Dive Brief:

• Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting is hoping to reduce ad clutter and provide a better viewer experience by cutting ads by 50% in three newly-developed dramas on TNT.
• The network’s TruTV channel has already reduced its ad load on some original programming.
• Kevin Reilly, president of Time Warner Inc.’s TNT and TBS cable networks, said during a press tour, "We’ve overstuffed the bird," and added, "We need to create a better viewing experience."

Dive Insight:

The move means viewers of the TNT dramas impacted by the new policy will see eight to ten fewer minutes of ads per hour. For comparison, TNT ran almost 18 minutes of ads, including promotions, per hour during Q3 2015 according to Nielsen.

The news should be welcomed by marketers because one danger in the high volume of ads run on cable shows is each individual ad has less impact on the viewer. The higher volume also means sometimes taking over opening and closing credits, and even speeding up show content to make space for additional ads.

Though interest in native ads might be slightly down, Turner Broadcasting is taking another approach to the ad dilution issue by experimenting with native advertising. It is even giving one brand a longer ad with a connection to the show the ad airs on. According to Reilly, native ads are part of the network seeking "deeper relationships" with its advertisers.