Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to broadcast their season's nightly programming. The term ''prime time'' is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example (in the United States), from 8:00p.m. to 11:00p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time) or 7:00p.m. to 10:00p.m. (Central and Mountain Time). In India and some Middle Eastern countries, prime time consists of the programmes that are aired on TV between 8:00p.m. and 10:00p.m. local time.
Asia
Bangladesh
In
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, the 19:00-to-22:00 time slot is known as Prime Time. Several national broadcasters like
Maasranga Television
Maasranga Television ( bn, মাছরাঙা টেলিভিশন; ) is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by the Square Group. It commenced broadcasts on 30 July 2011, and is based in Banani, Dhak ...
, Gazi TV, Channel 9, Channel i broadcast their prime-time shows from 20:00 to 23:00 after their Primetime news at 19:00.
During
Islamic Holidays
There are two official holidays in Islam, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, which are celebrated by Muslims worldwide. Both holidays occur on dates in the lunar Islamic calendar, which is different from the solar-based Gregorian calendar, so they are ...
Season, most of the TV Stations broadcast their especially produced shows and World Television Premiers starting from 15:00 to midnight.
In
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, the broadcasters also air special Religious and Cooking shows starting from 14:00 to 20:00 affecting the primetime hours. Besides, After blameways, Late Night Talkshows are also aired from 01:00 to 04:00 with Ramadan being exception. Religious shows are also broadcast simultaneously from 01:00 along with
Talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
s and News Analysis.
China
In
television in China, the 19:00-to-22:00 time slot is known as Golden Time Also Known "Party time",(
Traditional Chinese
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
: 黄金時間;
Simplified Chinese
Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to:
Mathematics
Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example
* Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...
: 黄金时间;
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: Huángjīn shíjiān). The term also influenced a nickname of a strip of holidays in known as
Golden Week.
Hong Kong and Macau
Prime time usually takes place from 19:00 until 22:00. After that, programs classified as "PG" (Parental Guidance) are allowed to be broadcast. Frontline dramas appear during this time slot in
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, as well as movies in English.
India
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, prime time occurs between 19:00 and 23:30. Usually, programmes during prime time are domestic dramas, talent shows and reality shows.
Indonesia
Prime time usually takes place from 16:00 to 0:00
in Indonesian time zones and Sinetrons (
soap operas
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
) dominate majority of the programming grids. Before 2018, daily evening newscasts would kick off primetime between 17:00 and 18:00, although some channels, notably SCTV, broadcast their daily evening newscasts earlier, usually at 16:00 or 16:30. The practice of airing news at primetime ended in 2018 in favor of adding more Sinetrons to the schedule, except for TVRI and Trans7, which have kept their newscasts Klik Indonesia Petang (at 18:00) and Redaksi Malam (at 23:45) on primetime respectively. After prime time, programs classified as Adult, as well as
cigarette
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
commercials, may be aired.
Like other
Muslim-majority nations, there is also a 'midnight prime time' during
suhur
''Sahūr'' , ''Suhūr'', or ''Suhoor'' (; ar, سحور, suḥūr, lit=of the dawn', 'pre-dawn meal), also called Sahari, Sahrī, or Sehri (Persian/Urdu: سحری, Bangla: সেহরী) is the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims be ...
while the month of
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
is commencing. It takes place from 02:00 (or 02:30 in some channels) and ends at the
Fajr prayer
The Fajr prayer ( ar, صلاة الفجر ', "dawn prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer), to be performed anytime starting from the moment of dawn, but not after sunrise. As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Fajr praye ...
call, which varies in timing between 04:30 and 05:00. The time slot is usually filled with entertainment and religious programming.
Iraq
In
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, prime time runs from 20:00 to 23:00. The main
news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
programs are broadcast at 20:00 and the highest-rated television program airs at 21:00.
Japan
In
Japanese television, prime time runs from 19:00 to 23:00. Especially, the 19:00-to-22:00 time slot is also known as . The term also influenced a nickname of a strip of holidays in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
known as
Golden Week.
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
prime time starts with the main news from 20:00 to 20:30 (now 20:00 to 21:00) and ends either at 23:00 or 1:00, or possibly later. Usually, programmes during prime time are domestic dramas, foreign drama series (mostly American), films and entertainment programmes. Programmes classified as 18 are not allowed to be broadcast before 10:00 p.m. but on
Radio Televisyen Malaysia
Radio Televisyen Malaysia ( en, Radio Television of Malaysia, abbreviated as RTM, stylised as rtm), also known as the Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia ( ms, Jabatan Penyiaran Malaysia) is the national public broadcaster of Malaysia. Establi ...
