08-12-2022, 06:10 PM
We will see how it falls but interesting how the PSBs now back the increase when in the past they've repeatedly said during such consultations that the effects of supply v demand would be neutral at best.
Sadly then I suspect OFCOM will rubber stamp it and there will be no going back at a time when actually ad load on linear channels needs to be viewed as much in the context as the ad load in on demand services as it is on digital channels. Dave may have breaks up to 6 minutes long including trailers, but even ITV and C4's own on demand services can have ad breaks in content at least than a minute. Indeed currently ITVX's "FAST" channels have barely any ads at all, though suspect that'll graduallly increase.
C4's comment on taking out the break between shows is interesting but also something they could do within the current limitations (they do at times around new shows, but not frequently). With 10.5 minutes an hour if the take the 9pm and 10pm breaks out and then air the remaining 8.5 minutes during the 6pm hour or C4 News, they could pretty much run primetime with accelerated flow, and indeed there is enough flex within the rest of the day to run it most the day too.
Personally I do want to see more experimentation with ad break structure but increasing the PSB average to 9 minutes an hour from 7 minutes will actually limit that. I absolutely think the primetime limit should be raised from 40 minutes to 45 minutes, but would rather see more incentives to lighten the ad loads within programmes. Viewers I think would notice the difference if rather than packing in the full 12 minutes into some hours they kept it to an average of around 9 minutes an hour from 6am to 12.30am, cutting the standard ad break from 03:30 + 20sec promo to 02:20 + 20 sec. They would then need to ad a few minutes back into programme content each hour though, but that would soon sort itself out.
Sadly then I suspect OFCOM will rubber stamp it and there will be no going back at a time when actually ad load on linear channels needs to be viewed as much in the context as the ad load in on demand services as it is on digital channels. Dave may have breaks up to 6 minutes long including trailers, but even ITV and C4's own on demand services can have ad breaks in content at least than a minute. Indeed currently ITVX's "FAST" channels have barely any ads at all, though suspect that'll graduallly increase.
C4's comment on taking out the break between shows is interesting but also something they could do within the current limitations (they do at times around new shows, but not frequently). With 10.5 minutes an hour if the take the 9pm and 10pm breaks out and then air the remaining 8.5 minutes during the 6pm hour or C4 News, they could pretty much run primetime with accelerated flow, and indeed there is enough flex within the rest of the day to run it most the day too.
Personally I do want to see more experimentation with ad break structure but increasing the PSB average to 9 minutes an hour from 7 minutes will actually limit that. I absolutely think the primetime limit should be raised from 40 minutes to 45 minutes, but would rather see more incentives to lighten the ad loads within programmes. Viewers I think would notice the difference if rather than packing in the full 12 minutes into some hours they kept it to an average of around 9 minutes an hour from 6am to 12.30am, cutting the standard ad break from 03:30 + 20sec promo to 02:20 + 20 sec. They would then need to ad a few minutes back into programme content each hour though, but that would soon sort itself out.