More gas pumps topped with TVs

In the midst of a tough summer for America's drivers in terms of gasoline prices, there is a diversion: TV at the pump.

The number of televisions atop gas pumps have skyrocketed since their introduction at a handful of stations in 2006. Now, three privately held companies have placed more than 20,000 screens at thousands of stations across the country.

On a recent workday at a Shell station in Miami, a screen above the pump aired 15-second ads for fuel-efficient Chevy cars, Norwegian Cruise Lines and, of course, Shell gasoline.

Anna DaSilva, a 59-year-old retiree from Doral, said she had never seen the screens at gas stations until this month, when she fueled up at a Shell station near her home.

DaSilva said she liked the idea not because of the ads but because it distracted her from the high gas prices.

"I think that's the whole purpose of the TVs," she said.

Orlando Garcia, a Miami engineer, did not even look at the TV screen as it broadcast a Norwegian Cruise Lines ad on a recent workday. He was too busy pumping $75 into the tank of his Range Rover.

"It doesn't bother me, but I'm not really paying much attention to it," the 37-year-old Garcia said, adding that "$4.15 gas -- now that bothers me."

TV programming at the pumps varies by location and provider.

A firm called PumpTop TV, for instance, provides real-time traffic maps, local sports scores, headlines and weather. Fuelcast carries trivia and NBC content. Gas Station TV broadcasts CBS programming and carried an American Idol-type search earlier this year for a host who will anchor some segments.

"We try to bring some fun to the pump," says Roy Reeves, vice president of sales and marketing for PumpTop TV, an Irvine, Calif., company that provides screens and content at nearly 600 stations nationwide.

The TVs are reportedly also bringing in added revenue for gas retailers. When the owners advertise anything from candy bars to car washes on the TVs, they say in-store sales rise compared to other stations without the screens.

Gas Station TV, says that in tracking its retailers' sales, stores with screens installed on pumps report selling 75 percent more car washes and 69 percent more snacks if those items are advertised. The other two pump TV companies report similar sales increases.

Once a customer starts the pump, the TV comes on -- and stays on. There is no way to change the channel or mute the volume.

"It's a natural pause point in people's day," said David Leider of Gas Station TV, which is based in Detroit. "The customer is tied to the screen with an eight-foot rubber hose for five minutes."