Listen Live
Donate
 on air
Schedule

KCRW

Read & Explore

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Events

Listen

  • Live Radio
  • Music
  • Podcasts
  • Full Schedule

Information

  • About
  • Careers
  • Help / FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Contact

Support

  • Become a Member
  • Become a VIP
  • Ways to Give
  • Shop
  • Member Perks

Become a Member

Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

DonateGive Monthly

Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
Cookie Policy
|FCC Public Files|

Back to To the Point

To the Point

Will TiVo and Replay Eliminate &quotFree&quot TV?

Digital recording allows you to watch TV programs any time you want, speeding past the commercials or without commercials at all. It all sounds like -dream TV- until you realize that commercials are the price you pay for what-s called -free TV.- Advertisers claim that such commercial-free, point-and-click recording is essentially stealing, and they-re going to court. We hear the legal arguments and unintended consequences of personal video recorders from a plaintiff to the suit, his attorney and the editor of an entertainment-law monthly. Then we look at split screens, crawls, product placements and other ways that television is likely to change with editors of Advertising Age and Stay Free!, a magazine dedicated to American media and consumer culture. Newsmaker: Terrorist Leader Abu Nidal Found Dead Abu Nidal was the Osama bin Laden of the 70-s and 80-s, a Palestinian terrorist whose Fateh Revolutionary Council is believed to have killed or injured 900 people in 20 countries. Today, Abu Nidal reportedly has been found dead of gun wounds in his apartment in Baghdad. Palestinian journalist Lamis Andoni, reports that the terrorist-s death, like his life, is shrouded in mystery. Reporter's Notebook: CNN Broadcasts al Qaeda Videotapes This week, Cable News Network is airing excerpts of 60 videotapes made by the al Qaeda terrorist network. The tapes provide clear evidence that the group developed and tested chemical agents. CNN-s Nic Robertson secreted the tapes out of Afghanistan 10 days ago. CNN-s national correspondent Mike Boettcher says the grizzly training sessions and chemical weapons tests attest to the group-s devastating long term goals.

  • rss
  • Share
By Warren Olney • Aug 19, 2002 • 1 min read

Digital recording allows you to watch TV programs any time you want, speeding past the commercials or without commercials at all. It all sounds like -dream TV- until you realize that commercials are the price you pay for what-s called -free TV.- Advertisers claim that such commercial-free, point-and-click recording is essentially stealing, and they-re going to court. We hear the legal arguments and unintended consequences of personal video recorders from a plaintiff to the suit, his attorney and the editor of an entertainment-law monthly. Then we look at split screens, crawls, product placements and other ways that television is likely to change with editors of Advertising Age and Stay Free!, a magazine dedicated to American media and consumer culture.

  • Newsmaker:

    Terrorist Leader Abu Nidal Found Dead Abu Nidal was the Osama bin Laden of the 70-s and 80-s, a Palestinian terrorist whose Fateh Revolutionary Council is believed to have killed or injured 900 people in 20 countries. Today, Abu Nidal reportedly has been found dead of gun wounds in his apartment in Baghdad. Palestinian journalist Lamis Andoni, reports that the terrorist-s death, like his life, is shrouded in mystery.

  • Reporter's Notebook:

    CNN Broadcasts al Qaeda Videotapes

    This week, Cable News Network is airing excerpts of 60 videotapes made by the al Qaeda terrorist network. The tapes provide clear evidence that the group developed and tested chemical agents. CNN-s Nic Robertson secreted the tapes out of Afghanistan 10 days ago. CNN-s national correspondent Mike Boettcher says the grizzly training sessions and chemical weapons tests attest to the group-s devastating long term goals.

Fateh

Napster

TiVo

CNN's Terror on Tape

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Warren Olney

    former KCRW broadcaster

    NewsNationalPolitics
Back to To the Point