A 30min TV show is about 17min long if you strip out the commercials. You don’t have time to sit through lengthy ads for products you will not buy. How does this inefficiency persist?

Neil Kjeldsen posted the definitive article on the alternatives to TV shows supported by traditional commercials:

… Business models need to change. Content producers cannot rely on network deals, 30 second advertising and, later, dvd sales, to pull in the revenue. Shows will have to stand on their own, and will probably need to be free for the first few episodes to pull in viewers who may eventually be willing to pay. Frankly, I look forward to the day that a show, ignored by the networks, first decides to launch itself on iTunes and go straight to consumers. The press around it would be overwhelming. The first to do it will have a big advantage.

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