Less is more. But apparently, not for long.

Rick Stanton, Creative Director / Managing Partner, Stanton & Everybody Advertising + Design

ABC has four new shows premiering as the fall TV schedule unfolds.
In an attempt to keep viewers glued to their seats, they have decided to eliminate in essence one entire advertising pod for the shows’ premier.
Noble concept.
While this may seem daring in light of the downturn in TV advertising revenue, it’s probably going to end up being the poster child for short-sidedness.
Besides content, one of the most glaring things wrong with broadcast are too many advertisements.
And unfortunately too many of them are highly forgettable.
One of my mentors, Shannon Sweatte, a Seattle radio giant, told me not so long ago that if he ran a radio station today he would make the content the most important focus and when the station was “right” he would have fewer ads and charge more for them.
Brilliant.
Is there anything worse than listening to the morning news on the radio and in the span of half an hour get fifteen minutes of commercials? Most of them featuring Dori Monson and his friends at. Actually there was one thing worse; listening to the Mariners on KOMO. This breath brought to you by … everyone loses, especially the advertisers, because the station paid too much for the broadcast rights.
If ABC, whose ratings blow, had any sense they would take the less-is-more approach for all of their programming. And in the process, redefine the value of having one’s ads appear in programming that embraced the idea of white space in the ad pods.
It is stunning to me that the network execs see the value of “keeping people in their seats” for the premiers only to go back to the same old approach going forward.
If content were valuable and advertising space was worth what it costs because of that content, everyone would be much better off.
TV and radio are their own worst enemies. They are driven by corporate greed and not the tenants of good broadcasting.
If ABC Entertainment Executive VP Jeff Bader had any foresight he might realize he was on to something. But foresight like content, is hard to come by in broadcasting these days.
The result? More is less.

Check this out.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/09/abc-cutting-back-on-commercials-for-series-premiere-episodes.html