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The Brave New World of Bespoke Ad Loads
Plus, Cracker Barrel's CMO claps back
Welcome to The TV Room. Your weekly digest of television, streaming, and digital media insights that matter.
This week we're covering:
🤳 The Selfish Nature of the Streaming Funnel
🦊 Fox is Picking a Fight
🎥 Creative Spotlight: Under Armour: “Be the problem”
💔 Cracker Barrel is Starting to Crumble
The Future of Streaming Ads Just Got Personal
Streaming platforms have maintained significantly lighter ad loads than traditional TV, offering 4-8 minutes per hour compared to cable's overwhelming 12-16 minutes.
That leaner format has been a major draw for cord-cutters, but there’s an industry shift happening behind the scenes. Streaming platforms are now using their tech edge to customize ad loads, so two people watching the same show might see a completely different number of ads.
Content, context, and cohorts
Programming type sets the baseline. Movies usually get the lightest ad treatment, often front-loading a few minutes before the action starts. Live sports, especially football, pack in the most commercials.
Episodic series land somewhere in the middle, with break length flexing based on runtime or advertiser demand. For original content without built-in breaks, platforms use AI to curate the least disruptive moments for ads—nobody wants a commercial mid-explosion.
But it’s not just about the show: Streamers group viewers into cohorts to fine-tune the ad experience. New subscribers might get a softer ad rollout to keep them from bouncing, while loyal viewers see a more standard cadence. FAST services, which live and die by engagement, use this approach to balance monetization with keeping people watching.
Relevance rules
Executives across the industry agree: ad tolerance goes up when the ads actually matter to the viewer. That’s why there’s a big push for contextual targeting and AI-powered creative swaps. The more relevant the ad, the more likely you are to stick around, and the more value the platform can squeeze from each spot.
We may be entering uncharted territory, but the endgame is clear: Streamers want to show each person just as many ads as they’ll tolerate without tuning out. The real question isn’t how many minutes of ads you see, but whether you come back tomorrow. The science of ad load is just getting started.
Read More:
TV Industry Updates
Fox showdown: YouTube TV warned subscribers they could lose access to Fox channels if a new content agreement isn't reached between the pair.
TV's centennial: IBC2025 unveiled plans for a special installation celebrating 100 years of television since John Logie Baird's first transmission in 1925.
Spotify's fan rituals: Spotify expanded its "Fan Life" campaign with films showcasing real-life fandoms of artists like Pitbull, Bad Bunny, and Charli XCX.
AI likeness lawsuit: NC State Senator DeAndrea Salvador filed a complaint against Omnicom, alleging they unlawfully manipulated her image using AI.
Animatronic anxiety: DoorDash targeted potential delivery drivers with ads promising they won't have to go near pizza when working as Dashers.
Spectrum acquisition: AT&T moved to acquire spectrum licenses from EchoStar for $23 billion, strengthening its telecommunications infrastructure portfolio.
Creative Spotlight: Under Armour: “Be the problem”
Under Armour’s “Be the problem” campaign upended sports advertising clichés by urging athletes to become disruptive forces on the field rather than traditional heroes.
The Details:
The 90-second spot was created by Uncommon Creative Studio and featured a voiceover by musician Tricky layered over intense visuals of Under Armour athletes.
Surreal images such as water flowing upward and a butterfly in the rain punctuated the message that breaking expectations was a gift, not a flaw.
Tricky’s gravel-toned narration challenged players to see “spoiling a party” and “breaking things, patterns, systems, expectations” as a gift, not a flaw.
What We Loved: The ad flipped the traditional sports narrative, celebrating defiance with a cinematic edge that made “being the problem” look like a competitive edge.
Holiday campaigns are already in motion
Introducing The Nice List: your one-stop shop for holiday marketing resources, tools, and inspiration. Consider it your holiday prep HQ, where you’ll find:
The 2025 Holiday Advertising Trends Report, which includes insights from 600+ marketers on how brands are planning, spending, and measuring success this season.
What’s Driving Holiday Ad Performance in 2025?, a tvScientific x Adweek webinar that breaks down how marketers are adapting strategies in real time.
And more content to drive your 2025 holiday advertising strategy.
Marketing Mix
Barrel backlash: Cracker Barrel’s CMO responded to the viral uproar surrounding their rebrand, but the PR move fell flat.
Show's over?: Agencies have started to reconsider "pitch theater," with flashy client pitches giving way to strategic gestures designed to build chemistry.
Pizza! Pizza! Playbook: Little Caesars sliced into its fourth year as the NFL's Official Pizza Sponsor with a co-branded Pepsi campaign.
Structured social: Zaria Parvez, the architect of Duolingo's viral social strategy, stepped in as DoorDash's director of social.
Always-on ambition: H&R Block demoed a social mash-up, aiming to shed its tax-season-only image and become a year-round financial resource.
Creative surge: Unilever chalked up its recent sales bump to an AI-powered creative surge driven by social-first campaigns and smart optimization.