Shows start and end just off the half-hour

Inveterate time-shifters ? including owners of digital video recorders such as TiVo, as well as some VCR owners ? are getting ticked off by the minutes lost when broadcasters shift their schedules so some shows start and end just slightly off the hour or half-hour.

More hit series are running a little longer to hook viewers and rake in ad dollars, but the practice causes trouble for users of TiVo and other recorders. Shows running a minute or more over their scheduled time period for the week ending Nov. 21:

Users of Internet message boards lately have gone so far as to accuse ABC of conspiracy for extending episodes of hits Lost and Desperate Housewives by a minute or two.

Not only can such padding cause recorders to clip off the start or end of an episode, it also can create overlaps ("conflicts," in TiVo parlance) with later shows on other channels so viewers can't record them. And, in doing so, it keeps viewers from skipping through those lucrative commercials.

But the motive is nothing so sinister. The networks are simply capitalizing on hit shows by moving a minute or two of ad or promo time from a lower-rated show into a more popular one that precedes it. They can then charge more for the ad and reach more viewers with a plug for another show.

The padding also discourages viewers from clicking their remotes, under the theory they'll be less likely to switch channels if they've already missed the start of a competing program.

ABC is unapologetic. "It's not my job to make it easy for people to leave our network," says ABC scheduling chief Jeff Bader. "Our whole goal is to get people to stay with us from 8 to 11."

The network is hardly alone. Among shows that recently have been padded on major networks are CBS hits Everybody Loves Raymond and CSI, Fox's The O.C. and NBC's ER, which has started early ? 9:59 ET/PT ? since last season.

The practice dates to NBC's 40-minute "supersized" episodes of Friends a few years back. But while NBC has scaled back, the practice has increased sharply elsewhere this season, with more subtle one- and two-minute extensions.

Viewer sniping escalated after TiVo began sending messages to its 2 million-plus subscribers this season, warning of conflicts on Lost and Housewives, among the most recorded shows, and advising them to adjust their settings.

"We really don't believe they're doing this to mess up" TiVo users, says Brodie Keast, executive VP and general manager of the TiVo service, which has fielded complaints from a "small number" of users. "We can't control what the networks are doing with their business or programming decisions, so we just notified our customers."

VHS tapers may have learned long ago to add a few extra minutes to the end of every session. But many users of the latest digital video recorders depend on the advanced technology and precise automatic settings, which can miss minute-changes not reflected in onscreen listings or shows that shift as the season progresses. Though only 5% of households have a digital video recorder, a Magna Global USA analysis of Nielsen data shows 60% of longtime DVR users automatically record their favorite shows each week.