Mid-Movie Ads? The Return of the Commercial Break, Re-marketed

 If you have fond memories of scaling the couch (and siblings) as you flew to the kitchen for snacks during a TV movie commercial break, the latest takeaway from this year’s Upfronts might be right up your alley. Everyone else may be left a little annoyed- but the technology and market trends behind this “new” old development are interesting, at least. Our entertainment attorney Los Angeles in the know, Brandon Blake of Blake & Wang P.A. dives deeper into this new face for an old TV friend.

                                                                       Brandon Blake

Ad-Supported Expands to Movies

With both Amazon and Netflix making their first in-person pitches to advertisers at this year’s Upfronts, we knew there was going to be a lot of focus on their TV slates. Seeing movies introduced to that same table, however, is a new development. Or rather, an old one, re-marketed.

Viewers have already proven that they are happy to deal with film and TV pre-rolls, as well as ad rolls between and even during episodic TV, as a trade-off for cheaper subscription tiers. Streaming services have, however, been reluctant to fully return to the old ‘on TV mid-movie commercial break’ model. That seems to be changing.

Feature Film Streaming Ads, Mid-Movie

As the Upfronts pitches directly to ad buyers, not streaming consumers or the people who make their content, there was a lot of hype around the potential ‘premium’ advertising mid-roll adverts could bring to the table. “Prime real estate” was mentioned a lot. Plus, with AI now a reality, these ads could even be inserted into the movies themselves, not merely as a commercial break.

Even they couldn’t pretend filmmakers or viewers would like it much, however, simply stating that they will accept it, or pay to move to premium. A win for the streaming service, either way, but one has to wonder how much of a win it is for those who create and enjoy movies on streaming. Or the public’s long-term willingness to pay fast-rising prices for what is quickly becoming the same old, familiar, broadcast advertising model. Especially now bundling is also becoming the norm. Wasn’t the point of streaming to escape all this?

 

So if you are looking for a nostalgic take on the “olden days” of broadcast TV, well, this could be for you. For everyone else? It’s time to start planning your snack breaks once again!