By Gerry Smith, Bloomberg News Service
If you notice more split-screens and fewer commercial breaks on NFL broadcasts this coming season, credit the fans who served as football's lab rats.
Last fall, just as TV ratings went into a tailspin, the National Football League invited fans into a lab designed like a living room. Technicians asked them to watch games, tracking their eyes, heart rates and skin response. They saw different ad formats, including split screens with commercials on one side and the field on the other.
The tests -- the most extensive ever by the league -- are contributing to big changes in how games will be broadcast when the regular season starts Sept.