Six-Second Commercials Are Coming to N.F.L. Games on Fox
“So, for example, if a pitching coach comes to the mound just to have a conversation and you know
that conversation is going to last 30 seconds, is a six-second unit in there going to add to the experience and then be able to decrease the amount of ad inventory somewhere else?” Mr. Shanks said.
While TV networks have experimented with shorter commercials in the past, largely as publicity stunts for specific brands, Fox is hoping to make six-second
ads an industry standard across broadcasters as consumers in the internet era show less tolerance for frequent, bloated ad breaks during shows.
fans will first see the ads on Fox on Sept. 10 just before kickoff in the network’s games on the regular season’s opening weekend,
and Mr. Shanks said they were also being offered for the World Series and other “marquee events.” The network is working to integrate them sparingly into some in-game breaks with 15- and 30-second spots; it may also place them through new formats, like in a box adjacent to players on a field during pauses.
Fox Networks Group said in June that it would follow YouTube’s endorsement of
that length and introduce six-second ads to shows on its digital platforms and then eventually on TV.
On network television, the trend has been toward shorter commercials: In the first half of this year, 36
percent of national TV ads were 15 seconds long while 49 percent lasted 30 seconds, Nielsen data shows.
“When the six-second ads are placed in unique positions, it has the potential to gain even more
attention than a traditional unit,” Eric Shanks, president of Fox Sports, said in an interview.
Fox first tested six-second TV commercials with its broadcast of the Teen Choice Awards in mid-August.
