ABC1 (UK) - Commercial Placement

Commercial Placement

Unlike most UK broadcasters, for its first six months ABC1 did not carry any commercials. However, it did have full-length ad-style breaks featuring trailers for its own shows and those of the Disney Channel.

On ABC1, the advertising slots were placed in the American style of being close to the beginning and end of the programme, unlike the European fashion of between programmes and in the middle. The American style usually has the adverts at approximately 5, 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55 minutes past the hour as opposed to the standard European style of 0, 15, 30 and 45 minutes past, although ABC1 often did without the breaks at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. The exact placing of adverts varied from show to show and from episode to episode and could be anything from half a minute to eight minutes before or after the beginning and end of a show. On ABC1, hour-length programmes (such as Commander In Chief) were often split into just three parts with the two ad-slots either end of the programme and the third roughly at the halfway point. ABC1 breaks were considerably longer than is customary in the UK due to the shortening of American TV series which has been ongoing for decades, as of 2007 the average American sitcom runs at 20 minutes while the average Drama runs at 40 minutes, ABC1 often filled long breaks with bumpers and promotions of its own, or Disney Channel UK's, programming.