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TV viewers are complaining about excessive commercials that seem more intrusive than ever and slow down the programs they surround, USA Today reports. Some of those complaints could be due to ABC requiring all drama producers to move to a six-act format, rather than the traditional four-act format, this fall. All of The WB’s dramas use the format too. CBS, NBC, and FOX use it on some shows.
The amount of “clutter,” including network and local commercials and plugs for other shows, has steadily increased on broadcast and cable, to the point where an “hour-long” drama is about 40 minutes of original programming. Average non-program minutes in an hour of prime-time have risen from broadcast’s 9:53 and cable’s 12:46 in 1996, to 15:48 non-program minutes for broadcast and 14:55 for cable in 2004.
ABC ad-sales chief Mike Shaw says he’s perplexed by increasing complaints. Viewers must “feel that way because they love the show so much, that they really notice it when the breaks are there,” Shaw says. Even though studies show ABC has slightly more commercials than other networks, ABC did run away with the top spot among 18-49s for the first week of the season, with Desperate Housewives making a major contribution to the ratings win. And for the third week of the 2005-06 season, ABC was once again the highest-rated network in the adults 18 to 49 demographic, with Housewives scoring an 11.1 rating for the same group, TV Week reports.
Advertising researchers say the cluttered airwaves, which also include logos and promos during shows, risk turning off viewers even from must-see shows and worsening recall of their ads. Advertisers tolerate the excess bunching of commercials for the sake of reaching 25 million viewers in TV’s biggest hits. That said, a recent poll shows ABC is impressing media buyers and planners this season.
For some shows, including Housewives, the first segment runs for nine to 11 minutes before the first break. Once viewers are hooked, they’re confronted with four more commercial breaks, each about three-and-a-half minutes long, over the next 45 minutes. The shortest act on Sunday’s Desperate Housewives, which carries 30 seconds more of ads than other ABC shows, ran for four minutes 14 seconds, not much longer than the commercial breaks that surrounded it.
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