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Despite Efforts by Some Networks, the Average Amount of Advertising per Hour in Prime Time Remains Near Its All-Time High

Mar 21, 2018  •  Post A Comment

Ad minutes in prime time remain near all-time highs even as some networks — notably Fox and the NBCUniversal networks — have begun rattling their sabers about reducing ad loads in their programming.

MediaPost cites data released today as part of the March 2018 ad forecast update from Interpublic’s Magna unit showing national TV ad loads per hour of network prime at 12.3 minutes for cable and 11.5 minutes for broadcast in the fourth quarter of last year. The cable figure is part of a relatively flat trend, while broadcast trended downward in the quarter.

“Both Fox and NBCU have taken a strong position on reducing ad loads as part of an effort to improve the quality of viewers’ experience, as well as the effectiveness of the ads they are exposed to,” the report notes.

National TV ad loads are just one factor in total clutter.

One Comment

  1. By the time you figure in ads, promos and titles, there are about 43 minutes of actual SHOW in an hour. It’s gotten so bad, that I record everything I want to watch and just fast forward through all of the ads. If spot breaks were only a minute or two, I might not, but they are usually 3-4 minutes, so, no, I skip them.

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