Television advertisement

Paid commercial segment on television 1981 American television advertisement for Quaker Corn Bran Television was still in its experimental phase in 1928, but the medium's potential to sell goods, services, and ideas was already predicted by this Radio News cover from that year. A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. Advertisers and marketers may refer to television commercials as TVCs, while Japan refers to them as CMs (Commercial Messages). Advertising revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television networks. During the 2010s, the number of commercials has grown steadily, though the length of each commercial has diminished. Advertisements of this type have promoted a wide variety of goods, services, and ideas ever since the early days of the history of television. The viewership of television programming, as measured by companies such as Nielsen Media Research in the United States, or BARB in the UK, is often used as a metric for television