Fox Networks Group said it will adopt the six-second ad format introduced by YouTube.
The non-skippable six-second commercials will first appear in programming on Fox’s digital and on-demand properties. Eventually they will also appear on linear television, the company said, marking the first time a broadcaster has endorsed the very short ad format.
Fox announced its plans to air the tiny spots during a joint appearance with YouTube at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
“One of our biggest priorities at Fox Networks Group is figuring out the best way for a brand to reach a consumer that captures the right kind of attention and serves its precise KPIs,” said David Levy, executive VP of nonlinear revenue at Fox Networks Group. “We’re excited to deploy this new format, which will be a welcome addition to our Advanced Ad Products portfolio.”
Fox has been talking about innovation in the ad space. It has cut back ad time in some of its programming and says the six-second spots provide both a brand lift for advertisers and improve the viewing experience for TV.
Fox will be building the ads internally and billing them by viewable impression as determined by measurement company Moat.
“We are excited to see Fox embracing six seconds as a valuable ad format for a cross-device world,” said Tara Walpert Levy, VP of agency and media solutions at YouTube. “Since we piloted this format last fall, we’ve seen on YouTube that six seconds is both long enough and short enough – it’s great for on-the-go users who appreciate the succinct message, for creatives who appreciate the constraint, and for brands who value the consistent results."
(Photo via Esther Vargas's Flickr. Image taken on April 27, 2017 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)
