26-07-2022, 12:56 PM
Straying off topic slightly but Sky in domestic sports coverage almost always just before kick off go to a break, return for a very short part which is usually just promoting other Sky content, before then going for another shorter break.
In the event ITV or whoever had an 8 minute slot to fill they'd likely do something similar - there used to be fairly strictly rules about how long the bits between the ads could be but they could probably get away with just a couple of minutes nowadays. This is also where the 40 minute limit on primetime ads is useful and probably why the PSBs have previously not wanted to drop it - it gives them that flexibility to run events in primetime where they are limited in how often they can show ads by redistributing them elsewhere.
The US are much more willing to experiment with ad load than we see with British broadcasters, who usually pretty strictly stick with the three and a half minutes + 1 promo they're allowed in every break. Whilst the norm in the US is the 5 or 6 breaks an hour totalling 18-20 minutes of the hour (with promos) they do stray from that occassionally with things like one minute ad breaks, split screen ads or even hours of shows presented commercial free, but in conjunction with a partner. Here it seems even though there is flexibility within the existing rules to try some other strategies it's rare other than the odd programme beginning immediately after the last (the norm in the US) the only thing done different with ad breaks is the "special" ad breaks which have become quite frequent on ITV and C4 in recent years in an attempt to keep viewers watching throughout.
In the event ITV or whoever had an 8 minute slot to fill they'd likely do something similar - there used to be fairly strictly rules about how long the bits between the ads could be but they could probably get away with just a couple of minutes nowadays. This is also where the 40 minute limit on primetime ads is useful and probably why the PSBs have previously not wanted to drop it - it gives them that flexibility to run events in primetime where they are limited in how often they can show ads by redistributing them elsewhere.
The US are much more willing to experiment with ad load than we see with British broadcasters, who usually pretty strictly stick with the three and a half minutes + 1 promo they're allowed in every break. Whilst the norm in the US is the 5 or 6 breaks an hour totalling 18-20 minutes of the hour (with promos) they do stray from that occassionally with things like one minute ad breaks, split screen ads or even hours of shows presented commercial free, but in conjunction with a partner. Here it seems even though there is flexibility within the existing rules to try some other strategies it's rare other than the odd programme beginning immediately after the last (the norm in the US) the only thing done different with ad breaks is the "special" ad breaks which have become quite frequent on ITV and C4 in recent years in an attempt to keep viewers watching throughout.
@Brekkietweets