As painful as the prospect sounds, You would have to sit through an ENTIRE episode. The proof in the pudding for Big Brother would be rating all the commercials, which are the whole point of and the best thing about commercial TV anyway. SAG-AFTRA commercial strike or not. Just for the record, I would not have made a dime in the past 16 years.-- thumbwax, Aug 30 2000 Ad-funded house http://www.halfbake...house#966374370-4-1 [Scott_D, Aug 30 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004] Pay-for-Read Weekly http://www.halfbake...ttp://www.iwon.com/ [Scott_D, Aug 30 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004] T shirt ad space http://www.halfbake...space#966262238-3-1 [Scott_D, Aug 30 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004] (?) High Fidelity Neilsen Ratings http://www.halfbake...tings#966981765-2-1 [Scott_D, Aug 30 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004] (?) ads during phone calls http://www.halfbake...calls#964356687-2-1 [Scott_D, Aug 30 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004] I have a Tivo, one of those boxes that records your TV shows for you onto a hard drive so you can watch one of many different recorded shows whenever you have the time. Perhaps this idea and that system could be combined. Tivo has a monthly service fee to download the program listings. Perhaps they could install some software that would monitor when a person does not fast forward through the commercials. Each show they don't fast forward through they get a 25 cent deduction off their monthly service fee. Personally, I paid for the lifetime subscription and I have not seen a commercial in 7 months and couldn't be happier.-- lockle, Aug 30 2000 How would advertisers know you *watched* the entire programme, and not just left your TV on?-- bloodred, Aug 31 2000 Eyeball implants, of course.-- egnor, Aug 31 2000 In Britain, BARB who do TV audience ratings have on occasion used cameras mounted inside TVs to check up on viewers. I don't think they use this for normal ratings measurements, just for experiments on people's behaviour.
But it wouldn't be hard to have some system e.g. using infra-red sensors to check for people. Even if you could fool it with a giant glowing person-shaped heater, your increased leccy bill would more than offset any fees for ad-viewing.
Neural sensors would however be required to tell if you were actually paying attention rather than gazing vacantly at the screen. They could pay you more depending on how much attention you were paying, and if you were thinking happy thoughts rather than "can we get this failed actress with the washing powder off, I want to watch Will & Grace".-- pottedstu, Sep 17 2001 How about an ad quiz after each month, a general understanding of the ads would make you pass. Memorizing ads, allow you to get more scores. The exams could be done online. Without expensive devices.-- whirlpool, Sep 17 2001 We have enough problems with advertisers and tv people making money and politics off the public infrastructure. We want commercials off, not on.-- Corona, Jun 24 2006 random, halfbakery