Borders Puts TV Screens In Stores

Posted on November 13, 2007

Borders Books has decided to install giant television screens in the stores which will feature ads and book-related news. This is going to be a real shocker to people who enjoy the relative quiet of their favorite bookstore.

A new strategy at Borders will reinforce the message that its stores are not just about books: the company has been installing 37-inch flat-screen televisions to show original programming, advertisements, news and weather. George L. Jones, the chief executive of the Borders Group, said each store would have two screens. The broadcast service, called Borders TV, has arrived in nearly 60 stores and is scheduled to reach an additional 250 stores by the end of February. The screens are "not designed to be intrusive," Mr. Jones said. Rather, he said, they are "part of a master plan to create content that will do several things for us," like directing traffic to the Borders Web site and paving the way to more cross-promotional deals with large media companies.

Will literary-minded customers bristle at the intrusion, or will the screens be welcomed as fun? Mr. Jones has a firm opinion: at Borders, "you browse, buy a latte, read a magazine. It's entertaining." The televisions are �another way that we can bring knowledge and entertainment," he said.

We say thumbs down to putting the giant screen televisions in bookstores. When they implement this misguided plan, the stores will seem like airport waiting rooms which always have CNN on a loop. We like a quiet bookstore and certainly don't want to be "entertained" in any way. Color us unhappy.

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