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Drive time is that daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the largest number of people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work.^[1] Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this class is at its peak and, thus, commercial radio can generate the most revenue from advertising.^[2] Drive time usually coincides with rush hour.

• 2Variations

Content[edit]

Mainstream stations employ high-status presenters for drive time shows. In the United States, popular national hosts who are associated with morning drive include Howard Stern, Ryan Seacrest and Steve Inskeep, while Sean Hannity is associated with afternoon drive on the East Coast.

Drive time often includes a heavier run of traffic reports, for which many stations employ their own helicopters or hire a third-party traffic reporting service.

For popular music-oriented stations, morning drive-time is typically dominated by the 'morning zoo' genre of radio program, with the afternoon portion is often given over to music (often in commercial-free blocks, especially in markets with long commute times) and light entertainment features. For talk radio stations, drive time is characterized by regular news updates, as well as extremely frequent updates on traffic and weather forecasts to help commuters get to and from work. Primary news radio stations are almost always local during this time period.

Variations[edit]

In the United Kingdom and Australia, the term drive time is used almost exclusively to refer to the peak evening period (most commonly 16:00–19:00); the term used for the period of peak morning listening is breakfast, akin to the phrase breakfast television used for morning TV shows. In circumstances where the phrase drive time may be ambiguous, the term home time may also be used for afternoon drive.

In the United States drive time consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. The exact times vary: morning drive times typically include 6–10 a.m.; afternoon drive times typically include 3–7 p.m. In the United States, these are the time slots as defined by Nielsen Audio for audience measurement.

Drive time programming is almost exclusively restricted to during the work week. On weekends, because driving habits are much less uniform, lower profile programs (often reruns or brokered programming) typically air in the respective time slots.

Multiple time zones[edit]

Depending on the station, morning drive can start as early as 5 a.m. local time, although rarely any earlier. Because the contiguous United States, Canada, and Mexico span four to seven time zones, what constitutes drive time on one coast does not broadcast in drive time on the other, which can cause issues for nationally syndicated programs; this is not as much of an issue in morning drive, which usually incorporates a tape delay to air at the same time in all time zones, as it is for afternoon drive. However this effectively means that morning shows are heavily New York or East Coast–centric to allow time-shifting in all time zones, with some Central Time Zone shows making some additional headway. For all intents and purposes though, morning shows originating west of the Rockies must additionally plan to be mid-morning offerings for the rest of the country and adjust accordingly to be office-appropriate for those stations which take the shows in the east. National satellite networks typically air their morning drive programs from 6–11 a.m. Eastern Time, with heavy repetition. A similar situation exists in Russia, which spans nine time zones. This issue is mitigated somewhat in Canada and Mexico, where most drive time programs are local and are unaffected by these problems.

These issues are not present in the United Kingdom or New Zealand, where the entire country is in the same time zone. In Australia, there is a two-hour time zone difference between the eastern and western coasts; and three time zones; however, other than Greater Perth, most of the country's population is located in the southern and eastern portions of the country, and its time zones are only a half-hour apart.

See also[edit]

• Prime time, a related concept in television

References[edit]

1. ^'English definition of 'drive time''. Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Cambridge University Press. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
2. ^Hillstrom, Magee (27 August 2014). 'Advertising Media Audio Law & Legal Definition'. USLegal Definitions. US Legal. Retrieved 27 August 2014.

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. 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 retronymlinear (such as linear television and linear channels).^[2][3][4]

• 2Scheduling strategies

History[edit]

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[edit]

Block programming[edit]

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[edit]

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 Argentina, this practice is referred to as a pase.^{[citation needed]}

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[edit]

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

Counterprogramming[edit]

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 on a different night to avoid competition altogether.^[15][16]

Best Time Slots For Radio Shows

The professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) deliberately scheduled a flagship weekly show on TNT, Monday Nitro, to compete directly with the rival WWF's Raw on USA Network, leading to an intense rivalry dubbed the 'Monday Night Wars'. At its peak, Nitro (which aired live for three hours) often beat Raw (which aired a two-hour, pre-recorded program that overlapped the final two hours of Nitro) in the ratings, which led WWF to introduce its edgier 'Attitude Era' to compete. To ridicule the pre-recorded competitor, WCW commentators sometimes disclosed Rawspoilers on-air, as a ploy to keep viewers from tuning away. This tactic infamously backfired during its January 4, 1999 episode, when a spoiler that Mankind would win the WWF Championship had the opposite effect, causing Nitro to lose around 600,000 viewers to the final hour of Raw instead. The Nitro main event (featuring Hulk Hogan defeating Kevin Nash for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship) was also marred by its unusual build-up and controversial finish—dubbed the 'Fingerpoke of Doom'. Critics credited the episode's events as an example of a misstep that led towards WCW's eventual demise.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Dayparting[edit]

Dayparting is the practice of dividing the day into several parts, during each of which a different type of radio programming or television showming 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.

• Early morning news
• Early morning
• Late morning
• Early fringe
• Lunchtime news
• Early afternoon
• Late afternoon
• Early evening
• Evening news
• Sign-off (closedown)
• Late fringe
• Post late-fringe

Calendar With Time Slots

Hammocking[edit]

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[edit]

In hotswitching, the showmers 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.

Best Slots Free

Season splitting[edit]

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[edit]

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.^[21]

Stripping[edit]

Stripping is running a syndicated television series every day of the week. It is commonly restricted to describing the airing of shows which were weekly in their first run; The West Wing could be stripped, but not Jeopardy!, as the latter is already a daily show. 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.

Tentpoling[edit]

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[edit]

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).^[22][23][24].^[25]

Time slot[edit]

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),^[26] or intense competition from high-rated series.^[27][28]

See also[edit]

• Radio Computing Services - automated scheduling for radio stations

References[edit]

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. ISSN0362-4331. 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.
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. ^Fritz, Brian; Christopher Murray (2006). Between the ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs And Failures. ECW Press. p. 41. ISBN1-55022-726-2.
18. ^Stroud, Brandon (2018-01-04). 'WCW's Fingerpoke Of Doom Happened 19 Years Ago Today, Brother'. UPROXX. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
19. ^The Notorious Eddie Mac (2014-01-06). 'The day that shook up the wrestling world'. Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
20. ^Holland, Jesse (2012-01-04). 'On this date in WCW history: Tony Schiavone and the Finger Poke of Doom'. Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
21. ^Vane, E.T., and Gross, L.S. (1994) Programming for TV, radio and cable, Boston: Focal Press.
22. ^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.
23. ^Yarborough, Kaitlyn. 'Everything You Need to Know About Hallmark Channel in 2018'. Southern Living. Time, Inc. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
24. ^Buckman, Adam (March 31, 2016). 'Hallmark Upfront Emphasizes Family-Friendly Programming, Focus On Holidays'. Media Daily News. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
25. ^''Elf' and 'Christmas Vacation' Make Holiday Magic for AMC'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
26. ^'Is There Hope In Friday Night Television's 'Time Slot Of Death'?'. NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
27. ^'Upfront uproar: The inside dope on Fall TV's 5 toughest time slots'. Ad Age. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
28. ^''Grimm' and other shows that have escaped the Friday Night Death Slot'. EW.com. Retrieved 2019-09-09.