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Fox's Fringe, Dollhouse to Run with Half the Ads
Dollhouse by Kurt Iswarienko/Fox
Fox entertainment chairman Peter Liguori at Thursday's upfronts presentation unveiled a "Remote-Free TV" initiative, under which Fox will launch its two new dramas — J.J. Abrams' Fringe (premiering in late August) and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (debuting midseason) — with half the commercial and promo time of a typical series. That adds up to no more than about five minutes of national ad loads per hour, and this applies to every episode.
In the wake of increased competition from cable, Liguori wants "Remote-Free TV" to "be bold, to engage, to make the audience lean forward." What's your take? A sound idea to give viewers more of what they want, especially from these two sure-to-be-exciting new series? — MWM
Related:
• The Biz at the Upfronts: A Spot-On Move By Fox
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May 15, 2008 5:23 PM
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good idea, but i assume this is only for the premiere? after that i think it will be back to normal
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May 15, 2008 5:32 PM
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In the age of DVRs, does anyone really care? So I will have to fast forward a few seconds less. Big deal.
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May 15, 2008 5:37 PM
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Fewer ads means less revenue. Given how difficult it is already for any new show to establish itself these days, this sounds risky to me.
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May 15, 2008 5:42 PM
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MWM said: "with half the commercial and promo time of a typical series. That's right, no more than five minutes of ad/promo breaks per hour."
I thought that typical series ran 16 minutes of commercials and promos per hour. That would be 8 minutes for these two. If they're truly running only 5 minutes of them, that would be less than a third of the normal amount.
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May 15, 2008 6:32 PM
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Wouldn't the "big deal" here be that there can be more show - they won't have to cut out scenes that they'd normally cut out for commercials?
I can't tell from the announcement whether it applies past the premiere or not, but given the realities of business, I'm going to assume "not".
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May 15, 2008 6:44 PM
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Anonymouse, when you record a show on a DVR, then delete all-but-the-show, you get just a shade over 40 minutes, so no. 16 minutes is a long gone concept! And daytime TV is even less!
I kind of feel bad for advertisers, because really...I haven't watched a commercial in years! Every now and then, someone at work says, "didja see..." some commercial, and I haven't, and I'm out of the loop. It's funny to be a social misfit because I'm not watching the commercials the rest of the world seems to be watching!
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May 15, 2008 6:58 PM
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Agreed -- 16 or 17 minutes is usually the commercial length of a one-hour program. I'm confused -- are we getting half of that (about 8 minutes) of commercials, or the promised 5 minutes? Either way, I'm excited!
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May 15, 2008 7:14 PM
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Wouldn't the "big deal" here be that there can be more show - they won't have to cut out scenes that they'd normally cut out for commercials?
Exactly - that's at least 12 minutes more television show which is awesome! Any more, an hour long TV show cannot due much of a plot when 18 minutes of it is commercials. This will mean a much more substantial plotline!
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May 15, 2008 7:20 PM
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I suppose 16 or 17 minutes is right for actual commercials, but when you count in local and network promos, you're flirting with 20 minutes.
Anyway, who cares? If I watch something live, I've got a second show cued up on my second TV. For instance, I'm watching Lost right now, but during the commercials, I'm watching Ellen and The View. When I sit down to watch TV, I'm in it to win it!!! Hee hee! (BTW, for those of you watching Lost at 10pm eastern, you'll need your hankies about five minutes in....)
BTW, Ranger99, I don't know about more substantial plotline in that short amount of time, but I'll settle for subtle nuance, which is what I'm always looking for in these shows! (Are you listening, producers???)
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May 15, 2008 7:23 PM
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Doesn't this also mean the Joss and JJ will have to write more for possibly less money. The shows will earn less money thus there will be less revenue to share.
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May 15, 2008 7:42 PM
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good idea, but i assume this is only for the premiere?
Nope, every episode. I asked around at the Fox after-party just now. The story has been edited for clarity.
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May 15, 2008 8:22 PM
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WOW, Matt! Thanks for the clarification. That's AMAAAAAZING! (But no thanks for blowing my mind during My Name Is Earl!)
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May 15, 2008 8:37 PM
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This sounds great to me. I get tired of having to fast forward through commercials every five minutes. And I never stop it in time, so I have to reverse to get back to where the program starts up again.
This is why I watch whatever programs I can on Comcast's OnDemand service.
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May 15, 2008 10:09 PM
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Let me guess... this means more annoying pop-up ads and product placement? I'd rather have the commercials. The Stride episode of Smallville was horrible. Sydney Bristow yelling "Take the Ford F150!" to Vaughn still makes me cringe, and every time one of those pop-ads pops up, with their increasing size and sounds, it makes me want to switch channels and wait for the DVDs to come out. So you can tell them that if this is their plan, they should just stick to commercials.
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May 15, 2008 11:18 PM
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