(SAF whipped up all this research in a matter of two minutes. Thought I would set it in one spot for ya.)

Based on studies like this one from MTV.com, lower-third (or lower-half, let’s get real) ads on Broadcast TV have become increasingly “popular”. Popular maybe with advertisers and the Networks, but obviously NOT with consumers.

TBS hit a home run with this programus interruptus piece.

“Family Guy” did a good job of mocking these ads, but sadly, there’s not much difference between the parody and the intrusive ads themselves.

How long will the sporting world put up with this?

Broadcasting and Cable summed it up almost a year ago.

So for a while now we’ve seen these promotional "bugs" and lower-third pieces usually promoting another show on that network, but it will be interesting to see how audiences react to Networks essentially making every TV screen a Bloomberg-style display, no matter what type of show you’re watching.