TV Basics:
Network TV Activity by Length of Commercial
Originally the 60-second commercial was the standard for the broadcast TV networks, a carry-over from radio days. By the mid-1960s the :30 was in use, first as a :30/:30 piggy-back, later as a stand-alone, and soon replaced the :60 as the standard. While :15s grew rapidly in the late 1980s, their growth has slowed and they now comprise approximately 38% of commercials.

 NETWORKS
% OF TOTAL
 
:10s
:15s
:20s
:30s
:45s
:60s
:90s+
1965
—
—
—
—
—
100.0*
—
1970
—
—
—
25.1
—
 74.9*
—
1975
—
—
—
79.0
—
 21.0*
—
1980
0.7
—
—
94.6
2.7
 1.9
0.1
1985
1.3
10.1
0.8
83.5
1.7
 2.2
0.4
1990
0.1
35.4
1.4
60.1
1.0
 1.7
0.3
1995
0.2
31.5
0.9
64.8
0.6
 1.2
0.8
1996
0.3
33.0
0.5
63.9
0.3
 1.2
0.8
1997
0.2
33.1
0.2
64.2
0.3
 1.3
0.7
1998
0.1
31.4
0.1
63.0
0.7
 3.4
1.3
1999
0.3
31.0
0.2
60.3
0.7
 5.6
1.9
2000
1.1
31.9
0.1
58.7
0.7
 5.8
1.7
2001
0.9
34.5
0.1
55.8
0.5
 6.5
1.8
2002
0.8
33.7
0.3
58.0
0.1
 5.7
1.3
2003
0.4
37.7
0.1
55.8
0.3
4.9
0.9
2004 0.6 38.6 0.1 53.5 0.5 5.7 1.0
2005 0.7 37.4 0.2 54.0 0.3 5.9 1.5
2006 0.7 37.7 0.3 54.1 0.4 5.9 0.9
2007 0.7 38.1 0.3 54.5 0.3 5.3 0.7

Source: TNS Media Intelligence Annual Averages
* Includes :30/:30 piggy-backs

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