Viewers tuning in to ESPN’s coverage of stock-car racing are likely to notice a change in how the commercials play out. Starting with Saturday’s Nationwide Series event at Daytona, ESPN will slot commercials at times that annoy viewers the least, says Rich Feinberg, network vice president of motor sports. “Obviously, commercials are part of our business,” Feinberg said. “They’re necessary.” But, he said, the network did a study after last season to see where the breaks came in the racing action, and how viewing patterns may have changed during telecasts. “We went back and looked at the length of the break, track by track,” he said. Commercial breaks in live events are a sticking point for viewers of all sports, but in auto racing, there are no set timeouts or other interruptions. So producers end up guessing when they can break away from the action without missing too much, or else they wait until everything slows after an accident. The length of the breaks also changes depending on the track. At Daytona, where a lap around the 2.5-mile track takes about 49 seconds, ESPN can take a relatively long break without missing much. But at a smaller track, where a lap may take only 14 seconds, a one-minute break keeps viewers away for a significant amount of track time. Taking those factors into account, Feinberg said, ESPN may take more frequent but shorter breaks this year. “In the end, if you totaled all the commercial time, there will be slightly less,” he said.(New York Daily News)(2-15-2008)