, most programmes on this slot are rated U (U means ''Umum'' in Malay and literally General Viewing or General Audiences in English) throughout the whole day. However, programmes broadcast after 23:00 are still considered prime time. As of 2019,
NTV7's prime time continues until 12:00 a.m. Programmes during prime time may have longer commercial breaks due to number of viewers.
Some domestic prime-time productions may be affected because of certain major sporting events such as
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
. However, only FIFA World Cup held in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
do not affect the domestic prime-time programmes but only during daytime.
Pakistan
In
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, prime time is from 19:00 to 00:00
Pakistan Standard Time
Pakistan Standard Time ( ur, , abbreviated as PKT) is UTC+05:00 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. The time zone is in use during standard time in Asia.
History
Pakistan had been following UTC+05:30 since 1907 (during the British Raj) ...
. During this time the majority of the local channels broadcast their most popular shows. However, state channels broadcast Khabarnama (New Bulletin) from past many decades.
Like other
Muslim-majority nations, In
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, the broadcasters also air special Religious and Cooking shows starting from 14:00 to 19:00/19:30 with ‘Ramadan’ Special Programs airing from 19:30/20:00 to 21:30/22:00 affecting the primetime hours for some channels. There is also a 'midnight prime time' during
suhur
''Sahūr'' , ''Suhūr'', or ''Suhoor'' (; ar, سحور, suḥūr, lit=of the dawn', 'pre-dawn meal), also called Sahari, Sahrī, or Sehri (Persian/Urdu: سحری, Bangla: সেহরী) is the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims be ...
while the month of
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
is commencing. It takes place from 02:00 (or 01:45 in some channels) and ends at the
Fajr prayer
The Fajr prayer ( ar, صلاة الفجر ', "dawn prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer), to be performed anytime starting from the moment of dawn, but not after sunrise. As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Fajr praye ...
call, which varies in timing between 04:30 and 05:00. Also, during other
Islamic events such as
Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...
and
Rabi' al-Awwal Some channels broadcasts religious shows during day/evening time slots (between 12:00 and 19:00 - time varies on channel) or late-night slot (from 22:00).
Philippines
In the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, prime-time blocks begin at 18:00 (now 16:30 or 17:00) and run until about 23:00 (or 23:30) on weekdays, and 19:00 to 23:00 on weekends. The weekday prime-time blocks usually consists of local
Philippine television drama (soap operas) and foreign television series. The network's highest-rated programs are usually aired right after the evening newscast at 18:30 or 20:00, while a foreign series (usually a
Korean Drama) usually airs before the evening newscast or precedes the late night newscast.
On weekends, non-scripted programming such as
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
series, talent shows,
reality shows and
current affairs Current affairs may refer to:
News
* Current Affairs (magazine), ''Current Affairs'' (magazine) a bimonthly magazine of culture and politics.
* Current affairs (news format): a genre of broadcast journalism
* Current Affairs, former name for Behi ...
shows air in prime time. For the minor networks, prime time consists of American television series on weekdays, with encores of those shows on weekends. Prime time originally started earlier at around 19:00, but the evening newscasts were lengthened to 90 minutes and now start at 18:30, instead of the original one-hour newscast that starts at 18:00.
Singapore
In
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, prime time begins at 18:00 on
Channel 5, 18:30 on
Channel 8 and 19:00 on
Channel U,
CNA,
Suria,
Vasantham
''Vasantam'' () is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by N.V.Prasad & Sanam Naga Ashok kumar on Sri Sai Deva Productions banner, directed by Vikraman. Starring Venkatesh, Arti Agarwal, Kalyani and music is composed by S. A. Rajk ...
. which are also the main (
Free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
) television channels in Singapore.
On Channel 8, prime time ends at midnight or 0:15 on weekdays, at 0:30 on Saturday nights and at 23:30 on Sunday nights. On Channel 5, prime time ends at 0:00 on weekdays, at 1:30 (or later) on Saturday nights and at 0:30 on Sunday nights. On Suria, prime time ends at 22:30 on Monday to Thursday nights, 23:30 on Friday nights, 23:00 on weekends and at 00:30 or 01:00 on eve and actual days of Public Holidays. On Vasantham, prime time ends at 23:00 on Mondays to Thursdays, midnight (or later) on Friday and Saturday nights and at 23:30 on Sunday nights. On Channel NewsAsia, prime time ends at 23:01, immediately after the news headlines, seven days a week and on Channel U, prime time ends at 23:00 seven days a week. Generally, however, prime time is considered to be from 18:00 to 00:00.
