19 Jun 08 Internet Bypasses TV In The UK

According to ZDNet, Internet advertising in the UK will overtake TV this year. I am not suprised really, it was almost bound to happen at some point.

Take myself. I watch very little television, mostly because I am not interested in much of the content;  secondly because on network television there are so many commercial breaks it spoils the few things I am interested in watching. I really don’t want to see an ad for injury lawyers, or for a new drug every 6-7 minutes.

Now, I appreciate that everything costs money, and advertising pays for those costs; after all, I have a number of blogs on which I carry advertising, including this one, as it pays for the costs of running them. However, no-one has to click on any ads on my sites, unless they want to, and that’s the same on most other sites I visit.

I keep in touch with what’s going on in the world. I read the local newspaper. I read the New York Times. I get a daily podcast of the Wall Street Journal. I frequently visit the BBC news site – as I feel they are less biased, and more trustworthy in their news reporting than Fox, or CNN for example.

Sometimes, I find the advertisements on web sites are useful. Sometimes I click on them, and read about the product and service that is interesting me. Sometimes I go on to make a purchase. One reason is that the advertisements online are more likely to relate to what you’re reading, unlike on television, where a commercial for a backache pill comes in the middle of a history documentary.

Tags: advertisements, bbc, bbc news, blogs, cnn, commercial breaks, costs money, fox, history documentary, injury lawyers, internet advertising, network television, new york times, news site, one reason, podcast, spoils, wall street, wall street journal, zdnet