Broadcast programming

Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing and/or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or season-long schedule. The executive in charge of selecting the programs and planning the schedule is sometimes the director of network programming.

Not to be confused with Radio program.
"Radio programmer" redirects here. For other uses, see Radio programming.
"Television programming" redirects here. For the content itself, see Television show.

Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation to regularly change the scheduling of their shows to build an audience for a new show, retain that audience, or compete with other broadcasters' shows. Most broadcast television shows are presented weekly in prime time or daily in other dayparts, though exceptions are not rare.

At a micro level, scheduling is the minute planning of the transmission; what to broadcast and when, ensuring an adequate or maximum utilization of airtime. Television scheduling strategies are employed to give shows the best possible chance of attracting and retaining an audience. They are used to deliver shows to audiences when they are most likely to want to watch them and deliver audiences to advertisers in the composition that makes their advertising most likely to be effective.[1]

With the growth of digital platforms and services allowing non-linear, on-demand access to television content, this approach to broadcasting has since been referred to using the retronym linear (such as linear television and linear channels).[2][3][4]

History

With the beginning of scheduled television in 1936, television programming was initially only concerned with filling a few hours each evening – the hours now known as prime time. Over time, though, television began to be seen during the day time and late at night, as well on the weekends. As air time increased, so did the demand for new material. With the exception of sports television, variety shows became much more important in prime time.

Scheduling strategies

Block programming
Main article: Block programming

Block programming is the practice of scheduling a group of complementary programs together. Blocks are typically built around specific genres (i.e. a block focusing specifically on sitcoms), target audiences, or other factors. Blocks also allow these programs to be promoted together under blanket brands (such as ABC's "TGIF" lineup and NBC's "Must See TV").

Bridging

Bridging is the practice of discouraging the audience from changing channels during the "junctions" between specific programs. This can be done, primarily, by airing promos for the next program near the end of the preceding program, such as during its credits.[5]

The host of the next program may similarly make a brief appearance near the end of the preceding program (sometimes interacting directly with the host) to provide a preview; in news broadcasting, this is typically referred to as a "throw" or "toss". Owing to both programs' news comedy formats, the Comedy Central program The Daily Show similarly featured toss segments to promote its spin-off and lead-out, The Colbert Report, in which host Jon Stewart would engage in a comedic conversation with the latter's host, Stephen Colbert, via split-screen near the end of the show.[6]

In some cases, a channel may intentionally allow a program to overrun into the next half-hour timeslot rather than end exactly on the half-hour, in order to discourage viewers from "surfing" away at traditional junction periods (since they had missed the beginnings of programs on other channels already). This can, however, cause disruptions with recorders if they are not aware of the scheduling (typically, digital video recorders can be configured to automatically record for a set length of time before and after a schedule's given timeslot in program guide data to account for possible variances).[7][8]

For a period, TBS consistently and intentionally engaged in this practice under the name "Turner Time", scheduling all programs at 5 and 35 minutes past the hour (rather than exactly on the half hour. This also served to attract viewers tuning away from shows that had already started on another channel, so that they could easily catch the next program due to the offset scheduling.[9]

Crossprogramming
Main article: Crossover (fiction)

Crossprogramming involves the interconnection of two shows. This is achieved by extending a storyline over two episodes of two different shows.

Counterprogramming
Main article: Counterprogramming (television)

Counterprogramming is the practice of deliberately scheduling programming to attract viewers away from another, major program. Counterprogramming efforts often involve scheduling a contrasting program of a different genre or demographic, targeting viewers who may not be interested in the major program (such as a sporting event, which typically draws a predominantly-male audience, against an awards show that attracts a predominantly-female audience).[10][11] Despite frequently being among the top U.S. television broadcasts of all time, the Super Bowl has had a prominent history of being counterprogrammed in this manner. One of the most prominent examples of this practice was Fox's 1992 airing of a special live episode of In Living Color against the game's halftime show.[12][13]

Counterprogramming can also involve direct competitors scheduled directly against each other.[14] In some cases, broadcasters may attempt to adjust their schedules in order to avert attempts at counterprogramming, such as getting a slightly earlier time slot (in the hope that once viewers have become committed to a show they will not switch channels), or scheduling the competing program in a different period of the season to avoid competition altogether.[15][16]

Dayparting
Main article: Dayparting

Dayparting is the practice of dividing the day into several parts, during each of which a different type of radio programming or television showing appropriate for that time is aired. Daytime television shows are most often geared toward a particular demographic, and what the target audience typically engages in at that time.

Hammocking
Main article: hammocking

Hammocking is a technique used by broadcasters whereby an unpopular show is scheduled between two popular shows in the hope that viewers will watch it. Public television uses this as a way of promoting serious but valuable content.

Hotswitching
Main article: Hot switch

In hotswitching, the showers eliminate any sort of commercial break when one show ends and another begins; this immediately hooks the audience into watching the next show without a chance to change the television channel between shows.

Season splitting

Season splitting is the practice of broadcasting one season of a series in two parts, with a scheduled break in between. This allows for the second half of the season to be programmed strategically separately from the first.

