Time slot
Broadcasting slot (or “broadcasting time”) for radio and television is the date and time on which a certain regularly broadcast program or television series is broadcast or on which programs with comparable content are broadcast.
General
The deliberate definition of broadcasting slots is important for radio and television audiences as well as for program providers. They provide orientation for the audience, as they can rely on being able to consume (or consciously avoid) comparable programs on a specific weekday at a specific time. Orientation towards program information or program magazines, for example, is not absolutely necessary.
The definition of broadcasting slots is part of the program concepts ("programming") of the broadcasters. It is based on knowledge of established listening and viewing habits and the resulting radio and television use by the audience, but it can also influence them in a targeted manner. It gives media providers the opportunity to maintain a certain image and to retain viewers or listeners in the long term. In addition, an attractive environment can be created for advertisers. The different socio-demographic target groups (age, marital status , education) are taken into account. Soap operas, for example, used to be shown in the morning in the USA because their main target group were housewives , who could be shown targeted product advertisements for soap or detergents.
The most important target group (the so-called advertising - relevant target group ) in Western countries today is 14 to 49 year olds. To their needs, especially programming is prime time ( "prime time") directed. A “top” target group, on the other hand, are outspoken fans or experts of a series, there is no greater audience potential here.
Categories
The television stations categorize the broadcasting slots according to their importance with regard to the possible number of viewers.
| Time slot | Airtime |
|---|---|
| Send slot I | between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. |
| Send slot II | between 10 p.m. and midnight |
| Send slot III | between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. |
| Transmission slot IV | between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. |
| Send slot V | between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. |
Channel slot I occupies the time between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and is prime time; all other broadcast slots have fewer viewers. In Germany, the public broadcasters did not always broadcast at all stations. Up until July 1959, there was a nocturnal supply gap on the radio ( night program (ARD radio) ). Breakfast television was only introduced in Germany by private television in October 1987, and public television only followed suit in July 1992. In the USA, a distinction is made between “prime time” (8–10 p.m.), “late prime time” (10–11 p.m.) and “late night” (11 p.m. until the early hours of the morning). The term “late night” comes from the USA and has meanwhile also become a common term in Germany for slot II .
Assignment to broadcasting slots
Sending slot descriptions define the planned content and the program goals pursued with it for each sending slot. Positioning at a specific broadcasting slot is particularly important for private television stations because their television advertising attracts the greatest number of viewers during “prime time” and this is where the highest advertising revenues can be expected. That is why the revenues that can be achieved on a broadcasting slot at the private stations are important for program planning. The public broadcasters, on the other hand, have to forego advertising during prime time under media law.
The purchase of film rights is based on the expected advertising income within a planned broadcasting slot. A purchased film will therefore fail if it achieves a lower than the average channel market share on a broadcast slot. As a result, no television broadcaster will consciously show a film at a slot that is significantly below the typical audience average and advertising revenue for the intended slot. The market share is the proportion of viewing time allotted to a station in relation to the total viewing time of all stations in a certain time interval. It defines the acceptance of the program in relation to the programs of other broadcasters. The measurement of the market share enables the recipient potential of a broadcasting slot to be included. Less-used broadcasting slots are more likely to be predestined for special programs of little interest.
The propaganda orientation of GDR television towards West German viewers was interesting . The Tele Studio West sent Saturday afternoon in a time slot where the Western television children's television aired. The black channel from East Berlin was broadcast on Mondays at “prime time”, where ZDF preferred to show films against it.
Habit effect
The aim of the program concept of a radio or television broadcaster is to place each television production and series on the optimal broadcasting slot. A broadcast format is usually - in addition to content and formal matches - also characterized by a consistent broadcast slot in the program. It is planned in such a way that first broadcasts are taken into account on around half of all feature film slots in a year, but the reruns of films that have already been shown should run on the remaining slots . Repetitions are necessary in order to use the license economically, as films are usually acquired with multiple broadcasting rights. For television series, it is important to find a broadcasting slot that is optimal in the long term for both the format and the program structure. The fixed broadcast slot creates a habitual effect on the audience. A series format has to become part of the routine if it is to assert itself. On the other hand, special program events ( sports broadcasts , royal weddings, breaking news ) are associated with particular public interest, so that the selection of the broadcasting slot is usually not possible and is of no importance to the audience.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eric Carstens / Jörg Schütte, Praxishandbuch Fernsehen: How TV stations work , 2010, p. 350.
- ↑ Kristian Seewald, Founding and Development of ZDF… , 2008, p. 121 f.
- ^ Klaus Storm, America after Dark , 2004, p. 7.
- ↑ a b Gerrit Brösel / Frank Keuper, Medienmanagent , 2003, p. 162 f.
- ↑ Stefan Fuchs, Feature Films on Television: Audience Forecast and Monetary Assessment of Broadcasting Rights , 2009, p. 92, footnote 137.
- ↑ Stefan Fuchs, Feature Films on Television: Audience Forecast and Monetary Assessment of Broadcasting Rights , 2009, p. 150.
- ^ Claudio Dittmar, Feindliches Fernsehen , 2010, p. 86.
- ↑ Martin Werle, switched on or de-registered ?: interests Des Audikums , 2008, p. 142.
- ↑ Eric Carstens / Jörg Schütte, Praxishandbuch Fernsehen: How TV stations work , 2010, p. 146.
- ↑ Eric Carstens / Jörg Schütte, Praxishandbuch Fernsehen: How TV stations work , 2010, p. 142.