On all three networks the hot switches gained more viewers for the later shows. ![]() In January, ABC made the first hot switch on Tuesdays when it introduced "The Jackie Thomas Show" by eliding the end of "Roseanne" into the first scene of "Jackie Thomas." In February, CBS eliminated the break between "Murphy Brown" and "Love and War" on Mondays, and NBC did the same between "Cheers" and "Seinfeld" on Thursdays. They would be moved into the surrounding programs, creating longer pods of commercials inside shows. The end of the station break would not mean fewer commercials, of course, just relocated ones. Both terms mean the same thing: as soon as one show is over, the next begins. This winter, the three big broadcast networks began experimenting with what they call the "seamless transition" or the "hot switch" between programs. Give people half a chance, say network planners, and off they go "surfing" with their remote controls, looking for alternative viewing on the dozens of channels now proliferating on cable. Now the station break is under attack from programmers looking for ways to feed viewers directly from one show into the next. The pretzels and phone call will have to wait.įor more than 40 years, viewers have been able to count on the leisurely hiatus between programs. What used to be separated by two minutes or so of commercials, plus a station-identification announcement, has been run together. The station break between the two shows is gone. ![]() The natural order of television has been unhinged. But here comes Jerry Seinfeld's opening monologue, right after the "Cheers" fade-out. There'll be plenty of time before the start of "Seinfeld" to grab the pretzels, make a stop in the bathroom, maybe even a quick phone call. ![]() The night's episode of "Cheers" is winding down, and you sit poised on the edge of the couch, ready to spring for the kitchen and the box of sourdough pretzels.
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