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When Steve Gotham of Attleboro fills up his truck, he also watches the weather and sometimes, the news.

The Shell station and convenience store where Gotham fills up on Route 123 in Attleboro has TV at every pump.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "I kind of like them."

Gotham said he doesn't feel like he's being pitched advertising while watching the weather, but advertisers pay for the TVs, store employee Bobby Miceli said.

"Some people don't realize they're advertising," Miceli said. Companies pay gas station owners rent to place the flat screens above the pumps, and the retailers also can advertise specials or products inside the convenience store.

The TVs are also bringing in added revenue for gas retailers, who have recently seen their margins shrink because of an increase in fuel load costs and credit card fees.

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.

All offer heavy rotations of 15-second ads - oil companies are staple advertisers - and all pump "networks" say they will roll out more screens in new markets later this summer

"A lot of people are surprised to see them," Miceli said.

"I've never seen them until now," said Patricia King of Attleboro.

Once a customer starts the pump, the TV comes on - and stays on. There's no way to change the channel or mute the volume. So people usually tune in.

"I guess its something to do while you're standing here," King said. Peter Pariseau of Attleboro didn't bother paying attention to the TV while he pumped his gas. He said he wasn't there long enough.

More information about Gas Station TV can be found at www.gstv.com.