Fox Sports during its Vikings-Lions Thanksgiving Day broadcast will include "six-second messages from brands that take over most of the screen, relegating the broadcast of the game to a small square on the side," according to Sapna Maheshwari of the N.Y. TIMES. The ads, which Fox has been "trying out" during the World Series, are a "spin on the six-second commercials that Fox Networks Group first tested in August." By appearing on the same screen as the game, and popping up between plays, the ads are "meant to be less disruptive than traditional commercial breaks." Nine of the so-called "double-box ads" will play during the game. They will "replace one standard commercial block, which typically last two minutes and twenty seconds." Depending on audience reaction, the ads "could become a regular feature during NFL games across networks." NFL VP/Media Strategy & Business Development Amanda Herald said that the league's broadcast partners have been "using the double-box format in 30-second increments this season." Herald said when the six-second ads run, "we’ll look at whether they’re more engaged at that moment -- for example, heart rate, skin response. We’ll also then ask those fans after the game about their sentiment toward the broadcast. Did it feel more commercialized than typical or less because it had one less ad break?” (N.Y. TIMES, 10/28).
