• Advertising Age, Wednesday, October 15, 2008 9:17 AM

The Breeders' Cup tournament is copying an ad planning technique from the Fox sci-fi series "Fringe." The horse-racing championship will run fewer commercials in fewer breaks to give more time to uninterrupted programming.

Slated to air on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 on Oct. 24-25, the Breeders' Cup plans to cut in half the number of ad units that run during the races, says Peter Land, marketing chief. The event will have only 12 ad units per hour on Friday and 10 per hour on Saturday. "When you start to see the same spots over and over again, they lose their impact," he acknowledges.

While advertisers at the event will get less commercial time as part of their sponsorship pacts, they understand they'll receive more placement within the broadcast itself. Breeders' Cup sponsorship packages typically cost more than $500,000.

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