NBCUniversal will reduce the amount of advertising on its TV channels amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen advertisers scale back on their spending.
In a blog post on Monday, NBCU’s chairman of advertising and partnerships Linda Yaccarino said that “some marketers across every industry have asked to pause their advertising plans or shift their messages. … Starting today, you will see more content from us, new ad innovations, and therefore less commercial time.”
She continued that NBCU is also giving its advertisers help in shifting their message around the pandemic and offering up its talent and remote production capabilities free of charge.
“Especially now, with many brick and mortar stores closed around the country and other companies facing significant challenges, our clients need more support to grow their businesses and remain connected to customers. Meanwhile, producing traditional marketing assets has become more challenging. We’ve heard all of this from our partners, and we want to help,” Yaccarino continued. “So, to allow companies to reach their customers directly in their homes and generate much-needed sales, our teams are scaling our new commerce technologies, while waiving technology fees. Simultaneously, we’re opening up more creative services, building custom marketing materials for more clients, and giving our partners more access to remote production teams, brand assets, and talent-all without the associated fees.”
NBCU had said in the last few years that it had planned to eventually scale down on the number of ads it ran during its programming, but the current pandemic has caused them to move up that timeline.