Fox Is Selling Six-Second Ad Spots; Facebook Prioritizes Fast-Loading Links

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Gone In Six Seconds

Fox is selling experimental six-second ad spots for its Teen Choice Awards show this month. The units are going for as high as $75,000, buyers tell The Wall Street Journal, although the strong early pick-up is in large part “due to the novelty factor and publicity that comes with trying a new ad tactic.” For years, digital advertisers worked with ad creative produced for TV as advertisers embraced digital-first production. Now broadcasters are looking to repurpose creative ideas from digital platforms (like, uhh… YouTube’s six-second bumper ad format). “Consumers, especially those that skew younger, demand shorter ad lengths,” says Ray Amati, media director for the candy company Mars. “We see the Teen Choice Awards as a great way to showcase our Snickers brand and Twix brand stories in shorter pods that may reduce channel surfing.” More.

Slow Burn

Facebook will be tweaking its news feed algorithm to prioritize faster links on mobile, taking into account factors like Wi-Fi connection and network speed. “If signals indicate the webpage will load quickly, the link to that webpage might appear higher in your feed,” the company wrote in a blog post. “For example, if you are on a slower internet connection that won’t load videos, News Feed will show you fewer videos and more status updates and links.” Read it. Prioritizing fast-loading links is obviously beneficial for Facebook, which is pushing publishers to adopt Instant Articles. Facebook said the update, which will roll out over the next few months, won’t significantly impact news feed distribution, but “webpages that are particularly slow could see decreases in referral traffic.”

Pinteresting

Instagram’s extensive mimicry of Snapchat ain’t the only game of copycat in town. Just a day after Pinterest released an update to prioritize image search on its platform, Google said it will do the same. Read the blog post. Rather than just show an image associated with a search term, Google will now point out when there’s more to discover from the image, like a recipe or an opportunity to buy a product, TechCrunch reports. It’s not the first time Google has echoed Pinterest. The search giant also rolled out a machine-learning product that helps users find accessories and apparel from images – shortly after Pinterest’s similar Lens product launched in February. More.

All Fun And Games

Sports broadcast rights work on a long cycle, but as deals come up for renewal they’re increasingly going to digital platforms, and Amazon in particular is poised for success. Amazon has a huge advantage because it doesn’t rely on advertising and sponsorship opportunities that surround live sports (though those don’t hurt) to offset costs. It wins as fans sign up for Prime and then become regular shoppers. Recent estimates peg the number of Prime subscribers at around 80 million, close on the heels of ESPN’s 88 million subscribers (if it hasn’t already passed the category incumbent). “Think about 2021 when the NFL’s Monday Night Football contract expires,” BTIG media analyst Rich Greenfield tells Axios. “If Amazon wants Monday Night Football, it’s theirs for the taking.” More.

But Wait, There’s More!