MediaBuyerPlanner: Fox, in a bid to keep viewers watching during commercial breaks, will begin running short, animated snippets of programming between ads.
The tiny bits of programming will be about a taxi driver called Oleg, who will share words of wisdom and will chat with spoof versions of celebrities like Tom Cruise and Donald Trump, writes The Wall Street Journal. Two eight-second clips will begin airing on Monday.
The other broadcast networks are working on similar initiatives. At its development meetings with advertisers, for example, ABC showed off an idea that it hopes would make the break between programming and commercials seamless. The idea involves having characters watching an ad on TV. The ad would then expand to fill the whole screen.
NBC is also planning new ways to keep viewers engaged. One idea involves trivia, and will take place during multiple episodes of Scrubs.
The CW’s content wraps, which involve mini-programs that run during commercial breaks, have worked so well at keeping viewers watching that the network is nearly doubling the number of wraps it planned to use next season, according to the article.
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