TV Scheduling

TV Scheduling

TV scheduling is largely governed by target audience.

There are three types of TV scheduling:

1.      Pre-echo – scheduling a programme before a popular or established programme. The hope is the audience will tunr in before the start of the established programme and catch the end of the new programme and hopefully something will interest them and make them want to watch the whole programme next time.
 

(What Happens in Kavos is being shown before One Born Every Minute on Channel 4 which has proved a hit with audiences)

2.      Inheritance – scheduling a new programme after a popular or established programme in the hope it will inherit some or all of its audience.

  (Mr Selfridge is shown on ITV1 after the popular programme Dancing On Ice in order to inherit some of its audience)
 

3.      Hammocking – Scheduling a new programme between two popular or established programmes in the hope it will benefit from both pre-echo and inheritance.
 

(Cornwall with Caroline Quentin is scheduled between the two episodes of Coronation Street in the hopes that it will gain viewers who do not turn over)

Scheduling is important as it is all about getting the biggest possible audince for programmes.

The BBC needs the biggest possible audience so they are not accused of wasting the public's monry that they get from the license fee. That is also the reason that there are no game shows on the BBC that offer massive prizes. the money we give is to make TV shows not to give prizes.

ITV raises revenue mainly through advertising, one advert can raise a lot of money. Businesses use adverts in order to compete with other businesses. ITV has to justify the pricing of adverts by getting the biggest possible audience for their TV shows.

Tv shows are never shown at exactly the time thet are scheduled for. This is so the audience cataches the end of an earlier programme or sometimes a trailer for a new programme which will hopefully interest them.

Channel Loyalty

Channel loyalty existed a lot in the 1970s and 80s. Audiences would tune in and watch nothing else all evening, this meant that they stayed with one particular channel. In recent years, the introduction of digital television means that channel loyalty is no longer an issue for audiences.