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Please put the ‘water’ back into watermarks!

A solid colour watermark broadcast throughout programming is a good way to piss people off.

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2015-03-25_2319

I realise that networks need to do everything they can to promote their content to a captive audience but a solid colour watermark broadcast throughout programming is a good way to piss people off.

It pisses them off both the show you’re advertising, and the one it is invading.

A colour Modern Family watermark (above) was left on screen throughout the duration of The Good Wife last night.

A better way to help people know which episode of Modern Family is new versus repeat is to stick to one timeslot and not fill up the schedule with repeats.

Could all networks kindly keep watermarks discreet: small, translucent and not opaque.

Put the ‘water’ back into watermarks!

2015-03-25_2331

 

31 Responses

  2. We watched the great documentary movie “LIving in a Material World” (George Harrison) recently.
    I know it has been on SBS, split in two parts, with ads and watermarks.
    Our copy on the Foxtel IQ was 3 hours 18 minutes. with no ads, and no watermark!
    As it should be.
    It was recorded from one of Foxtel’s movie channels.
    I repeat: no ads, no watermarks!
    I will never watch a movie with ad breaks or screen clutter. Never!

  3. I’m not a regular SBS2 viewer but watching Brooklyn 99 of late, I have to say their normal watermark is ridiculously annoying, it is oversized compared to most others and in a stupid position (ie. not in any of the corners). Being roughly an inch or 2 away from the top-right corner and a few cms from the top means it regularly ends up plastered across people’s faces. It is extremely distracting watching a 30min show, I’d hate to be watching a drama or movie on it.

    10 has always been hopeless at watermarks, going back to their geniuses covering half the subtitles on the Americans with their (solid) watermarks advertising other programs. Nothing like taking you out of a dark show like Supernatural with a nice bright and sparkly Neighbours watermark throughout the program.

  4. Watermarks should ideally be almost invisible, i.e. you would not notice it easily (e.g. from a distance), but it would be noticeable if you are looking for it.

    Those pop-up ads on prime7 are the worst, they always manage to put it up when subtitles appear in shows like highway patrol covering part of the subtitles up, the subtitles are there because the person speaking may be very quiet or difficult to understand.

  6. I’m surprised networks still havn’t been told to pull their head in.They seem to get away with what ever they like.It’s time they were told to look after their viewers and also start broadcasting in HD

  7. I have my TV on very little these days…it use to go on when I got up and off when I went to bed…
    I cant stand screen junk…programs being moved around…(Downton and The Story of Us)……..double up episodes…(Nine lost a Forever viewer)…programs running over…starting late….
    Secondary channels have an awful habit of sticking ads …in weird places….right in the middle of a conversation….
    And that is just a few reason …for those in charge….*sigh*

  8. Get rid of the Watermarks, they have outlived their usefulness! They don’t stop other channels using your footage, strike 1. Every TV remote has a button that will identify the channel, strike 2. They’re an annoyance and an intrusion into the viewers enjoyment of the program, strike 3. If they’re that important, why take them off during ads?

    Would more people watch TEN if they didn’t know it was TEN?

    I’ve got a mouse pad leaning against the screen to cover up the watermark area.

  9. I think that they were brought in to play in the early days of PVR’s to stop people recording shows and selling the DVD’s. What the networks do not realise that we do not have the time to sit there and take ads out, burn the show to a DVD, and package it and sell it. Too hard, too long and frankly once I watch a show it gets deleted.
    I have not had any ideas of selling stuff, and really I agree with a watermark just after a commercial break, but to keep it on for the whole show, the computer needs re programming….probably hire some real people to do it….. costs money to hire people…..oh sorry did I mention that it is all about the bottom line….viewers…..who needs them…they are just an annoyance to the network and programmmes get in the way of the ads.

    1. Ehh.. not sure where you are getting this from

      Watermarking was always a method used by the pay industry to allow customers to know what channel they were on without changing to another station – it initially served a good purpose

      FTA in Australia started watermarking programs with regularity in the mid-90s starting with sports content, as a way of protecting their ‘rights’ to the footage they paid millions for (and for cheeky cross promotion when highlights were showing on rival network news broadcasts) – most prevalent with Olympic games footage

  11. What I don’t understand is, if people are so angry/fed-up with all the shenanigans that the Aus commercial networks pull, why would they keep coming back for more. It’s as if people actually like being taken for granted and treated as mugs.

      1. I understand that it’s not for everybody but 50 GB for $30/m or 500 GB for $50 is prob not beyond the reach of most people. Getting the picture from your modem-router to your TV can be achieved via a variety of simple-to-setup methods.

  13. Very distracting. I hate these watermarks, why bother? The shows don’t start on time anyway always running late too. So what’s the point of the watermark? No point. We’ve all got tv guides etc. No need for it. Especially on my fave show!

  15. Remember when none of the networks displayed watermarks and most programmes ran on time and on their regular timeslot? Now it seems that programmers have a “Shuffle” button on their switchboards to do their job for them.

  16. Why can’t the networks grow up and stop treating people as marketing targets! I remember a time before the onslaught of all this on-screen graffiti when we were treated as viewers instead of as consumers. BBC1 and BBC2 grew up and got rid of the on-screen clutter years ago, including getting rid of the watermark. No wonder I source all my programing elsewhere other than FTA or Pay TV. Keep it up Oz FTA! You are just driving more people away!!

  17. Better still, get rid of the damn thing altogether, because odds are it’s the same show you’re relentlessly flogging in every ad break!

  18. The hideous bright purple GEM/WIN logo (I refuse to class it as a ‘watermark’), especially over their ancient British 4:3 B&W movies is the worst. That said, all of these watermarks and stupid ‘pop-ups’ are a real turn-off.
    Prime feels it necessary to remind us 50 times a night, every night, that Home & Away is at 7pm and they also have a show called Sunrise.

      1. I’ve also had to tolerate the WIN/GEM neon sign (I refuse to call it a watermark). It was a real eye-opener when I visited Taree a month ago and watched GEM coming out of Newcastle’s NBN-TV. No bright pink neon sign, instead a small, inconspicuous transparent GEM watermark. If only WIN would do the same.

  19. Ten are by far the worst at doing this. I’m glad you’ve bought attention to this David because you ain’t the only one it is pissing off. They had one for I’m a Celeb everyday for it’s entire run saying it was on at 7.30pm that night like we didn’t bloody know. I gotta stop myself here or I’ll unleash one of the most expletive-laden rants of all time in regards to this disgraceful practice.

  20. GEM has some of the worst ‘water’ marks with the annoying pop-up ads.

    I agree they need to keep new Modern Family in one time slot and reduce their reliance on reruns during the season. Same goes for TBBT on Nine.

  25. It was (very slightly, perhaps 10-20%) translucent here in Perth, but distracting nonetheless. Nine’s been particularly bad in the past with large ‘water’marks covering text on screen during The Block last season. A small, temporary ad in white-only after a break is one thing, but the essentially opaque colours just make me hate the network, I’m not going to be won over to watch a program by a freaking watermark.

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