With the proliferation of ad-free streaming services and platforms featuring reduced commercial loads further diminishing many viewers' affinity for commercials within traditional linear formats, NBCUniversal Media LLC will roll back the number of messages it runs in original programming across its broadcast and cable networks, starting this fall.
NBCU announced Feb. 28 that it plans to reduce the number of advertisements it airs within commercial pods by 20%, which would result in a 10% decline in ad time across its original prime-time portfolio, including NBC (US), Telemundo (US), USA, Syfy (US), Bravo (US), E!, CNBC and Oxygen.
In turn, Comcast Corp.'s programming arm will deploy various new ad formats, including a new 60-second contextually programmed "Prime Pod," positioned in the first or last break of a show. The company also will tap artificial intelligence to match messaging that is more relevant to the respective programming's audiences.
The less-is-more approach is aimed at providing viewers with an enhanced experience, while making the advertising more effective. Citing research from Nielsen Holdings, NBCU believes that innovative advertising products increase consumer engagement by upward of 20%.
The move comes at a time when Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are adding subscribers and digital platforms like Hulu LLC and CBS All Access proffer commercial-free access at premium pricing. Working with Comcast, FX Network (US) and AMC Networks Inc. have subscription plans offering commercial-free access to their respective libraries of original series. Such platforms are steeling an expectation, particularly among younger viewers, that content should air sans messaging, or with few spots.
At the same time, many linear programmers have increased clutter, adding more than 400,000 ads from 2013-2017, according to a Nielsen study.
"Sometimes, a little bit less means a whole lot more. The industry knows that television is already the most effective advertising medium there is, but we need to make the experience better for viewers," said Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and client partnerships at NBCU, in a release. "NBCUniversal is advancing the TV experience as consumer behavior has evolved: lower ad loads, more innovation and more targeting. We’re reimagining the advertising experience for consumers, marketers and the entire industry."
NBC previously reduced the number of commercials in "Saturday Night Live" and deployed 6-second spots during the recently completed Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. FOX (US) has engaged in similar shortened format within sports programming, while Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s TNT (US) and truTV (US) and Viacom Inc. networks have employed strategic reductions in ad loads.
None of those efforts, though, has been as wide-scale as NBCU's initiative, particularly as NBC, behind its coverage of Super Bowl LII and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, has vaulted into the top spot among broadcasters. As the industry gears up for the upfront selling season, NBC could supplant CBS as the most-watched network for the full 2017-18 TV season.
NBCU no doubt will look to extract a premium for the units that are expected to resonate more with viewers as a means to add dollars to those being lost from running fewer ads.
As it begins pitching, NBCU will bring a new 60-second "Prime Pod" to market. Airing during the first or last break of a show, the 1-minute pod — typically pods extend to 2.5 minutes — will house up to two advertisers in contextual fashion, affording opportunities to reach audiences more effectively and efficiently.
According to a video introducing this new commercial experience, NBCU will also offer clients the opportunity to engage with viewers via the following ad formats: "primetime bridge," "scripted commercial launch," "interactive picture in a picture," "social commercial" and "show within a show."
