One of the new games at my house is called “Find the Product Placement Ad.” Some are obvious, like those on Survivor, but others are very, very subtle. Take, for example, this weekend’s PGA Tour Championship on ABC. One of the sponsors was Coke, and during Sunday’s coverage, there was a cute cutaway shot of a little boy who resembled Tiger Woods. Instead of watching the golf, however, he was enthralled with his bottle of Sprite. He took a big gulp, then looked at the bottle and turned it around so that the label was showing. The director then cut back to the action. The announcers made no mention of the 10-12 second shot. The whole thing was seamless and appeared as just another crowd shot in the afternoon coverage.

I’m not offended by this in the least, and if this is what it takes to make sponsors happy, then so be it. It didn’t disrupt the telecast and the branding message was effectively transmitted. Nice.

Last night, we had one of those network conflicts about what to watch — the conclusion of the Crossing Jordan/Vegas episode or the early start of CSI Miami. And it got me to thinking…

I’ve written many times about the dangers that DVRs bring to network television, because people skip commercials with their TiVos. But here was an event — caused by a network (CBS) — that actually encouraged the use of a recorder.

It begs the question why a network would shoot itself in the foot in such a manner? The answer is simple. Programmers still follow broadcasting’s old manual — that such stunts as expanding an hour program to 90-minutes during ratings will draw viewers away from other programs — and that passive viewers can’t do anything about it.

In so doing, however, they’re actually accelerating their own irrelevance, because we live in an age of empowered consumers who are fighting back. They’re killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

Besides, an hour script in 90 minutes makes for a lousy episode.

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