Yes, it’s true. There’s a lot of content available on DIRECTV On Demand that doesn’t let you skip commercials. The same is true of the “Restart” functionality that lets you start a show in the middle and rewind to the beginning. It’s a fact. Not only can’t you skip commercials but in many cases rewind and fast forward are disabled. Let’s talk about why.
It’s not the technology (anymore.)
When on demand was new, we were led to believe that you couldn’t fast forward, rewind, or skip commercials because of the way the program was delivered. This was in the relatively early days of streaming and it was possible the servers and streams couldn’t handle it. Of course we fast forward and rewind all the time on other streaming services so that isn’t really the cause anymore, is it?
It’s the lawyers. It’s always the lawyers.
The real reason you can’t skip commercials on most on-demand recordings of TV shows is simple. The lawyers don’t want you to. I’m sure that the contract that allows AT&T to record a show and store it locally for on-demand broadcast has something in it. Some phrase, some clause, some whatever. The point is that you’re forced to watch commercials that you can’t skip.
This sort of thing is actually common. If you stream using the ABC or NBC apps you will find commercials you can’t skip. If you are on the lower tier of Hulu or All Access you’ll find non-skippable commercials too. It’s not DIRECTV. It’s everyone. Pointing the finger at one provider isn’t fair.
It boils down to some very common-sense laws that say you can’t record something and rebroadcast it for profit unless the copyright owner says it’s ok. AT&T is profiting from the fact that you pay them for TV service, so the law applies.
After all, we have to remember that commercials are the things that make broadcast TV possible and unless people watch them, they’re worthless.
Are there options?
Well, with a Genie 2 DVR you have about 2 terabytes of recording space and you can record 7 things at once. You can set up 100 recurring recordings and an infinite number of manual ones. This means that if you want, you can record a lot of stuff and then if you want you can watch it without commercials.
The law that forces AT&T to put non-skippable commercials in doesn’t apply to your recordings because you’re using them at home and not charging anyone. The term for this is “fair use.” The law allows it according to several high-profile legal cases.
The best option may be to just sit and wait. AT&T’s DIRECTV NOW streaming service has cloud DVR, which is essentially an on-demand playback service. It lets you skip commercials. Remember it’s the same set of lawyers negotiating both, so it may be possible that the non-skippable commercials on DIRECTV satellite could just naturally go away. I wouldn’t count on it but it is at least possible.
Hello Stuart Sweet and Everyone, With this article I think of the Bard of Avon. William Shakespeare. His play Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2. The full quote is “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”. It is among Shakespeare’s most famous lines, as well as one of his most controversial, and has been used as the title of movies and books Dick the Butcher advised Cade. Of course there are many variations to this quote as it gets changed with many people fondly misquoting.
When networks aired a show it was the milk, coffee, cigarette commercials that paid for the programs. In came cable in the 1980’s. The whole idea was now WE were paying for the show so it was commercial free. Over the years they have wiggled more and more commercial’s into paid programming. NOW we can’t fast forward and are forced to watch these same four government commercial’s. Two are screening for potential lung cancer, one for breast cancer and the last some idiot guy that has a problem with texting. It’s the same ones over and over. Now a 20 minute show airs these 4 same commercials 3 times. It’s over kill. I have personally boycotted most shows that have these ridiculous redundant mind numbing ads. Maybe is other people did the same they would get the hint. I am on the verge of getting rid of DirecTV and going with an online service that is 100% commercial free. They are liars saying we have to be forced to watch these shows because that’s how these companies make their money. They are making THAT money because I AM paying for the service of watching that particular tv show. How dumb do you think the American public are.
This, exactly!! My daughter has been watching an On Demand cartoon for the last hour or so, and every few minutes it plays the same Best Buy commercial, sometimes up to 3 times in a row before her program comes back on. It’s absolutely ridiculous!