South Korea
In
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, prime time usually runs from 19:30 to 23:00 during weekdays, while on Saturdays and Sundays, it runs from 18:00 to 23:00. Family-oriented television shows are broadcast before 22:00, and adult-oriented television shows air after 22:00.
Taiwan
In
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, prime time (called ''bādiǎn dàng''—八點檔—in
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
, literally eight o'clock slot) starts at 8 p.m. in the evening.
Taiwanese drama series played then are called 8 o'clock series and are expected to have high viewer ratings. Also, the evening news usually start from 18:00 or 19:00.
Thailand
In
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, prime time dramas (ละคร; lakhon) air from 20:30 to 22:30. Most dramas are
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s. Prime time dramas are popular and influential to Thai society.
Vietnam
In
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, prime time is also known as Golden Time (
Vietnamese: ''Giờ vàng''), prime time starts at 20:00 in the evening and ends at 23:00.
Europe
Austria
In
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, prime time usually starts at 20:15 after the news broadcast of the
first "Staatlich-rechtliches Fernsehen" or ORF1, event though
ORF2
ORF 2 (''ORF zwei'', formerly FS2) is an Austrian public television channel owned by ORF. It was launched on 11 September 1961 as a technical test programme. Today it is one of the four public TV channels in Austria.
ORF 2 is available vi ...
has its news from 19:30 to 20:00, they also start broadcasting prime time content at 20:15. The same applies for nearly all channels seated in Austria or
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, that are broadcast in Austria.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, prime time starts at 20:00 and finishes at 22:00. It is preceded by a daily newscast (''Dnevnik'') at 19:00 and followed by a late night newscast (''Vijesti'') at 22:00.
Bulgaria
In
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, prime time starts at 20:00 o’clock every day (including weekends). Usually, the programmes aired are Bulgarian or Turkish series and reality shows, followed by a late newscast. The
Bulgarian National Television broadcasts
''Po Sveta i u Nas'' at 20:00 and shows cultural and political programmes from 21:00 to 22:00 with next being series and late-night news at 23:00.
Croatia
In
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, prime time starts between 20:00 and 20:15. Croatian public broadcaster
Hrvatska radiotelevizija broadcasts a daily newscast from 19:00 to 20:00. Also, many private broadcasters have daily newscasts either before or after the HTY newscast, at around 20.05, followed by the start of their own prime time. Many broadcasters without daily newscasts start their prime time at 20:00. Prime time generally ends between 22:00 and 23:00, followed by the late night edition of the network newscast and adult-oriented programming.
Denmark
In
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, prime time starts at 20:00.
Finland
In
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, prime time starts at 21:00. It is preceded by a daily newscast at 20:30.
France
In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
prime time starts at 21:10 (20:35 in 1980s, 20:50 in 1990s and 2000s, 21:05 in 2010s).
Georgia
In
Georgia, prime time starts between 18:45 and 20:00 and generally ends at midnight. However, on Friday night / Saturday morning prime time usually continues until 1:00.
Germany
At 20:00 each evening
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
(The First),
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
's oldest public television network, airs the country's most-watched news broadcast, the main edition of the ''
Tagesschau
(German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality ...
''—which is also simulcast on most of its other specialist and regional channels (The Third). The conclusion of the bulletin 15 minutes later marks the beginning of prime time, as it has since the 1950s. In consequence, most channels also choose to start their prime time at 20:15. In the 1990s, the commercial channel
Sat.1
Sat.1 is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group.
It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesellschaf ...
suffered a significant loss of audience share when it tried moving the start of its prime time to 20:00.
Greece
In
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, prime time runs from 21:00 (usually following the news) to midnight.
Hungary
In
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, prime time on weekdays on the two big commercial stations (
RTL Klub
RTL (formerly: RTL Klub) is a Hungarian free-to-air television channel owned by RTL Group. The channel began broadcasting three days after its main rival TV2, one of Hungary's first commercial TV channels.
History
Since its start, RTL Klub ...
and
TV2 Channel 2 or TV 2 may refer to:
Television networks, channels and stations
*Channel 2 (Iran), operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
*Channel 2 (Israel), a commercial television station
*, entertainment and music television in Latvia
* ...
