Adverts themsleves take a lot of time to produce, direct, cast etcetera etcetera. They’re their own form of short film, having taken the time to produce a storyline and script. Sometimes they can actually be funny too! (Though that one is a hit or miss.)
For some shows, the content could be heavy, or dramatic and the advert breaks afford you time to think through the content and fully make sense of it before anything else takes place. You have time to make a cup of tea, or nip to the bathroom if you’re watching live, or even if not, the show can be left running whilst you take a little break.
One of my friends uses the break to ask questions about the shows content, allowing the experience of watching a show to be made less singular. Love Island, for example, is always a hot topic of discussion, and is made more so when watching it with friends. During the advertisement breaks, you’re awarded five minutes to debate the topic of conversation and then see who was correct. It’s the little things that form un-dissolvable bonds in friendship.
For some shows, the content could be heavy, or dramatic and the advert breaks afford you time to think through the content and fully make sense of it before anything else takes place.
For shows such as House MD, where the medical jargon runs galore, it’s useful to have an advert break to google symptoms or ask your med student friend to explain what on earth is currently going on! Most of the time, however, the adverts are clumped together at the beginning and end of a show, so the viewing is not disturbed halfway in between.
It can be annoying for a cluster of adverts to pop up every fifteen minutes, especially for platforms you are already paying for. But think about it as supporting the Arts, and the many directors and producers trying to break into the film industry appreciate your sacrifice of watching five minutes of the adverts they’ve put massive amounts of work into. You’re practically paying for more cinema!