Comcast needs to get a handle on spoilers

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Comcast needs to get a handle on spoilers

Comcast is pushing PVRs so hard these days you'd think they were giving birth. It's kind of funny that they are using their website to remind people of one of the drawbacks of PVR ownership: they published Six Feet Under spoilers in their entertainment headlines (contains spoilers as of Aug 1, 2005. Obviously).

Imagine it. A customer has seen enough ads for the Comcast DVR that they decide to set it up to record Six Feet Under so they can watch it the following night. Meanwhile, they check out Comcast's site and have a major plot point ruined. Do you think they're going to be all that interested in time-shifting after that?

by George Hotelling August 1, 2005 in Op-Ed

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This mistake isn't new or unique to Comcast; When the miniseries "Rich Man Poor Man" aired a years ago, a TV Guide reviewer somehow figured everyone had read the book and told of the death of a major character at the end of the story. Problem was the series had only started.

Posted by: Jerome Nicholson at Aug 1, 2005 11:04:01 PM

Yea, I wouldn't blame Comcast for this one.

I had the ending scene from last week's episode spoiled by VH1's Best Week Ever for me.

And then last night I saw an Associated Press headline that spoiled the outcome of said scene in this week's episode.

Posted by: chris at Aug 2, 2005 5:23:16 AM

Did they remove it? I don't see any spoilers on the site now.

Posted by: BD at Aug 2, 2005 10:09:35 AM

Spoilers are the least of Comcast's problems.

Posted by: Scott Johnson at Aug 2, 2005 10:51:07 AM

I'm pretty sure that customers will just be less interested in visiting the Comcast website, but that could be personal bias - given the choice between time-shifting and visiting a particular website, I'll take time-shifting ;)

Posted by: David Trammell at Aug 2, 2005 11:01:32 AM

Actually, Comcast's headlines are supplied by AP so the headline I saw was probably the same one.

AP rotates the 'top' news they provide to their syndicated partners. This story probably just instead one of today's 'top' stories so it 'fell off' Comcast's site.

Posted by: chris at Aug 2, 2005 11:02:37 AM

thats such a stupid deduction that people wont want to time shift because of a spoiler. you are a real idiot.

Posted by: da at Aug 2, 2005 1:16:08 PM

I think there's a pretty serious point here, if we take it not just as "How could Comcast be so stupid" but "What the reasons that people might not want to timeshift?" Everytime a TiVohead (which I am) tells me "I don't even know when shows are on any more!" I know I'm listening to the words of someone who doesn't talk to anybody outside their own home about TV, and that includes online discussion. Continuing, spoilable plot lines are now firmly part of TV -- especially so-called "Quality TV" -- and those of us who want to participate in the ongoing culture of television have no choice but to watch those big shows pronto.

And for that matter, that's part of why you better read that new Harry Potter RIGHT NOW; in fact, RIGHT NOW is probably too late.

Posted by: DonBoy at Aug 2, 2005 4:50:50 PM

I definitely fall into the TIVOHead group. However, to your point, I regularly talk to many people at work about various TV shows, and I STILL don't remember when most of them air.

That said, since I ramble on and on about Tivo, those that I talk to have gotten into the habit of stopping their story mid-sentence and asking me "Have you watched it yet? Are you going to record it? If you are, I won't give it away...," or, have taken it upon themselves to remind me what channel and what time I NEED to record...

Funny stuff when owning a Tivo changes the conversations of those around you who don't own Tivos. :)

Posted by: cory at Aug 18, 2005 3:27:14 PM

Comcast needs to get a handle on spoilers

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