What is an Infomercial?

An infomercial is a television commercial in long-format. Long-format simply means the commercial is at usually five minutes in length, although it can be longer. There are many names for an infomercial and they are commonly referred to as paid programming. The beginning of the infomercial began when stations needed to fill airtime during off peak hours. As a result, infomercials were shown generally in the middle of the night and very early in the morning. The hours ranged from 2 am until 6 am. Instead of "signing off" television stations wanted to have something on the air at all times and an infomercial really fit the bill. Today, however, infomercials are aired during the morning, afternoon, and early evening rather than in the middle of the night. That's because this advertising medium has become extremely popular and is very profitable.

In fact, the popularity of the infomercial has spawned similar types of programming on television stations worldwide. Sometimes people get confused with infomercials and direct response television advertisements. It should be kept in mind that direct response television spots are generally 30 seconds to two minutes in length while infomercials are on average 28 minutes 30 seconds long, but are usually more than five minutes. In the United States the media length available for purchase depends on many factors. In general, medial lengths that are five minutes long will have limitations. An infomercial for television stations outside of the US will have different rules and regulations to follow.

Many companies of all sizes use infomercials to advertise their products and services. That's because this advertising format works and people are interested in learning more about a product or service before paying for it. An infomercial provides this opportunity so that potential customers can see how the product works "In person" and this will help them make a decision on whether or not to make a purchase. All too often people see something in a store that looks great but their first thought is, "does it really work?" With an infomercial, potential customers can see how well a product works before making a financial commitment.