A
television advertisement (variously called a
television commercial,
commercial or
ad in
American English, and known in
British English as an
advert) is a span of
television programming produced and paid for by an organization, which conveys a message, typically to market a product or service. Advertising revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned
television networks. The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes (as well as program-length
infomercials). Advertisements of this sort have been used to promote a wide variety of goods, services and ideas since the beginning of television.