Watching TV is beginning to grind our gears. A whopping 25 percent of programming are all ads, Time reports, meaning the number of commercials has reached an all-time high. People are probably getting tired of seeing Flo from Progressive interrupting our viewing pleasures because you’re seeing more of her than usual.
According to new data from Nielsen, commercial time for an hour-long TV broadcast was about 13 minutes and 25 seconds in 2009. In 2013, Americans endured 14 minutes and 15 seconds of televised ads. And if we’re taking cable, forget about it. In 2009, commercials comprised 14 minutes and 27 seconds. Four years later, we’re talking nearly 16 minutes of being pestered to buy a product or service!
We’re seeing more commercials by design; the networks are squeezing in more time for advertising. After all, that is their bread and butter. Five years ago, only 35 percent of commercials were 15-seconds long. Compare that to 2013’s climb to 44 percent. Due to the increase in commercial allotment, ad spending skyrocketed to $78 billion in 2013, up from $69 billion in 2009.
Also, a 30-second primetime commercial is much cheaper for marketers now than it was before. Back in 2009, you’d have to shell out $8,900 for a spot on TV. Now, the price has nose-dived to $7,900 in 2013.
Perhaps the value for these TV commercials has dropped due to marketers’ growing concern with getting lost in the clutter of ads. And viewing habits have changed. DVRs and on-demand programming are an advertiser’s worst nightmare with viewers dodging commercials like the plague. Nothing is more satisfying to a TV-watcher than whizzing past the irksome ads, thanks to the beloved fast-forward button. Also, more networks are putting their TV shows online, which allows audiences to watch their favorite shows with little to no commercial interruption.
Even when we watch TV has changed. Thursday, which was once seen as a crucial day for advertisers, is no longer the most-watched time of the week. It currently stands in fifth place, with 112 million viewers, as Sunday takes the crown with 125 million people watching (thanks to the NFL and AMC’s The Walking Dead). Monday takes second with 120 million viewers. Tuesday and Wednesday outdo Thursday.
This Nielsen study was coincidentally released right before the big shot TV networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox) head to New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to convince advertisers to invest in their ad slots because of their oh-so-amazing fall line-ups.
What’s your take? Are there too many commercials on TV?
