Television
Commercial Alert encourages people to watch less television and spend more time fulfilling their talents and potential.
- Watch less television, or no television at all.
- Read a book.
- Put your television in the closet or the basement.
- Talk to a friend or family member.
- Make a list of 10 alternatives to television and put it on your refrigerator.
- Participate in National TV-Turnoff Week sponsored by the TV-Turnoff Network, a splendid organization that encourages people to watch less television, and promotes National TV-Turnoff Week.
More Information
News Releases
Commercial Alert Response to Hasbro-Discovery Channel Joint Venture
Robert Weissman | April 30th, 2009
COMMERCIAL ALERT RESPONSE TO FCC PRODUCT PLACEMENT RULEMAKING: AGENCY SIDESTEPS REAL SOLUTION
Robert Weissman | June 27th, 2008
Coalition Asks Congress to Stop the FCC from Hawking Digital TV Sets
Gary Ruskin | October 7th, 2004
Kids Who Watch Less TV Demand Fewer Toys
Gary Ruskin | June 14th, 2001
Commercial Alert Asks Bush To Defend Reading on the Bus and Train from Noisy TVs
Gary Ruskin | April 16th, 2001
Groups Praise Bush's Statement about TV: “The Best Weapon Is the Off-On Button”
Commercial Alert, TV-Turnoff Network | October 18th, 2000
Commercial Alert Praises Bush For Encouraging Children to Watch Less TV
Gary Ruskin | September 15th, 2000
Groups Criticize CBS News for Deliberate Falsification of News Images
Gary Ruskin | January 12th, 2000
Articles
TV Turns Kids Into Bullies
Gary Ruskin | April 5th, 2005
Hit the Button: Disgusted by Political TV Ads? Turn 'em Off
Gary Ruskin | October 28th, 2000
Related Articles and Links
Related Articles
Toddlers and TV: Early Exposure Has Negative and Long-Term Impact
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Mad Men's Secret Product Placements
Todd Wasserman | BrandWeek | August 17th, 2009
Product Ads Gain More Screen Time
Brian Steinberg | The Boston Globe | July 28th, 2009
FCC: TV Ad Content for Kids Back on the Regulatory Table
Matthew Lasar | ars technica | July 23rd, 2009
Telemundo, Ford Plan Microseries Play
Steve McClellan | AdWeek | July 15th, 2009
McDonald's Likes Leno for In-Show Monopoly Promo
Theresa Howard | USA Today | July 12th, 2009
Bravo's 'Top Chef Masters' Sprinkled With More Upscale Sponsors
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | June 4th, 2009
Celebrities: Spot That Phone!
Elizabeth Woyke | Forbes.com | June 3rd, 2009
NBC Universal Starts a New, Branded Lineup
Jon Healey | Los Angeles Times | June 2nd, 2009
Marriott Partners with Nickelodeon for Branded Family Entertainment
PPN Staff | Product Placement News | May 22nd, 2009
For Pizza Hut, Jesse James Is a Sponsored Man
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | May 21st, 2009
TV Advertisers Are Offered Closer Ties With Content
Stuart Elliott | The New York Times | May 19th, 2009
Hasbro and Discovery Form Children's TV Network
Sam Schechner and Joseph Pereira | The Wall Street Journal | May 1st, 2009
Hair Spray’s Sponsorship Stays in Place (on Bravo)
Stuart Elliott | The New York Times | April 30th, 2009
Toy Maker Hasbro Partners with Discovery Kids Network on New Channel
Joe Flint | Los Angeles Times | April 30th, 2009
Hasbro/Discovery Kids TV Deal May Rankle FCC
Ira Teinowitz | The Wrap | April 30th, 2009
Hasbro and Discovery Join to Create Toy TV Mania
Alana Semuels | Los Angeles Times | April 30th, 2009
TiVo Promotes Ads It Hopes You’ll Talk to, Not Zap
Stephanie Clifford | The New York Times | April 22nd, 2009
Bravo Shows Move Further Into Licensing Products
Stephanie Clifford | The New York Times | April 12th, 2009
Advertisers Starting to Embrace DVR
Andrew Barker | Variety | March 27th, 2009
Delivery Agent Is Monetizing Product Placement For TV Networks
Leena Rao | TechCrunch | March 18th, 2009
'Results May Vary' Won't Be Enough Under New FTC Rules
Ira Teinowitz | Advertising Age | March 12th, 2009
ABC Puts Its Money on Two Wall Street Comedy Pilots
Claude Brodesser-Akner | Advertising Age | March 5th, 2009
Cable Companies Target Commercials to Audience
Stephanie Clifford | The New York Times | March 3rd, 2009
Product Placements, Deftly Woven Into the Story Line
Brian Stelter | The New York Times | March 1st, 2009
Fox's '24' in Gear With Hyundai Integration
Anthony Crupi, Mediaweek | AdWeek | February 18th, 2009
Absolut Breaks Voluntary Ban on Liquor Ads on Broadcast TV
Anthony Crupi, Mediaweek and Kenneth Hein, Brandweek | AdWeek | February 9th, 2009
'10 Items or Less' Pitches Products with a Soft Sell
Jon Caramanica | Los Angeles Times | January 25th, 2009
In ‘Trust Me,’ a Fake Agency Really Promotes
Stuart Elliott | The New York Times | January 21st, 2009
Geico to Sponsor Two Nat Geo Channel Shows
Michael Bush | Advertising Age | January 8th, 2009
Montel’s Back, and Does He Have a Deal for You
Stephanie Clifford | The New York Times | December 21st, 2008
In Store on TBS Sitcom: Hellmann's Mayo, Vaseline
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | December 18th, 2008
Sprint, Garmin have role in Fox's '24'
Dave Hayes | Kansas City Star | December 8th, 2008
No Ads or All an Ad?
