Did anyone notice how many ads were running during NFL games last weekend? I get it, the rights to these games are incredibly expensive, and one of the main ways to make your money back is by selling ad inventory. But it feels like we’ve hit the point where there are so many commercial breaks that the games are becoming less enjoyable.
The first ad on RedZone this season.
Has The TV Timeout Become More Elongated?
I think sports fans enjoyed the NFL RedZone viewing experience last year. This year the seven-hour commercial-free model isn’t making a return, and instead they are running ads during some of the most crucial parts of the game. With all of the new platforms that NFL games are available on, you would expect the viewing experience to get better, not worse. Even if ads only ran four times during the seven-hour broadcast, it still speaks volumes about how sensitive people are to seeing ads on a platform that once offered an ad-free experience.
I was curious to see how ad breaks have changed in the NFL, and in my research I found a clear trend. There are fewer ad spots now, but the spots themselves run longer. Back in 2017 the league made its biggest change to commercial breaks when it reduced the number per half from ten to nine but extended each by thirty seconds. With college football also back, I wanted to see how they handle ad breaks. They follow a similar format to the NFL, but they allow breaks to run back to back, often creating a six-minute pause in the action. We have been experiencing this for years, so it makes sense that when you offer an ad-free experience like RedZone and then add advertisements the following year, people lose their minds.
Why Does This Matter For The Players?
The most obvious way commercial breaks affect NFL games is by changing the pace of the game. A big reason coaches call timeouts is to break the momentum of the offense. If a team’s rhythm is suddenly disrupted by an ad break, it’s incredibly frustrating for players. Anecdotally, as someone who played college football, it’s tough to deal with six-minute breaks, especially in freezing weather. This is also true in the Super Bowl, where stoppage time for ads is longer. Players have been vocal about how they have to approach it differently than a regular season game.
The Big Takeaway
The NFL hasn’t added more commercials, but the ones we get now run longer and stretch out the game. Fans feel it when RedZone changes their broadcasts, even by only adding a few ads. I’d expect to see more experimentation with RedZone ads this season, especially after fans voiced their opinions on social media over the weekend.
Mafiathon 3 is officially one third of the way through. At the time of writing, Kai has 400K subs and is on pace to hit a million by the end of the month.
If you’re subbed to him, you won’t see any ads. Just saying.
The Great Lock In Of 2025
We’re locking in for the rest of the year, this trend isn’t ready for us.
Credit to imdanjo on YouTube
Typical Gamer #1 Streamer Last Month
Typical W.
Ethan Guo Leaves Antarctica After 2 Months
Glad to have this legend back.
