German TV viewers zapping around the dial at midnight on Jan. 20 got a rare treat on pubcaster ARD -- a live American football game: the NFC championship between the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants in freezing-cold Wisconsin.
They also got a chilling glimpse into just how much TV advertising disrupts the flow of the game.
German regs ban pubcasters from airing ads after 8 p.m. So during the time devoted to countless commercial breaks for American TV, ARD showed viewers endless lingering shots of shivering fans and frozen football players standing around looking bored.
It was a view that American viewers, of course, would never get to see -- unless they went to a game.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com