TV Technology | December 1st, 2008
CCFC Wants FCC To Ban Product Placement In Kids Shows, Limit In Primetime
John Eggerton | Broadcasting & Cable | November 24th, 2008
Product Placement Disclosure Dispute Heads Toward Deadline at FCC
Ira Teinowitz | TVWeek | November 21st, 2008
Comcast Nets Push Digital Product Placements
Wayne Friedman | MediaDailyNews | November 19th, 2008
TiVo, Domino's to let Subscribers Order Through TV
BusinessWeek | November 17th, 2008
ITV Presses for Product Placement
Ben Fenton | Financial Times UK | November 17th, 2008
Animal Planet Branches Out With New Series, Ad Deals
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | November 6th, 2008
Advertisers Up the Ante as Products Become TV Plots
Gloria Goodale | The Christian Science Monitor | November 3rd, 2008
SAG Slams ‘Stealth’ Ads
John Eggerton | Broadcasting & Cable | October 24th, 2008
Ad Agency Turns Plugs into Programs
Alana Semuels | Los Angeles Times | October 14th, 2008
'Enemy' Could Be GM's Best Friend
Julie Hinds | Detroit Free Press | October 12th, 2008
State Farm Ventures Into Reality TV
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | September 18th, 2008
Nielsen: Networks Hit By Big Product Placement Drops
Wayne Friedman | MediaDailyNews | September 16th, 2008
TNT Launches Latest Micro-Series with Acura
Richard Tedesco | PROMO Magazine | September 15th, 2008
NBC Manages to Rack Up Strong Sales on Super Bowl
Stephanie Kang and Suzanne Vranica | The Wall Street Journal | September 12th, 2008
Like ‘The Real World,’ With More Computers
Stuart Elliot | The New York Times | September 10th, 2008
Burger King Branded Entertainment
PPN Staff | Product Placement News | September 8th, 2008
Italy OKs TV product placement
Eric J. Lyman | The Hollywood Reporter | August 28th, 2008
TV's Future Looks Like Web's Present
Brian Morrissey | AdWeek | August 27th, 2008
Samsung Product Placement
PPN Staff | Product Placement News | August 27th, 2008
Axe Sponsors, Co-Stars in Web TV Series
Shahnaz Mahmud | AdWeek | August 18th, 2008
The Battle for the Lower Third
Broadcasting & Cable | August 12th, 2008
Dell Sponsors A&E Reality Series
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | August 7th, 2008
On Ad-Less 'L Word,' Brands Become Part of the Plot
Claude Brodesser-Akner | Advertising Age | August 7th, 2008
Disney to Target Boys with Rebranded Cable Channel
Dawn C. Chmielewski | Los Angeles Times | August 7th, 2008
I want my [your brand here] MTV
Margaret Lyons | Time Out Chicago | August 7th, 2008
Unilever's Degree Nabs Starring Role on Sci Fi Channel
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | July 31st, 2008
Nielsen Tracks TV Ratings in Chinese Subway for the First Time
PRNewswire | July 30th, 2008
Ad Nauseam
Jennifer Wells | The Globe and Mail (Canada) | July 25th, 2008
USA Revs Up Product Integrations for Top Performers
Richard Tedesco | PROMO Magazine | July 23rd, 2008
A Product’s Place Is on the Set
Stephanie Clifford | The New York Times | July 22nd, 2008
AmEx, 'Project Runway' Forge Integrated Pact
Steve McClellan | AdWeek | July 14th, 2008
Product Placements Acquire a Life of Their Own on Shows
Stephanie Clifford | The New York Times | July 14th, 2008
Sponsors Provoke More Emotional Response in Fans
Emma Hall | Advertising Age | July 10th, 2008
Sour Patch Kids Turn to MTV Networks to Try Out I-TV
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | July 8th, 2008
Product Placement On TV Targeted
Cecilia Kang | The Washington Post | June 27th, 2008
Ads in TV Shows Come Under Microscope
Kate Barrett | ABC News | June 27th, 2008
Phone Giants Roll Out 'Three Screen' Strategy
Amol Sharma | The Wall Street Journal | June 26th, 2008
Writers Guild Urges FCC to Disclose Product Integration
Claude Brodesser-Akner | Advertising Age | June 25th, 2008
Study Says Youth Are Swimming in Alcohol Ads
Jeremy Mullman | Advertising Age | June 24th, 2008
'Chloe, it's Jack. Who does our phones?'
