly
rated in the US and they run an area at Universal Studios Florida that
competes with Disney Studios Theme Park in Orlando.  They even tape
TV shows there with studio audiences.  Kids love to see adults getting
green slimed.  ;-)  Honestly, Nickelodeon is VERY popular in the US,
which is why Disney and FOX want to compete with that success on the
same turf.  Fair enough.  Competition keeps everyone on their toes.
For the record, I'm not nuts about the trend on the Disney Channel to
have breaks inturrupt thier programming either.  At least the breaks
promote other Disney Channel programming, for now.  Enjoy it now.  These
are the "good ol' days". ;-)
 DM>         And they can show as many commercials as they want, just NOT
 DM> while the movies! =) Just wanted to say it louder so they can hear me
[....snippage....]
OK, I get the idea.  ;-)
--Carol Koster, Co-Moderator, Fidonet Disney Echo
--- April V1.0+
(1:3828/1.3)
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