By slashing the number of commercials for two new dramas, Fringe (fall premiere) and The Dollhouse (January premiere), Fox has been able to command 35-40 percent premiums for regular 30-second commercial spots.
It's all part of the network's Remote Free TV initiative, which hopes that by eliminating the amount of total commercial time, viewers will become more engaged in the programming and, thus, less likely to skip through the ads. (Gimmicks like this one have helped Fox sell out 70 percent of its upfront primetime commercial spots, and they could finish sales by the end of the week.) [MW]
Advertisers like it because it eliminates commercial clutter, where so many ads are squeezed into a single block of programming that marketing messages can be easily lost amidst the inundation.
Viewers like it because it means they'll have to hit the fast-forward button less often.
Editorial Director
So? Everybody wins.
Fox gets their piece of the pie. Non-DVR users aren't driven nutty. DVR users continue to enjoy ad-free TV for which they've paid a significant premium (ie, cable fees). And advertisers get that warm squishy feeling that makes them (erroneously) feel like they're relevant.
Now, if the local affiliates will join in we'll have it made. Broadcast avails have always been up for auction, they just don't like to call it that. And, fewer avails give agencies fewer reasons to discrep their spots (pod placement, airing in adjacency breaks, etc).