Ravi Somaiya | The Guardian (UK) | June 16th, 2008
Up Next, a Show From Our Sponsor
Stuart Elliot | The New York Times | June 12th, 2008
U.K. Shuts Out Product Placement
Steve Clarke | Variety | June 11th, 2008
Alltel, State Farm, Sonic in Triple Play for TBS Integrations
Richard Tedesco | PROMO Magazine | June 11th, 2008
A Live Promotion, at 14,000 Feet
Eric Pfanner | The New York Times | June 6th, 2008
Advertainment: More than Sex and the City Cosmos
Press Release: AUT University | Scoop | May 21st, 2008
ABC Bets ‘Motherhood’ Can Make a Leap from the Computer Screen
Brian Stelter | The New York Times | May 19th, 2008
NBC and GM Form Cross-Platform Marketing and Programming Partnership
Press Release | May 12th, 2008
Gwyneth to Star in Show Backed by ... Chipotle?
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | May 8th, 2008
MTV Plans to Increase Its Blending of Ads and Shows
Bill Carter | The New York Times | May 8th, 2008
Does Drug Product Placement on TV Require New Regulations?
Enrique Rivero | UCLA | May 7th, 2008
Sprint, Nissan Make Big Branded-Entertainment Plays With Soccer Shows
Laurel Wentz | Advertising Age | May 5th, 2008
Microsoft Photosynth Makes Star Turn on CSI: NY Tonight
Benjamin J. Romano | The Seattle Times | April 30th, 2008
NBC Puts Product Placement Online
Stuart Elliot | The New York Times | April 17th, 2008
"Kimmel" revives live TV commercials
AdWeek | April 15th, 2008
A-B Finds New Venue to Hawk Michelob
Jeremiah McWilliams | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | April 15th, 2008
BMW to Sponsor 'Mad Men'
AdWeek | April 8th, 2008
BNP Paribas Banks on Support For Series to Show Its Sensitivity
Aaron O. Patrick | The Wall Street Journal | April 8th, 2008
Digital Placement
The Engineer Online (UK) | April 7th, 2008
NBC to Revive a Mainstay of Early TV
Stuart Elliot | The New York Times | April 2nd, 2008
North Coast Wine Gets Screen Time
Kevin McCallum | The Press Democrat | March 30th, 2008
Again, It’s (Dorito) Colbert Nation
Stuart Elliot | The New York Times | March 20th, 2008
Apple teams with 'American Idol'
Michael Schneider | Variety | March 18th, 2008
Another Thing The Doctor Ordered
Burt Helm | BusinessWeek | March 17th, 2008
Smallville Product Placement Hits New Low
Mark Wilson | About.com | March 16th, 2008
MTV, Doritos Partner for Reality Series
Amy Johannes | Promo | March 14th, 2008
Cable Firms Join Forces to Attract Focused Ads
Tim Arango | The New York Times | March 10th, 2008
Sports Catching More Ad Dollars
Alana Semuels | Los Angeles Times | January 11th, 2008
What's In-Store? Lots of TV Ads
Eric Newman | Brandweek | November 19th, 2007
TV advertisers, networks try more ways to snag viewers
Theresa Howard | USA Today | November 12th, 2007
Just two hours of TV a day doubles risk of child obesity
Jenny Hope | Daily Mail | October 30th, 2007
Watching Food Ads on TV May Program Kids to Overeat
Tara Parker-Pope | Wall Street Journal | July 10th, 2007
Living Well: Food Biz Feeds Kids a Steady Marketing Diet
Bob Condor | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | April 4th, 2007
Watching Television 'Is Serious Threat to Health of Children"
Sam Marsden | Belfast Telegraph | February 20th, 2007
Television Can Harm Learning, Finds Study
The Guardian (UK) | January 29th, 2007
TV Ads Stress Children
Sean Scanlon | The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand) | January 2nd, 2007
TV Hurts School Performance
Carla Johnson | Associated Press | October 2nd, 2006
TV Casts Wider Spell
Greg Bluestein | Associated Press | September 18th, 2006
Exercise: TV Matters: When Watching Affects Walking
Eric Nagourney | The New York Times | August 8th, 2006
Television Everywhere
Allison Romano | Broadcasting and Cable | July 24th, 2006
Living Well: TV Turnoff Week Comes With a Strong Commercial-Free Message
Bob Condor | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | April 24th, 2006
Philips' Invention Could Force You to Watch TV Commercials
May Wong | Associated Press | April 20th, 2006
Proved: TV Leads to Junk Food Diet
Camillo Francassini | The Times (of London) | April 9th, 2006
TV Adds a Stone a Year to a Child's Weight
Roya Nikkhah | Sunday Telegraph (UK) | April 9th, 2006
