There was a time when television programs commenced exactly on the hour or half-hour. You could count on it. You could take care of necessaries before your favorite program began. No longer.
Nowadays it appears that many TV programs start two minutes or one minute before the hour. That’s crazy. It’s ridiculous. And why are the networks doing this to us?
Perhaps there are articles reviewing this practice. I haven’t found them. Then again, I haven’t looked for them. I assume the reason for this change is “competition.” The networks have decided that providing a brief preview to the next program as a teaser won’t suffice. Instead, they have to launch the next program a minute before the hour, presumably a minute before their competition, until their competitors decide to match that strategy.
Stop this madness, Networks! Yes, you. You seem to be the main offenders although I’ve found this practice rampant on cable channels, such as MsNBC, of late.
Go back to the certainty of starting programs on the hour or half hour. Stop starting programs a minute or even two minutes before the hour. Give us a chance to refresh between programs without having to worry that we’ve missed the first minute or two, often the most important in melodramas.
