WWE to Feature Fewer Commercials This Fall As Part of New NBC Ad Initiative

– NBCUniversal has announced a new advertising intiative that will kick off this fall, which will see fewer ads on programming including WWE. The announcement involved a plan to decrease the number of commercials in ad breaks by 20% and decreasing advertising time by 10% across networks for primetime programming. This will include a new sixty second contextually-programmed “Prime Pod” in the first or last break of a show dedicated to up to two advertisers for stronger impact with viewers.

Starting this fall, NBCUniversal’s audiences will see fewer ads that aim to be more relevant and less cluttered. One result of this will mean more time for episode’s running lengths. The breakdown is below, per the announcement:

Fewer Ads:
* NBCUniversal will reduce the number of ads across its networks by 20%, and total ad time by 10% in Prime Originals across the entire portfolio.
* The company is making reductions in more than 50 Primetime original shows across its entire portfolio.

Better Ads:

* Research shows that innovative advertising products increase consumer engagement by more than 20%[2].
* NBCUniversal will also unveil a suite of innovative new ad products including Interactive Picture in Picture and Social Commercials and Social First Pods.
* Contextually targeted ads fuel greater consumer conversion and NBCUniversal will use a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based contextual content targeting product that combs through scripts and data sources to make every ad that much more contextually relevant to its audience.

More Relevant Ads:
* NBCUniversal will use its unparalleled technology, tools, talent and creative capabilities to help clients’ advertisements resonate the most and deliver them in new ways.
* NBCUniversal has created a new 60 second “PRIME POD” of National ad time in the first or last break of a show.
* This transformative new pod, which will be dedicated to up to two advertisers, combines the power of fewer, better, and more contextually relevant ads, and gives clients a unique opportunity to connect with audiences in the most effective, exciting, and efficient way.