Because it was long thought that few people would watch lengthy televi

E since that is the only one that talks about length of the commerical and people maintaining an interest inspite of the length, which is what the argument is about.

E: This elimantes the possibility that the TV wasn't just on and people weren't actually watching the show.

Yes, you are correct. E should be the answer. The question itself says " Last year, however, one candidate.....". So, that brings more sense to E.

Answer is E
If someone has to air longer programme then they must be sure that people will watch it instead of either switching channel after few minutes or keeping TV while doing something else. If either of these happens then its clear tat people are not interested after few minutes.So assumption has to be that people will not switch channel after few minute and also will not just keep the TV ON while doing something else.

Kudos please, if it helped.

Hi, similarly, even I was confused between the two (ie. C and E) but if you look closely, even the question stem consists 'last years' data so we are actually comparing last year with last year. Hence, it's valid, so the answer must be E.

A: What are the consequences of the advertisement on candidate's political career is not matter of discussion.
B: How influential are advertisements for voters decisions at Polls-Out of scope and question.
C: The reasons (would appreciate to know the candidate more)- why would anyone watch half hour long advt.- is not discussed here. We need the statement which will support the fact that half hour long advts are infact watched, which is contrary to the earlier belief.
D: What majority of people from a specific category (interested in political issues) does is again out of scope.
E: Clearly justifies that half hour long advts are watched. If the viewers would have turned off or changed channels in first few minutes, then they were clearly not interested.

Because it was long thought that few people would watch lengthy televised political messages, most televised political advertisements, like commercial advertisements, took the form of short messages. Last year, however, one candidate produced a half-hour-long advertisement. During the half hour the advertisement was aired, a substantial portion of the viewing public tuned into the advertisement. Clearly, then, many more people are interested in watching lengthy televised political messages than was previously thought.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. The candidate’s ratings improved significantly as a result of the half-hour-long political advertisement.
B. Political advertisements have become increasingly influential in determining voters’ decisions at the polls.
C. Many people would appreciate the opportunity to become better acquainted with political candidates’ views on current political issues.
D. Most people who are interested in political issues watch television regularly.
E. Most of the viewers who tuned in to the candidate’s half-hour-long advertisement last year did not change channels after the first few minutes.

This is an assumption-based question. We need to look for an answer choice that when negated breaks the argument.
A – The candidate’s rating is not relevant to the conclusion that more people are interested in watching the lengthy advertisement. Eliminate.
B – Voter’s decision at the polls is irrelevant. Eliminate.
C – Irrelevant to the argument. Eliminate.
D – The conclusion is whether or not more people are interested in watching the lengthy political advertisement. It does not matter whether they watch TV on a regular basis or not. Eliminate.
E – OA – Let’s negate option E. If more people tuned in and then immediately changed to another channel then it can be concluded that even though more people tuned in, they are not interested in the long political advertisement. This breaks the argument and is hence the right answer. Correct

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