That's what I don't like about this technology. Once a commercial starts, you cannot change the channel. You have to wait for the commercials to end, then you will be able to change the channel while the show is on. That means no more channel surfing. If you change channels and hit a commercial, you have to wait for the commercial to end before changing channels again. Or you get to pay a fee so you can change the channel. Don't kid yourself, the TV executives love this idea. Last year, one even said that changing the channel or fast forwarding a VCR was equivalent to stealing TV.
Well, there just might be a backlash and people will just read or have sex or something instead of watching TV!
There is an industry solution...
Charge viewers a fraction of a cent for every commerical they click off. Just like your phone may contain services like "3 way calling" that you get billed for because you haven't hung up the phone ("just flashed it") before starting a new call. In a digital world they can be aware of such events.
Nickel and diming the public is how money is made.
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An alternate solution. As we go to widescreen tv, there will be a large single "gutter" or 2 thinner vertical stripes surrounding the program for "older" format programs (think of the opposite of letterboxing).
They could fill this space with "banner" ads like websites have or the scrollby information on FOX/CNN/MSNBC... There could ALWAYS be a commercial onscreen if we don't look out.