Question about commercial breaks

[Kreegz2]

So I'm at my parents house watching some hockey and football with them. My dad and I lamented the amounts of commercial breaks in sports these days. We got to talking about the NHL's standard of three commercial breaks per period. One after the first non-power play, non-icing stoppage at 14:00, 10:00, and 6:00 left in the period. We tried to pinpoint when exactly the third commercial break was added and we can't seem to agree. My dad maintains that it happened in the mid-80s, but I swear I can recall my in my earliest days of watching hockey as a kid in the early 90s(pre-lockout) that there were still only two breaks per period. I've spent the past hour trying to google the answer to no success, so I'm hoping someone here can help us settle this argument. Thanks!

 

[Killion]

Until 1992/93, the NHL ran up to 7 randomly spaced 30 second spots per period, then in 92/93 went to having 4-70 second "commercial time-outs", then later changed it to the 3-90 second "commercial time-outs" which is what we still have today.... And, its' an issue. Coaches take advantage of it, it destroys the ebb & flow, momentum of play in a game etc. Initially, scoring was up a bit when it was first introduced back in 92/93 however ever since then, scoring has steadily decreased and... they started dropping them into RS Overtime.

 

[LadyStanley]

FWIW, the current format is 120 seconds of stoppage of play. Most outlets do 90 seconds of advertisements and 30 seconds of follow-up/lead-in (most do the lead-in). IIRC, NBCSN does 105 seconds of ads (three 30-second spots, one 15-second).

 

[Killion]

FWIW, the current format is 120 seconds of stoppage of play. Most outlets do 90 seconds of advertisements and 30 seconds of follow-up/lead-in (most do the lead-in). IIRC, NBCSN does 105 seconds of ads (three 30-second spots, one 15-second).

Thanks LS.... I had a feeling it had been upped somewhat since I last looked into it; your post confirming.

 

[tony d]

Yeah, commercials really take away from an excitement of a game, I realize they are needed but there should be better spacing in the times in which they air.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It’s not nearly as bad as football. The Canes board is probably sick of me whining about media timeouts in college football, but it truly is the biggest atmosphere ruiner I’ve seen. Except for maybe hockey goal reviews.

 

[Its a Trap]

As far as I'm concerned, hockey is the golden standard when it comes to commercials. 3 a period and if you know when they are you can easily use them to their advantage. Unlike football which goes to commercial every time the clock stops.

 

[wingman75]

As far as I'm concerned, hockey is the golden standard when it comes to commercials. 3 a period and if you know when they are you can easily use them to their advantage. Unlike football which goes to commercial every time the clock stops.

Exactly how I see it. Knowing exactly when they are coming makes it much easier to take. I can plan my washroom break, or my run to the fridge

And I don't find they are momentum killers at all, since they won't break on icings, penalties or after a goal is scored as someone mentioned. It's as good as its going to get I expect.

 

[awfulwaffle]

I don't mind them, it's only frustrating to me when you get the ones back to back. Game flows until about 10:01, break, then there is 10 seconds of play and another break. But as a game drinker, you need the breaks.

 

[LadyStanley]

IIRC it's like 90 seconds of game clock minimum between media breaks.

I've actually seen games with so few stoppages that there were only two in a period (I seem to recall 5+ minutes without a stoppage).

 

[skeena1]

I don't mind them, it's only frustrating to me when you get the ones back to back. Game flows until about 10:01, break, then there is 10 seconds of play and another break. But as a game drinker, you need the breaks.

Nope. League rules state a minimum of 1:00 must come off the clock between commercial breaks.