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Fox to Significantly Cut Commercial Time

Brandon Contes

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Last week, NBC Universal announced they will cut commercial time by 20% during primetime programming this fall. Yesterday, Fox stated they hope to trim advertising on their networks down to just two minutes per hour by 2020.

“We feel like we work in this attention economy, and essentially where this market has gone sideways is that we’re not properly valuing the consumer’s time and attention,” said David Levy, the executive vice president of non-linear revenue at Fox Networks Group. “There’s more things competing for your attention than ever, so the price of attention has gone up.”

As more people take to cord-cutting, using services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime which have no advertising during their programming, linear TV networks feel the pressure of appealing to the modern day customer.

“There are more and more consumers, whether it’s from Hulu or the Netflixes or Amazons of the world, who are liberated via technology” from having to watch the sheer number of advertisements shown on traditional television, said NBC’s chairman of advertising, Linda Yaccarino. “TV networks would be crazy to believe that anything other than commercial overhaul was anything other than inevitable.”

According to Nielsen, the average amount of commercial time per hour on linear television during 2017 was 13 minutes for broadcast TV and 16 minutes on cable. Brian Wieser, a senior advertising analyst at Pivotal Research Group, told CNN some networks air up to 20 minutes of ad time during one hour of programming. With the current large amount of commercial time on television, a future decrease for Fox to just two minutes per hour is difficult to imagine.

As the way people consume content modernizes, more sponsors have looked toward advertising on digital platforms, affording networks to cut commercial time on traditional television. According to Magna, digital ad sales are expected to reach $237 billion this year, compared to $183 billion for television. If networks receive more income from digital advertising, they can limit commercial time on traditional television, providing more original content to viewers.

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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Erin Andrews

FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt to be Lead Fox Sports UFL Broadcast Team

Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt, and Brock Huard will make up the first XFL on FOX announce team, while Kevin Kugler, Devin Gardner, and Jake Butt are the #2 team.

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The United Football League logo

FOX is ready for the United Football League (UFL) season and recently announced its broadcast lineup for the upcoming season. Curt Menefee returns to the booth alongside Joel Klatt to make up the primary UFL commentary team. Joining Menefee and Klatt from the sidelines will be former NFL and University of Washington QB Brock Huard.

Menefee and Klatt will call the season-opening matchup between the defending two-time USFL Champion Birmingham Stallions and the reigning XFL Champion Arlington Renegades on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 1 p.m. ET. The second team of Kevin Kugler and former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner will call the second game of the day when the St. Louis Battlehawks take on the Michigan Panthers at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Former Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt will man the sidelines for that game.

Former NFL and USC QB Mark Sanchez was also mentioned in the FOX news release but details of his involvement were not made clear.

The UFL season kicks off on FOX this weekend and continues over on ESPN. Both networks will split coverage of the league all season long.

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CBS Sports Host James Brown To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Sports Emmys

“I am incredibly humbled by this award. I know full well that it’s not as much about me as it is about all the people with whom…I worked over all these years.”

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James Brown
Courtesy: Mary Kouw, CBS

Longtime CBS Sports host James Brown will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Sports Emmys. The awards show announced the news via its X account last night:

Brown is a three-time Sports Emmy winner for his work on CBS’ The NFL Today and previously FOX’s The NFL On FOX, and HBO’s Inside the NFL. Brown’s career spans more than 30 years and includes numerous accolades such as the Pete Rozelle Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Uncommon Award from Tony Dungy.

He was named “Best Studio Host of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated in 2010 and was honored with the 2009 Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence. In 1998 he was awarded the Golden Mic Award by the Black Broadcasters Alliance. Brown was elected into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2021.

“I am incredibly humbled by this award,” Brown said via the Sports Emmys. “I know full well that it’s not as much about me as it is about all the people with whom and for whom I worked over all these years. Thank God for the blessing!”

Sports media came together to honor Brown’s achievement:

Brown and other award recipients will be honored at the Sports Emmys award ceremony in May.

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