Double Box advertising from Fox will change how you watch sports
Watch out ESPN - Fox Sports is starting to bring the heat with their latest innovation.
The network that brought you the Fox Box and the glow puck unveiled "double box" advertising last night's Cotton Bowl, an innovative concept that could change the way we take in advertisements during the largest sporting events.
We've seen the double box used in auto racing before but now, thanks to Fox, we may soon see the double box used on a regular basis for all sporting events on the Fox network.
The photo above, courtesy of @CFBONFOX, offers a demonstration of the double box feature during the first half of the Cotton Bowl.
Think of the double box concept as a form of picture-in-picture. Your football team calls a timeout. Instead of the channel cutting away to commercial, a second screen pops up with the advertising you'd normally be seeing. Meanwhile, the original content shrinks to a smaller size and shows various views of the players, arena or fans.
For the viewer, there really isn't a downside to the double box concept. The viewer still sees the same advertising they would have in the first place but they also get additional coverage of the event they previously would have missed. That football player peeing on the sideline during a timeout? You might see it live and not have to wait until it later surfaces online, all thanks to the double box. For the advertisers, there's a better chance viewers might stick around during timeouts instead of changing channels.
The main concern about the double box system is that a company could get a bit too zealous in using it. No one wants to live in a world where double box advertising takes place during the actual event. Let's hope you never see an AT&T logo pop up on the field when Johnny Manziel is running for a touchdown.
I agree. There's not enough action during time outs and changes of possession to warrant this. It's dull, tedious and unnecessary in football. It's necessary in races since the action is non-stop. This could be a viable option to bring soccer to American TV.
Wasn't there an article saying that this would also be used for MLB on Fox? Hopefully Munenori Kawasaki surfaces on a big league team again so we can watch him dance some more in the dugout between innings.
I don't think there's all that much for anyone to gain by double-boxing football. First off, I've occasionally watched the camera feed of what goes on during breaks when I am watching Sunday Night Football online and, really, there's not much to see. Maybe cheerleaders and that's it. There's not that much interesting about seeing coaches and players huddled together on the sideline or guys getting water bottles. I'd still tune out. As for the advertisers? Really, they're just getting less screen. Same message, smaller medium. The fans win a little bit, but I think the advertisers lose more, which, in the end, makes me think this doesn't necessarily work.
I really hope this never happens for soccer, where a goal could be scored in the blink of an eye. Get your fifteen minutes of commercials in at halftime and you're still in and out in two hours.
@wiffleclaw I don't see how this adversely affects soccer in that the match will still be seen at the same time as the advertising. It'll just be in a smaller picture, but the viewer wouldn't miss the play.
@wiffleclaw Agreed. Soccer is one of the sports where this really wouldn't benefit the viewer.
ESPN also does this for NASCAR already. It is good for action that keeps continuing when in commercial; not sure how it would benefit football where nothing happens during commercials.
Don't forget to mention they missed the opening kickoff when they could've Double Boxed there...
