Yesterday, Bill posted on Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee’s great summary on the growth of TV advertising dollars on the web, based on a study done by Convergence Consultants. That prompted commenter NN to write:
“Convergence thinks 4 minutes per half hour is the max people will tolerate online.” I just don’t get why they believe there is such a difference between online viewing and standard broadcast/cable viewing, do they provide any reason ?
I speculate that the answer to NN’s question is that it was by asking people questions rather than conducting exhaustive (and expensive) research on what people would actually do. But, the good news is even if Convergence is correct, that essentially means the current amount of advertising can be increased significantly, as I have been frequently suggesting will happen.
Currently, most people are getting far less than four minutes of advertising per half hour. A typical episode of Family Guy on Hulu carries three thirty second spots — 1.5 minutes, or 90 seconds. Four minutes would be a 2.5 minute increase, and half of the eight minutes worth of commercials per half hour typically seen on television.
Jeff Zucker is famously quoted for not wanting to trade analog dollars for digital pennies. He’s updated that to digital dimes now, but even at the same rates as television, the recommended limits by Convergence would get things up to digital half dollars.
It’s frequently touted that online actually carries an advertising premium because of superior targeting capabilities. I don’t think the 2X premium that would be necessary with half the commercials to even the online landscape with the television model is realistic. But, a 1.3X premium is probably realistic. In order to even things out with a 1.3X premium, you’d need about six minutes of commercials per half hour, and I think it’s reasonable to expect something like that will ultimately happen.
Thanks for the quote and I do believe you’re right in the whole equal levels of advertising in online and broadcast tv.
It is sometimes hinted that Hulu has problems selling all of its ad inventory because the advertisers haven’t been willing to move from the tried and true Nielsen reported viewing numbers on broadcast/cable to the more uncharted online area, could it be that one of the major reasons for the lower number of ads online is that they still struggle to get enough advertisers on board ?
I am willing to put up with the same amount of commercials online as on TV. I enjoy the convenience of being able to watch any show any time I want. Commercial interruption is no big deal to me. I just surf the internet during them.
I noticed that the ads in front of “Saturday Night Live” sketches on the NBC site are very short. Don’t know how much advertisers pay for those or if they are sold in a bundle. I’d much rather watch a 15-20 second ad online than something longer and if the ads are done well the products advertised at least stick with you. People are less likely to multitask during short advertisements and more likely to pay attention.
I have even clicked on a few Hulu ads and gone to the product web site and ordered. I have never done that for TV commercials. I ignore them.
That’s a good point Jack. I have also clicked on ads played before videos, or on ad banners when I’ve seen something interesting.
I’m sure I’ve wanted to look more into something I’ve seen on tv, but 5 minutes later I probably have forgotten the ad all together, and it’s not like I can pause the tv show to take them time there and then to check it out. I like that online ads allow you to immediately check them out if you see something that interests you.
Instead of number of minutes of ads they should concentrate on very short ad spots. 10-15 seconds max should be enough to highlight the main points with a “click here” for longer ad and product website. I would call these Teaser Ads. You don’t need the full 4 minutes, or even 2 minutes. Let the advertisers do the work to MAKE you interested enough to click or follow up on it in another browser.
90% of people still prefer to sit down in front of a TV the traditional way – when a show is originally broadcast. Increasing numbers are using DVR’s but if the economy continues to stink, expensive frills like DVR services/super high speed internet (needed for online viewing) will likely suffer. As for watching online, thats still a very small percentage of viewers – mostly techno geeks and college age or younger viewers. 10,20,30 years from now this will certainly change as more old people die and younger people start viewing online, but not now.
As for ads, I pay little attention to them online or off. When I need something I go online and research it or buy based on recommendation of family and friends and products/companies with good reputations. And once I find a product I like, I usually keep buying until they stop selling it, if its high quality and the price is reasonable. Most ads to me are just noise.
Jeff Zucker needs to be fired.
Anyways, 1 minute commercial breaks four times an episode I’m OK with, but it depends what it it is. I can’t remember if there were long commercials in HULU movies or not. No one wants to watch movies with 5 minute breaks in them for commercials.
i am 26 and like to sit and watch tv
My whole entertainment life is geared around avoiding ads. I don’t watch much of any live TV anymore (having a baby in the house makes that almost impossible anyways). DVR has been a godsend. Commercial breaks have gotten out of hand, 4-6 minutes a break, 20 minutes an hour? No thanks. I’d rather networks go the way of HBO. I can barely sit through 2 ad per break on Survivor online (DISH and local CBS are having a spat), but I do what I must until I switch to DirecTV. If it gets worse, I’ll just stop watching.