Stacking

Stacking is a technique used to develop audience flow by grouping together shows with similar appeals to "sweep" the viewer along from one show to the next.[17]

Stripping
Main article: Strip programming

Stripping is the practice of running a single series in a consistent, daily time slot throughout the week, usually on weekdays. In the U.S., the term is synonymous with syndicated programs, often in reference to reruns of network programs that originally aired on a weekly basis. Shows that are syndicated in this way generally have to have run for several seasons (the rule of thumb is usually 100 episodes) in order to have enough episodes to run without significant repeats. Primetime programming can be stripped on occasion, primarily for telenovelas, as well as runs of game shows (such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) promoted as being an event.

Tentpoling

In tent pole programming, the programmers bank on a well-known series having so much audience appeal that they can place two unknown series on either side, and it is the strength of the central show that will draw viewers to the two other shows.

Theming

A broadcaster may temporarily dedicate all or parts of its schedule over a period of time to a specific theme. A well-known instance of a themed lineup is Discovery Channel's annual "Shark Week".

Themed schedules are a common practice around major holidays—such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, and Christmas—where channels may air specials, films, and episodes of their existing programs that relate to the holiday. The practice can help to attract viewers interested in programming that reflects the season. In conjunction with festive programs when relevant, a channel may also target viewers on vacation for holiday long weekends or common school breaks, by scheduling marathons of signature programs and feature film franchises the channel holds rights to, or other themed programming events.

The U.S. basic cable networks Freeform (25 Days of Christmas, 31 Days of Halloween) and Hallmark Channel are known for broadcasting long-term holiday programming events. After experiencing success with holiday events such as Countdown to Christmas, Hallmark Channel adopted a strategy of dividing its programming into themed seasons year-round, in an effort to position itself as "a year-round destination for celebrations" (which is synergistic with Hallmark Cards' core greeting card and collectibles businesses).[18][19][20].[21]

Time slot

A show's time slot or place in the schedule could be crucial to its success or failure (see tentpoling above).

A time slot can affect a program's overall audience; generally, earlier prime time slots have a stronger appeal towards younger audiences and family viewing, while later time slots, such as 10:00 p.m., generally appeal more towards older demographics. Some time slots, colloquially known as "graveyard slots" or "death slots", are prone to having smaller potential audiences (with one such example being Friday nights),[22] or intense competition from high-rated series.[23][24]

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See also

References
  1. Eastman, S.T., and Ferguson, D.A. (2013). Media programming: Strategies and Practices (9th ed.), Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.
  2. Andreeva, Nellie (2019-02-12). "Brett Weitz On TNT & TBS' Future, No "Dark, Depressing Dramas" & More Unscripted On TNT". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  3. Battaglio, Stephen. "Network TV viewing is down, but strong demand for ads is expected to boost upfront sales". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  4. "In Age Of Time-Shifted Viewing, Networks Stay On Schedule". MediaPost. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  5. Ellis, J. (2000) Seeing Things: Television in the Age of Uncertainty, London: I.B. Tauris.
  6. Steinberg, Jacques (2005-05-04). "'Daily Show' Personality Gets His Own Platform". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  7. "Why Do Americans Have the Worst DVRs?". Slate. June 21, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  8. "Odd timings cause TiVo to issue warning in US". Digital Spy. May 12, 2004. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  9. "Inside Turner's Quest to Take on Broadcast". adage.com. 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  10. "NASCAR going head-to-head with Oscars". U-T San Diego. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  11. February 28; 2012. "NBA All-Star Game's 7.1 Million Viewers Down 22% From Telecast In '11". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 2019-09-29.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "Goal of spectacle colors NFL's thinking about Super Bowl halftime show". Chicago Tribune. February 6, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  13. Weinstien, Steve. "Fox Tackles Super Bowl With Sly Plan : Television: The 'rebel network' hopes to siphon off viewers from CBS with a halftime show of its own featuring the gang from 'In Living Color.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  14. Powers, Martine; Moskowitz, Eric (June 15, 2013). "July 4 fireworks gala loses its national pop". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  15. Plunkett, John (April 3, 2013). "The Voice v Britain's Got Talent: scheduling wars recommence". The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  16. Brown, Maggie (September 23, 2012). "BBC pilots Tuesday night slot as it takes on ITV in the battle of the costume dramas". The Guardian/The Observer. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  17. Vane, E.T., and Gross, L.S. (1994) Programming for TV, radio and cable, Boston: Focal Press.
  18. Petski, Denise (2019-04-08). "Leah Renee, Chris McNally, Dan Jeannotte, Nathan Parsons & More Cast In Hallmark Channel's 'Countdown To Summer' Movie Event". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  19. Yarborough, Kaitlyn. "Everything You Need to Know About Hallmark Channel in 2018". Southern Living. Time, Inc. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  20. Buckman, Adam (March 31, 2016). "Hallmark Upfront Emphasizes Family-Friendly Programming, Focus On Holidays". Media Daily News. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  21. "'Elf' and 'Christmas Vacation' Make Holiday Magic for AMC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  22. "Is There Hope In Friday Night Television's 'Time Slot Of Death'?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  23. "Upfront uproar: The inside dope on Fall TV's 5 toughest time slots". Ad Age. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  24. "'Grimm' and other shows that have escaped the Friday Night Death Slot". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
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