[fantom]

Yes , well i too know how ad placement works. If a client of mine refuses to run in specific time slots , they don't run. If i purchase time on the Super Bowl that's where it runs. If i place a political ad on the nightly mews that's where it runs. No one drops millions on tv ads to have them run at 4 am while their competitor runs in prime time. . That is why networks spend big money to promote certain bell cow programs. I don't know about becks sales figure's either , i do know from what i have seen , his time slot is full. If the clients objected it would not be the case. At any rate , as i mentioned before , this story appeared here days ago as a piece from the Chronicle.

[GovernmentShrinker]

No one drops millions on tv ads to have them run at 4 am while their competitor runs in prime time

Of course not, but there certainly are advertisers who opt for lower rates for non-specific prime time slots, instead of paying higher rates to be guaranteed to run on a specific program. Depending on the particular business, and the profile of its potential customers, it doesn't necessarily make sense to pay the premium for specific program slots. And yes, advertisers can opt out of certain programs, but that will generally cost them more than just open ad purchases for a specific time range. My point was only that you can't tell what advertisers are specifically supporting or rejecting a particular program, just by noting what ads you see or don't see during that program.