Mid-roll breaks insert commercial-style breaks within a program, splitting a long movie or episode into segments separated by filler content. This simulates the experience of traditional TV, where a two-hour movie might pause every 30 minutes for a cluster of commercials. Unlike the Head, Pre, Post, and Tail filler types — which play between programs — mid-roll breaks interrupt the program itself. This makes them particularly effective for long-form content like movies, where the absence of any breaks can feel out of place on a channel aiming for a TV atmosphere.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/chrisbenincasa/tunarr/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Mid-roll breaks are a distinct feature from inter-program flex time. Flex fills the gaps between programs; mid-roll breaks split the program itself into segments. The two can coexist in the same slot configuration.
Prerequisites
Before you can use mid-roll breaks, you need:- A filler list containing the content you want to use as commercial breaks (commercials, bumpers, interstitials, etc.).
- That filler list assigned to a slot in the Slot Editor or Time Slots editor with the Mid filler type selected.
Enabling Mid-Roll Breaks
Open the slot editor
Navigate to your channel’s programming page, click Tools, and open either the Slots Editor or Time Slots editor.
Edit a slot
Click the edit button on the slot where you want mid-roll breaks. In the slot dialog, scroll to the filler configuration section.
Add a filler list with the Mid type
Click Add Filler, select your filler list from the dropdown, and set the filler type to Mid. The mid-roll configuration panel will appear below.
Choose a break positioning rule
Select how break points are placed within programs. See Break Positioning below for the three available modes.
Set break duration
Choose between a Fixed duration (every break lasts the same length) or a Range (each break’s duration is randomly chosen between a minimum and maximum). See Break Duration below.
Configure limits and filters
Set Minimum Program Duration so short episodes are skipped, configure Max Breaks if you want a cap, and optionally restrict which content types receive mid-roll breaks. See Limits and Filters below.
Choose a scheduling strategy
Select Eager or Lazy filler selection. See Scheduling Strategy for the trade-offs.
Break Positioning
Mid-roll breaks support three positioning rules that control where breaks are inserted within a program.- Fixed Interval
- Percentage-Based
- Initial Delay + Interval
Inserts breaks at regular time intervals throughout the program.
Example: A 2-hour movie with a 30-minute interval receives breaks at 30m, 60m, and 90m.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Interval | Time between breaks (e.g., every 30 minutes) |
Break Duration
Break duration can be configured in two modes:| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Fixed | Every break has the same duration (e.g., exactly 3 minutes). Predictable, but can feel mechanical. |
| Range | Each break’s duration is randomly chosen between a minimum and maximum value (e.g., 2–5 minutes). This makes commercial breaks feel less uniform and more like real TV. |
Limits and Filters
These settings give you precise control over which programs receive mid-roll breaks and how many breaks they can have.| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Max Breaks | Maximum number of breaks inserted per program. Set to 0 for unlimited breaks. | 0 (unlimited) |
| Minimum Program Duration | Programs shorter than this threshold are skipped entirely and receive no mid-roll breaks. | 60 minutes |
| Tail Buffer | A window at the end of the program where no breaks are inserted. Preserves the closing minutes of a film without interruption. | 0 |
| Program Types | Restrict mid-roll breaks to specific content types: Movies, Episodes, Music Tracks, Music Videos, or Other Videos. Leave empty to apply to all types. | All types |
Scheduling Strategy
The scheduling strategy controls when filler content is selected for mid-roll breaks.Eager
Eager
Filler is selected at schedule generation time. The specific filler programs are embedded directly into the channel lineup when the schedule is saved.
- The TV guide shows the actual filler titles during commercial breaks.
- Filler selection uses cooldown state from the moment the schedule was generated.
- Best when you want the guide data to accurately reflect what will air during breaks.
Lazy
Lazy
Filler selection is deferred to stream time — the moment a viewer is actually watching the channel. During schedule generation, placeholder “Commercial Break” entries are created in the lineup instead of actual filler.
- The TV guide shows generic “Commercial Break” entries rather than specific titles.
- Filler selection uses fresh cooldown state at playback time, reducing repetition.
- Filler is drawn from the slot’s mid-roll filler lists at the moment of playback.
- Best when minimizing repeated commercials is more important than accurate guide data.
Example Configuration
To add 3-minute commercial breaks every 30 minutes to movies longer than 1 hour:Assign a Mid filler list
Add your commercials filler list to the slot and select Mid as the filler type.
Configure mid-roll settings
In the mid-roll configuration panel, set:
- Break Rule: Fixed Interval —
30 minutes - Break Duration: Fixed —
3 minutes - Minimum Program Duration:
60 minutes - Max Breaks:
0(unlimited) - Strategy: Lazy
- Program Types: Movies only
How Mid-Roll Breaks Interact with Flex Time
Mid-roll breaks operate independently from the inter-program flex time controlled by slot padding and filler type settings like Pre, Post, and Fallback. A slot can have both:- Fallback filler to fill the gap between a program ending and the next slot starting
- Mid filler to insert commercial breaks within each program
Slot Editor
Configure mid-roll breaks within the Slot Editor’s per-slot filler settings.
Filler Types
Learn about all filler types and where each one plays in a slot.