Forcing subscribers to watch ads

Since ads are what purportedly pay for TV shows, it is not surprising that some company would eventually start disallowing users to fast forward through commercials. Apparently, they are also piloting a new system that will give people different sets of commercials every few days, to keep them 'fresh'. Seems pretty evil to me.

"SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Walt Disney Co.'s two big TV networks, ABC and ESPN, have struck a deal with cable operator Cox Communications Inc. to offer hit shows and football games on demand, but with the unusual condition that Cox disables the fast-forward feature that allows viewers to skip ads, according to a media report Tuesday."

This does not affect personal PVRs like replaytv or tivo, yet.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/video-on-demand-deal-bars-ad-skipping/story.aspx?guid=%7BD3E00E8E-DB73-4E1B-BCC8-2FDECF91CAE8%7D