ITV to shorten ad breaks as viewers tune out

ITV is to cut the length of its advertisement breaks after research showed that consumers stop remembering commercials if they see too many.

Viewers are now avoiding commercial breaks completely by using their remote controls to flick between channels, the new survey by pollsters BMRB showed.

The solution to the problem is seen to be showing fewer "quality" commercials in shorter breaks.

UK TV, the cable and satellite channel provider that commissioned the survey, has already cut two minutes from each commercial break in response to the findings.

In the survey 1,000 viewers were asked about their response to commercial breaks. It found that many "tune out" when a programme ends and start taking notice when it begins again.

Respondents were asked how many adverts they recalled 30 minutes after breaks. When the number was cut from nine to seven in a break, viewer recall increased from 55 per cent to 75 per cent.