Children's Demands for Toys and Food Increase With TV Time, Researchers Say
Dave Murphy | San Francisco Chronicle | April 5th, 2006
Too Much Television Slows Children's Reading
Nina Goswami | Sunday Telegraph (UK) | November 27th, 2005
A March on Too Much Television
Derrick Z. Jackson | Boston Globe | November 2nd, 2005
TV is Bad for Children's Education, Studies Say
Andrew Stern | Reuters | July 4th, 2005
Study Ties Television Viewing to Aggression; Adults Affected As Well As Children
Shankar Vedantam | Washington Post | March 29th, 2002
Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor
Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi | Scientific American | February 2nd, 2002
Prime-time Propaganda: How the White House Secretly Hooked Network TV On Its Anti-drug Message
Daniel Forbes | Salon | January 13th, 2000
Pediatrics Group Offers Tough Rules for Telelvision
Lawrie Mifflin | The New York Times | August 4th, 1999
Exercise Can Reduce Diabetes Risk
Ira Dreyfuss | Washington Post | June 20th, 1999
How Viewers Grow Addicted to Television
Daniel Goleman | The New York Times | October 16th, 1990
External Links
Kids and Advertising
A comprehensive website on advertising aimed at children.
Association Between Television, Movie, and Video Game Exposure and School Performance
Iman Sharif and James D. Sargent; Pediatrics 2006; 118; 1061-1070
When Children Eat What They Watch; Impact of Television Viewing on Dietary Intake in Youth
By Jean L. Wiecha et al., Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, April, 2006, 160(4):436-42.
Television Viewing Behaviour and Associations with Food Habits in Different Countries
Carine A. Vereecken et al., Public Health Nutrition. April, 2006; 9(2), 244-250
Does Children's Screen Time Predict Requests for Advertised Products?
Lisa Chamberlain, Yun Wang and Thomas Robinson, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, April, 2006
U.S. Surgeon General Encourages Participation in TV Turnoff
Commercial Alert | April 19, 1999
TV Viewed as a Public Health Threat
P. Montague, Rachel's Environ. & Health Weekly | January 6, 2000
Effects of Reducing Television Viewing on Children's Requests for Toys: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Robinson et. al., Journal on Dev. & Behav. Ped | June, 2001
Media Education
American Academy of Pediatrics | August 1999
Activity Level and Risk of Overweight in Male Health Professionals
Ching et. al., Am. Journal of Public Health
Longitudinal Relations Between Children's Exposure to TV Violence and Their Agressive Behavior in Young Adulthood: 1977-1992
Huesmann et al. | Developmental Psych. |
Television as a Public Health Issue (or) Watch Less, Do More, Live Longer
Mohammad Akhter MD, MPH | April 22, 1999
Television Watching and Other Sedentary Behaviors in Relation to Risk of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women
Frank Hu et al, JAMA | April 9, 2003
Longitudinal Relations Between Children's Exposure to TV Violence and Their Aggressive and Violent Behavior in Young Adulthood: 1977-1992
Huesmann et al., Developmental Psych. | March, 2003
Television Viewing and Initiation of Smoking Among Youth
P. Gidwani, et al, Pediatrics | September 2002
Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children
Dimitri Christakis et al., Pediatrics | April, 2004
Association Between Child and Adolescent Television Viewing and Adult Health: A Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study
Robert Hancox et al., Lancet | July 17, 2004
Programming Obesity in Childhood
David Ludwig & Steven Gortmaker, Lancet | July 17, 2004
Early Cognitive Stimulation, Emotional Support, and Television Watching as Predictors of Subsequent Bullying Among Grade-School Children
Frederick Zimmerman et al. | April, 2005
Association of Television Viewing During Childhood With Poor Educational Achievement
Robert J. Hancox et al. | Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine | July, 2005 |
Children's Television Viewing and Cognitive Outcomes
Frederick J. Zimmerman et al. | Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine | July, 2005 |
Time Well Spent? Relating Television Use to Children's Free-Time Activities
Vandewater, et al., Pediatrics, Feb. 2006 |