Or there was the NBC Peacock erupting out of the aerial shot of the lunar post conflagration California landscape where 5 firefighters died, complete with explosion sound. That happened during the Today show this morning, prompting me to turn off the TV, which I should not have turned on in the first place.

I just never learn.

And tell Horace Brown to "lose" that big severe weather map that takes up half the screen.

They do it here too and it drives me nuts. And is it me, or are they getting taller? (i.e. taking up more and more screen realestate.) I'm with you, the downl0ads are looking rather good - I already bought a DVR because I didn't want to constantly be bombarded by ads, if I have to go further to continue it, well so be it. You'd think they could figure out a way to compromise.

(Huh...what's so questionable about the world downl0ad, I wonder?)

Beth, you're right...the teasers are bigger than ever.

It would be slightly less annoying -- but only slightly -- if they were actually providing useful information. Instead, they're just promos for news reports -- something like "The latest on the new Big Spring jail; tune in at 10:00."

As far as the word "døwnload" being unacceptable, blame my overzealous spam filter -- and the countless spammers who apparently make a living touting the practice.

If you watch NASCAR, you'll be pummeled by that kind of thing. I hate the way they choke their audience with advertising. Just show us the d*** race, already!

Funny you mention this. I had similar problems watching The Office last night. Dish Network (satellite company I have for TV) even had a voiceover telling me: "tune to channel Such-And-Such right now for pay-per-view of This Sports Event." Right in the middle of the show.

For that reason, I purchased an Office season pass from iTunes at the start of the season and am currently downloading last night's episode so I can see what I missed while Dish Network was telling me to tune to another channel so I can pay for some boxing match I have no desire to see.

Luckily, the 30 minutes that The Office is showing on Thursdays are the only 30 minutes my TV is on during the week.

Ah, the dreaded Intra-Program Voiceover. I've encountered it only a few times but it's simply reprehensible.

One station -- I think it may be the USA Channel -- tries to be a bit more subtle by using sound effects to accompany its animated bugs...little audio swooshes, if you can picture that (well, in an aural manner). That's still just an inexcusable intrusion upon the viewer's attention, in my opinion.

If you watch NASCAR, you'll be pummeled by that kind of thing. I hate the way they choke their audience with advertising.

Wait a minute. You mean there's a race on during the NASCAR commercials I sometimes watch while I nap? I have got to start paying closer attention in my sleep.

I'm Bret and I approved this message.

I really feel fortunate after reading this post. The only ads we get is a small logo at the top corner of a programme (belongs to which ever channel you are watching and only on some channels), voice overs during the credits and the traditional ad breaks...We are fortunate yet, you here people complaining all the time about the length of the breaks.

Oh, is NASCAR on TV? ;-)

Rachel, the advertising breaks are a whole other issue, and probably one reason why people are fleeing to NetFlix, Tivo, YouTube, iTunes, etc. in droves. It's like Bret said...most channels now occasionally interrupt their commercials to show a bit of a program.

Eric ... how about someone delivering your observations - in person - to the News Director, Promotions Director, and General Manager at station-in-question?

Any volunteers among the other commenters to this post?

Guess I'll have to do it :-)