It may just be me, but...

[Jeff]

...are bumps shorter now?  Seems like the newer made bumps are all of just 5-6 seconds long.  Do any of you who frequent the AS boards know what's up with that?

[NumyMufn]

They are... we can only assume it's just the value of time is at a premium. It started back with the cutout bumps they made for Saturdays, which used to be shorter than the others at ten seconds. When a couple of those were used for weekdays they got extended versions. Now they've gone and shortened the weekday bumps as well, Starting with the King of the Hill bumps from the time it first aired. Again, probably because = money. All three generations of the KotH bumps have been short, and the new graphic bumps throughout the night have followed suit.

When I pull out a vintage recording I'm always amazed at how short the commercial breaks used to be and I think I preferred [as] on a shoestring budget.

[terrorist96]

Yeah, who didn't. That's when they were "starving artists." Now it's mostly syndicates.

[NumyMufn]

Yeah, who didn't.

Advertisers.

The sad truth is the syndicated shows get ratings that are easy to sell to the sponsors. The addition of 'I think' had more to do with wondering if they hadn't made the money on the syndicated shows would we still have Venture Bros? or Moral Orel, Robot Chicken, and Metalocalypse? Would they have been able to fund The Boondocks?

Don't get me wrong, I loved the old [as] (still miss the anime and I'd probably still love Venture Bros. even with cheap animation) but those are some expensive shows that have loyal followings. What if they'd never been made? Would [as] have gone down the tubes entirely or would it be stronger than ever? I dunno 

[terrorist96]

That's true. I'm thankful for the good original shows they're making still, but is it worth the tainted adult swim name/brand?
Used to be [adult swim] was the underground late night rebellious block, now it's known as Fox Rerun.

It was tolerable before but now it's just getting too much. They need to cut back on the syndicates. I'm sure they have a lot of money to make new shows (which they are - hence the BK pilot voting) but they just can't seem to get enough of it. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call whoring. 

And not all the money they reap from Family Guy goes to making new shows. I'm sure a good chunk of it goes towards getting more syndicates like The Cleavland Show. 

[NumyMufn]

I'm sure a good chunk of it goes towards getting more syndicates like The Cleavland Show. 

Bite your tongue 

[Jeff]

Thanks for the replies.  I figured shortening bumps likely had to do with freeing up more ad space, couldn't think of any other feasible reason.  Sad face, indeed.

To throw in my 2c, even though I do think the shows got weaker, what got me starting losing interest was the constant schedule flip-flopping.  A few years back, there was a string of time where Saturdays wouldn't go more than about two months without some big shift -- it seemed as if they were trying to rearrange puzzle pieces over and over and hoping to magically find some perfect formula.  It's tough to maintain a constant following when nothing's constant.