It isn't just that they are stuffing more ads in. I have noticed a huge spike in what I call "program guide fraud" - networks indicating in the program guide information they provide to cable systems that an episode of a show is new, when it is in fact a rerun. This causes any DVR programmed to record only new episodes of a show to record the rerun, which fraudulently inflates DVR views, which leads to increased ad rates and ratings.

Some shows have taken a slightly less fraudulent, though equally frustrating, approach. 60 Minutes remixes old segments into "new" shows, but the only thing new about them is the order in which the segments appear, along with a total of maybe a minute in added commentary or updates on the segments. Whenever you hear "as we first reported..." at the beginning of a segment, that's a remixed segment. Nightline has also been remixing old segments into most of their "new" shows over the summer.

TV is dying, and the networks are turning to fraud and annoyance to try to save themselves. I can't imagine that it will work.