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We’ve all been there: you get distracted during a commercial break, then miss the game-winning homer because you didn’t make it back to the TV in time.
For those of us with DVRs, this isn’t a huge deal (yay, Pause button!), but for watchers of live TV, timing those breaks can be tricky. One extra detour and you stand to miss something important. If only there were some way to get notified when the commercials were over.
Commercial Break for iOS notifies you when the commercials are over. In your face, first-world problems!
After entering your ZIP code, you’ll see a list of networks supported by the app and what’s currently airing on each. Alas, in my neck of the woods, Commercial Break offered only seven channels, including CNN, ESPN, TNT, and USA. The program definitely needs to work with a lot more if it’s going to be truly useful.
When you want to activate it, just tap a channel, and then tap Start. Now go about your business. When a commercial break ends (or a new episode is about to start), you’ll receive a push notification.
I tried this a bunch of times with several different channels, and for the most part Commercial Break worked like a charm. Occasionally the notification came a few seconds after the show had resumed, but that’s still better than missing entire minutes.
Ultimately, if you watch a lot of live TV and don’t want to miss a minute, this app might be just the solution you need.
