Networked TV Channels Speed up TV Shows to Place More Ads
If it seems like there are a lot more ads on network TV these days, it’s not just because you’re used to Netflix without ads. A 2013 AVS forum thread revealed that TBS accelerated Seinfeld ‘s episodes by 7.5 percent to air more ads. The clip showing a side-by-side comparison between the TBS episode and the original episode was removed due to copyright infringement, but there is an updated YouTube video from 2015 showing Seinfeld’s episode speeding up 9 percent:
However, this isn’t just happening on TBS. The Los Angeles Times reported that other cable networks like TV Land have done so too, especially with older shows like I Love Lucy and Friends . Because of this, commercials are taking up more time on television: TV rating company Nielsen found that broadcast networks aired 15.8 minutes of commercials per hour in 2014, up from 14.5 minutes in 2009.
One of the reasons for this is the drop in TV ratings, which lowers the cost of individual ad slots. To compensate for lost profits, TV companies show more advertisements. In response to the increasing number of commercials, TV shows have become shorter . The average length of The Big Bang Theory episodes is 22 minutes , compared to the I Love Lucy episodes, which averaged 30 minutes . Older TV shows are often edited or sped up a bit to make room for commercial breaks. Cable networks have also slashed the opening credits for TV shows in order to increase ad run times.
However, this method may change as TV ratings plummet further as competitors such as Netflix and Hulu take over the TV market. According to a 2016 New York Times article, major broadcasters such as Turner and Viacom (which own MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon) began to cut ads and shift their focus to brand-sponsored programming, such as when NBC teamed up with American Express at Leap Day to create extended segments of popular NBC shows .