The dreaded touchdown-commercial-kickoff-commercial sequence could soon be a thing of the past during NFL TV broadcasts.
The league will soon move forward with plans aimed at shortening games, USA TODAY Sports' Tom Pelissero reports.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told Pelissero he hates the commercials around touchdowns and kickoffs as much as everyone else.
"It drives me crazy," Goodell said. "We call those 'double-ups.' They actually occurred 27 percent of the time (on kickoffs last season). And that's still too high for us."
Fans should expect fewer - but also longer - commercial breaks during broadcasts, Pelissero reports.
In a letter to fans, Goodell announced other planned changes, including:
- Running the play clock after PATs
- Standardizing when the clock starts after a player runs out of bounds
- Standardizing halftime length
But don't expect these changes to have a major impact on the length of games; Goodell estimates it will shave off five minutes from the average time of 3:07:08 in 2016.
With the NFL's TV contracts set to expire in the coming years - and with ratings dropping last season (perhaps due to a highly compelling presidential election) - it seems the NFL knows it's in its best interest to give fans a more enjoyable broadcast.
