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Abstract:
Advertisers use numerous tactics to seduce, influence and win viewers' decision to purchase their advertised products on television (TV). Viewers, behaviour concerning commercial interruption should not be taken lightly. The advancements in technology in the communication industry have ushered in a variety of ways for viewers to bypass commercials. It will serve marketers and advertising agencies well to understand this behaviour. A mixed method research approach was used to compare the cross-cultural behaviour of TV viewers during commercial interruptions. Samples of the study focused on respondents that resided in the city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as well as in the city of Ibadan, South West, Nigeria. Simple random sampling was applied to select 384 viewers in each city. Among others, the findings of the study reveal that contrasting behaviour patterns ensue between viewers in both cities during commercial interruptions. The study affirmed that viewers within the city of Durban actively viewed the commercial interruptions. On the contrary, viewers in the city of Ibadan clearly avoided watching commercials. The study concluded that the higher the duration of TV viewing, the lower the level of TV commercials' avoidance behaviour. Also, if the level of TV viewing is low, the level of TV commercials' avoidance behaviour will be higher. The findings suggest that cultural differences may determine the viewers' behaviour during commercial interruptions.
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