In
broadcast programming
Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing 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 automatio ...
and
motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s, a tent-pole or tentpole is a program or film that supports the financial performance of a film studio or television network. It is an analogy for the way a strong central pole provides a stable structure to a tent. A tent-pole film may be expected to support the sale of
tie-in
A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...
merchandise.
Types
In the film industry, ''tent-poles'' are sometimes widely released initial offerings in a string of releases and are expected by studios to turn a profit in a short period of time. Such programming is often accompanied by larger budgets and heavy promotion. A tentpole movie, for example, is a film that is expected to support a wide range of ancillary tie-in products such as toys and games.
Examples
An example of this strategy in television is to schedule a popular
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
alongside new or unknown programming, in an attempt to keep
audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
viewers watching after the flagship program is over; a prominent example is the long-running ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' series.
A related concept is the
hammock
A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swing (seat), swinging, sleeping, or Human relaxation, resting. It normally consists of one ...
: in
broadcast programming
Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing 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 automatio ...
, if a network has two tent-pole series, it can boost the performance of a weak or emerging show by inserting it between the two tent-poles.
See also
*
Audience flow Audience flow describes how people move through media offerings in a temporal sequence. Stable patterns of audience flow were first identified in the early twentieth century when radio broadcasters noticed the tendency of audiences to stay tuned to ...
*
Blockbuster (entertainment)
A blockbuster is a work of entertainment—typically used to describe a feature film produced by a major film studio, but also other media—that is highly popular and financially successful. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget p ...
*
Event movie An event film or event movie is a blockbuster film whose release itself is considered a major event.
Criteria
It could be a highly anticipated sequel or a big budget film with state-of-the-art special effects or major stars generating considerab ...
*
Four-quadrant movie
In the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood movie industry, a four-quadrant movie is one which appeals to all four major demographic "quadrants" of the moviegoing audience: both male and female, and both over- and under-25s.
Criteria
Films are ...
*
List of highest-grossing films
Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assess ...
References
{{reflist, 30em
Film and video terminology
Television terminology