TNT is the latest TV network with plans to reduce its commercial loads.
All of the new dramas airing on TNT in 2016, including "Animal Kingdom," "Good Behavior" and "Tales from the Crypt" will run 8 to 10 fewer minutes of advertising per hour. Kevin Reilly, chief creative officer at TNT parent Turner Broadcasting, made the announcement on Thursday at a meeting of the Television Critics Association.
TNT ran around 17 minutes and 47 seconds of programming breaks per hour during the third quarter on 2015, including national and local ads as well as promo time, a network representative said, citing Nielsen.
TNT will discuss the reduction in commercial minutes in its pre-upfront meetings with major ad buyers, it said, and will have additional details in the coming weeks.
The cut to ad time is the latest move by Turner to reduce the commercial minutes on its channels. TNT sibling TruTV said in October that it would lessen its commercial load by 20%. By the fourth quarter of 2016, TruTV will have around 10 minutes of commercial and promotional time per hour in prime time, down from over 18 minutes now.
Elsewhere, Viacom is also working to clean up its networks, reducing its commercial minutes in prime time to about 14 minutes from about 18.
