A Strategic Placement of Television?

Over the summer I began to get lazy about my exercise schedule (I dont have enough friends who play tennis), and thus decided to check out the Ratner gym facilities. For individuals going to the gym there are essentially two possibilities: weights or cardio-fitness equipment (ellipticals and treadmills). I choose the cardio equipment. The first thing I notice when I enter the equipment room is the televisions. There is one television screen in front of every elliptical and treadmill. They are completely unavoidable, equipped with all the cable channels you could ask for. I get on an elliptical machine and try what I assume everyone else is doing: distracting themselves from the actual activity of exercise by watching their favorite TV show. This doesnt work for me. I have never experienced television in this way before. Usually I watch television in a relaxed state, sitting or lying down on a sofa, but now suddenly I was sweating, my heart racing, getting a work out (the last thing that I associate with television). Luckily there is the option of turning off the television, which is what I do. But then I wonder... I decide to turn the TV back on and compare my exercise rate/calories burned (all monitored by the elliptical machine) with the TV on versus with it off. I learn quickly that when the TV is on and I start watching it, my exercise rate slows down significantly. It seems that my body associates TV with a state of rest. I guess this is not the case for everyone else at the gym, but maybe they just havent noticed that television is slowing them down.