NBC Universal will cut the number of commercials in primetime by 20% on all their networks beginning this fall. They say this will reduce the overall ad time by about 10%. In addition to NBC, their stations include Telemundo, USA, MSNBC, E! and Bravo.
Obviously, this is a direct reaction to streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, which give people the option of watching without any commercials at all.
NBC is trying out some new things to compensate for the loss . . . including introducing special 60-second ads that are specifically tailored for shows and audiences. Also, the change is only for first-run episodes.
The ad-time for REPEATS will not change.
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