Repetitive commercials

We're sorry the repetitive commercials prevent you from fully enjoying your shows. We know variety makes everything easier. However, commercials are set with the content the network provides to us. The best way to let networks know your feedback is by reaching them on their websites. Thank you for letting us know your doubts. We appreciate your trust in DIRECTV. Claudia, DIRECTV Community Specialist

Are networks providing different commercials based on the product?

I had DirecTV Satellite streaming from the app.

I had DirecTV Stream on the same channel in the same location at the same time as Satellite. Comedy Central had different commercials; on DirecTV Stream I was met with the repetitive commercials, DirecTV Satellite didn't have it.

It is an interesting question, could you tell us which devices are you using to stream and if these ads are repetitive during live TV or after a pause? Claudia, DIRECTV Community Specialist

It happens during live TV; I tested using an Apple TV 4K and a Mac. Apple TV was signed into the DIRECTV app with the Satellite credentials. My laptop was signed into the DIRECTV stream - it still happens with my DIRECTV stream signed into the same AppleTV. 
I also noticed in the stream when it went to commercial, the first few seconds of a commercial was played, which matched the satellite stream - then everything was different (including the repetitive commercials on DIRECTV stream only)

We want to gather more information on how the ads are working on your devices. We're sending you a PM to have a clear view of your account. Claudia, DIRECTV Community Specialist

I found that if you change the channel, then change it back, the repetitive commercial changes.  It seems a lot of commercials sponsored by the "Ad Council" override the network commercials broadcast by what ever channel you're watching.  You can always tell the "Ad Council" commercials.  They are never for any goods or services.  But rather for nebulous ideas like ending hunger or internet safety for kids.  There is definitely an element of propaganda pandering going on behind the scenes by someone.

Does anyone have a better solution for this? I keep getting those stupid ad council commercials 3-4 times in a row almost every commercial break on multiple channels.

I'm getting to the point where I'm considering cancelling my service so I don't have to keep hearing that stupid feeding america jingle.

I keep getting the Ad council hunger commercial repeating on a loop, one after another. It just did it SIX times in a row. I finally got tired of it and started watching a movie on Tubi. I’m not going to continue paying Directv’s ridiculous prices to deal with that lunacy!

Those would be the advertisements the channels have injected. Like other TV providers, DIRECTV STREAM is only rebroadcasting what the channel sends them. Advertisers pay the channels for their space. TV provider pays the channels to be carried.

So this not between TV provider and advertisers, but between the channel owners and the advertisers. I agree that 6 times in a row is excessive, and though I hope that is just a glitch where they didn't rotate through as supposed to, sometimes that is how many slots the advertiser got.

I don't believe the networks have anything to do with this issue. I think these are "filler" PSAs that DirecTV has agreed to include in their stream, but their algorithm is so bad that it can't tell that they've just shown one so they show another and another and another. I routinely get it 4 or 5 times in a row on multiple channels if I don't interrupt it.

As kdavis1414 pointed out you can "short circuit" the ad council ad by switching channels and then switching back immediately. Unlike other commercials, they will not pick up in progress and I have found they won't repeat again for a while.

The channel switching makes it bearable but I'm planning on going back to xfinity if they don't resolve it soon.

With repeating commercials (6 in a row, yuck) I would submit a BBB complaint. That is something that needs cleaning up to not just alienate the viewers. Bad enough channels do that on purpose with their streaming options, but don't need a programming bug to make it worse.

This same annoying commercial occurs on several different channels, none of which are owned by the same company; they’re all completely different channels. As someone else said, this is Directv throwing them in for “filler” material. They don’t seem to have that many commercials to begin with. And it’s gotten worse in the last few months.

"We're sorry the repetitive commercials prevent you from fully enjoying your shows. We know variety makes everything easier. However, commercials are set with the content the network provides to us."

Wrong. When those commercials about walking a mile in my shoes and others come on, I can change the channel up or down one, go immediately back to that channel, and the underlying actual commercial will be on, not the PSA one. So it seems like a Directv issue, not the individual networks.