A new bill before Congress may eventually have DVD-viewers thinking twice before fast-forwarding through the ads and previews.
The proposed legislation would make fast-forwarding through those ads illegal -- not only in theaters, but also at home, NBC News reported.
The bill allows technology that lets families edit out explicit scenes or material to track the DVD use. But broadcast companies have lobbied hard to keep commercials and movie trailers off limits.
"Their concern is if it becomes easy for people to skip ads, then their whole business model goes down the drain," said Gigi Sohn, of a consumer advocacy group called Public Knowledge.
Public Knowledge is fighting the bill and Sohn said families have been skipping ads ever since the early days of the VCR.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, agreed, saying: "Do we really expect to throw people in jail for behavior they've been engaged in for more than a quarter century?"
Media executives said that's not their goal. The Motion Picture Association said it supports other parts of the act, "particularly those provisions that will help combat the theft of motion pictures," NBC News reported.
http://www.nbc17.com/money/3930803/detail.html