The news: NFL RedZone will bring ads to the current NFL season, stepping away from its commercial-free roots for the first time. Ads will initially only account for 1 minute of RedZone’s seven hours of content but could expand to 2 minutes during the season, per AP News.

Ads on RedZone will use a “double box” format, taking up one side of the screen while the game plays on the other side, with audio coming from the ads only.

The strategy: RedZone is betting on the effectiveness of sports ads combined with the non-intrusive nature of split-screen formats and low ad loads to drive action.

• Picture-in-picture ad formats like split screen account for shortening and fragmented viewer attention, giving advertisers higher completion rates and longer watch times.
• With key demographics like Gen Z adverse to streaming ads, RedZone’s low ad load and split-screen approach will be less disruptive and more acceptable to audiences seeking non-intrusive ad experiences—which is critical as churn threatens sports streaming services.

RedZone is accounting for advertisers’ massive interest in the NFL, which accounts for 93 of the top 100 most-viewed broadcasts in the US, per Nielsen. And NFL streaming ads are particularly promising: Ads on streaming platforms for NFL games are 66% more effective than traditional TV, per EDO.