The Cable News Network is about to have fewer interruptions.
“Select CNN programming” will soon follow in the footsteps of truTV, TNT, Adult Swim and Turner Sports with limited commercials, Turner announced Wednesday at its 2018 Upfronts presentation in New York.
“In 2015, Turner’s truTV was the first television network to announce limited commercial interruption within its programming and has since announced that by 2021 its entire total-day programming will be adopting the format,” the Time Warner-owned company said in a press release.
That limited commercial interruption initiative has since expanded to other networks in the Turner portfolio, including TNT, Adult Swim and Turner Sports. “It will soon make its way to select CNN programming,” the press release said.
CNN will have six new original series debuting next year that could get the limited interruption treatment, including “Chasing Life with Sanjay Gupta,” “Tricky Dick,” “American Dynasties: The Bushes,” “American Style” (working title), “Once in a Great City: Detroit 1962-64” and “The Redemption Project.”
The CNN 2018-19 slate will also see new seasons of original programming like “Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown,” “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell,” “This is Life with Lisa Ling,” “The History of Comedy,” and “Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies.” July will see the premiere of documentary “The 2000s,” and the four-part miniseries “1968: The Year that Changed in America” premiering this month.
“We can no longer sustain relationships based solely on TV viewership. Today, we are redefining what an advertising partnership should be measured against, modernizing it for the way fans engage with our premium content. And, we’re simplifying it into a single media plan,” said Turner’s president of ad sales Donna Speciale.
She added: “Let’s stop leaving money on the table and start creating brand experiences that not only produce much greater results on the bottom line, but also inspire fans in new, exciting ways.”