• by Michael Shields , April 12, 2004

Advertising clutter on network TV is worse than ever, and advertisers are becoming more innovative in their methods of encroaching on TV viewing--sometimes invading actual programming with messaging, according to a study on 2003 ad clutter released Monday by MindShare.

As it has been since the inaugural MindShare Clutter Watch study in 1998, ABC is the notorious leader in clutter during prime time, with 15:31 minutes-per-hour of non-programming (ABC declined to comment). But NBC and Fox have closed the gap, as all three networks passed the 15-minutes-per-hour milestone of non-programming (commercials, promos, PSAs, etc).

FOX, which had carried the least amount of clutter in recent years, made the biggest year-to-year jump in 2003, from 14:47 to 15:13 minutes. CBS has increased its clutter, but is still below the 15-minute mark at 14:18 minutes.

Cable networks generally carry less clutter, although they are trending upward as well. MTV is the worst offender, running 15:25 minutes every hour. ESPN--like most sports programming--has far less clutter, carrying 11:48 minutes of non-programming.

Besides spending more time watching something other than their favorite shows, viewers are now inundated with on-screen advertising and promotional material that competes with TV shows as they air. Most networks maintain logos in the corner of the screen, and many highlight upcoming shows by scrolling text across the bottom of the screen, or even run pop-up-like animation.

Twenty years ago, the National Association of Broadcasters maintained a voluntary code by which broadcasters agreed to carry a maximum number of commercials in each daypart. Back then, the networks carried only 9.5 non-programming minutes per hour.

However, the networks eventually caved in to economic concerns. "Once the code was disbanded, the floodgates opened," said MindShare group research director Debbie Solomon. Since then, clutter has risen an astounding 58 percent.

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) soon began to study the issue, monitoring the commercial load twice each year until 2001, before the practice was folded due to high costs.

MindShare has seen the issue gradually worsen each year. "Every time we do it, [clutter] creeps up 1-2 percentage points," Solomon said. MindShare's study monitors every week of the year electronically (the costly AAAA studies were conducted manually).

Solomon believes that the clutter is alienating viewers. "We've been saying this is a problem for a long time," she said. "Look at the ratings. I am not saying there is a direct connection, but I don't think clutter helps."

Of course, network ratings have dropped for prime time programming over the last decade plus as fragmentation spreads viewership over hundreds of channels. However, overall TV viewing is not that different, suggesting that clutter isn't driving viewers from the set, but may be causing them to flip.

Richard Fielding, VP of research at Starcom, said that agencies have been hearing warnings about clutter for quite some time. He had not seen MindShare's study, but was confident that TV viewing wouldn't suddenly drop off. I don't think [viewers are going to stop watching TV and turn on the radio," he said.

Fielding believes that the increase in on-screen advertisements has been driven by the networks' fears of digital video recorders like TiVo. He said that his team has found that "if [TV advertising] is done in an relevant and salient way, it doesn't alienate viewers."

There is some evidence that less clutter results in a greater impact for advertisers. MindShare's report cited Ford's sponsorship of the otherwise commercial-free season-premiere of "24" on FOX. Ford earned a recall score that was more than double the average brand recall for the time period, according to IAG's Reward TV data.

Among the programs with the highest clutter (based on the fourth quarter of 2003) are some big hits: "The Bachelor" (18:08 minutes), "My Wife and Kids" (17:40), "Everybody Loves Raymond" (16:15), "Survivor: Pearl Islands" (16:05), and "Friends" (16:06).

2003 Prime-Time Clutter Watch (Minutes:Seconds)

        Network Commercial Minutes
-Non-Program Minutes-  
          2002    2003    Index       2002    2003    Index   
ABC       10:15   10:15    100        15:16   15:31    102  
CBS        9:03    9:19    103        14:06
14:18    101  
Fox        9:04    9:11    101        14:47   15:13    103          
NBC        9:41    9:19     96        14:49   15:07    102  

Source: MindShare analysis of 2003 data from CMR.