When did TV Shows get so short?

[FBJ]

Originally Posted by leftydan6

No, it's on network TV.

Seinfeld and Frasier were on NBC in the 1990s.
The Office and 30 Rock are on NBC today.

The shows from the 1990s are ~23 minutes long without commercials.
The shows from today are ~20 minutes long without commercials.

That's a big difference, in a show like 30 Rock (which is always too short) it means the loss of about 5 jokes at least.

Yeah how bout in the 70's when the eps were 26/27 ,mins without commercials? When I watch Better off Ted on Wednesday Nights I swear it's a commercial break every 5mins

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by TVandSportsGuy

Yeah how bout in the 70's when the eps were 26/27 ,mins without commercials? When I watch Better off Ted on Wednesday Nights I swear it's a commercial break every 5mins

Yes. Many networks all go to break at the same time, so surfing the channels is often fruitless. We'll surf until we find "content" and not ads.