) starts at 19:00 with game shows, tabloid and docu-reality programmes. At 21:00, two popular soap operas air: ''Barátok közt'' and ''Jóban Rosszban'', which follows at 21:30. American and other series, movies, talk-shows and magazines run until 23:30. The prime-time lineup is preceded by daily news programmes at 18:30. At weekends prime time begins at 19:00, with blockbuster movies and television shows.
Before 15 March 2015, the public television station
M1 began its prime time with a game show at 18:30, which was followed by the daily news programme ''Híradó'' at 19:30. After the news, the channel broadcast American and other series, talk shows, magazines, and news programmes until 22:00, after which came the daily news magazine ''Este'' and the late edition of ''Híradó''.
From 15 March 2015,
Duna began broadcasting all of the entertainment programming transferred to it from that date from M1, meaning that prime time on Duna now begins at 18:00, starting with the simulcast of the 18:00 edition of Híradó from the newly re-launched news channel, M1.
Iceland
In
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, prime time starts at 19:30. It is preceded by a daily newscast at 19:00.
Ireland
In
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, prime starts at 18:30 and ends at 22:00.
Italy
In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, prime time (called "prima serata") starts between 21:00 and 21:45 (main channels, including RTV) and ends between 23:30 and 00:30. On Friday and Saturday night some shows last until 06:30–07:00. It usually follows news and, on some networks (like
Rai 1
Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...
and
Canale 5
Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980.
On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...
), a slot called "access prime time". Shows, movies, and sport events are usually shown during prime time.
Netherlands
Much like in Germany, prime time in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
usually begins at 20:30 in order to not compete with
Nederlanse Omroep Stichting's flagship 20:00 newscast.
Norway
In
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, prime time starts at 19:45. On the
NRK1
NRK1 (pronounced as ''"NRK en"'' or ''"- ein"'') is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's (NRK) main television channel.
History
Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts started on 13 April 1958 and regular broadca ...
channel it is preceded by the daily newscast ''
Dagsrevyen'' at 19:00. Locally, prime time is called (lit. "best time for broadcasting").
Poland
In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, prime time starts around 20:00 (sometimes 20:30). On
TVP1
TVP1 (TVP Jeden, ''Program I Telewizji Polskiej'', ''"Jedynka"'') is the main public television channel of TVP (Telewizja Polska S.A.), Poland's national television broadcaster. It was the first Polish channel to be broadcast and remains one ...
it is preceded by a daily newscast at 19:30, on
TVN TVN may refer to:
* TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel
* Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster
* TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi
* TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...
the newscast is aired at 19:00 followed by the newsmagazine Uwaga at 19:50 (weekdays) or 19:45 (weekends), and then the soap opera Na Wspólnej at 20:05 (Monday to Thursday), from Friday to Sunday (at 20:00) various: movies on Friday, serials or films (Winter and Summer) at Saturday, and programme or films(Winter and Summer) at Sunday), on (
Polsat) the news is aired at 18:50, followed by a sitcom Świat według Kiepskich at 19:30.
Russia
In
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
television prime time is between 19:00 and 23:00 on working days and from 15:00 to 01:00 on holidays.
On radio stations there are morning, day and evening prime times. The most common division:
morning—6:30 to 10:00;
day—~12:00 to 14:00;
evening—16:00 to 21:00.
Slovakia
Public television in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
consists of two channels; on the main channel (
Jednotka
Jednotka (formerly STV1) is a Slovak television generalist channel owned and operated by public broadcasting, state-funded RTVS.
Programming News and journalism
* Góly, body, sekundy (''Goals, points, seconds'') - sport news
* O 5 minút 1 ...
) prime time starts at 20:10, and on the second one (
Dvojka
Dvojka (formerly STV2) is a Slovak television channel owned and operated by RTVS
Radio and Television of Slovakia ( sk, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska ) or RTVS is a nationwide public broadcasting, state-funded organisation in Slovakia. It i ...
) prime-time programming starts at 20:00. The two biggest private broadcasters set the start of prime-time programming at 20:20 (
Markíza) and 20:30 (
TV JOJ). Generally, however, prime time is considered to be from 20:00 to 23:00.
Slovenia
In
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, prime time, the period in which the most-watched shows are broadcast, is from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. It is preceded by daily newscasts; Dnevnik RTV SLO (7:00pm – 8:00pm) on TV SLO 1, 24ur (6:55pm – 8:00pm) on POP TV, Svet na Kanalu A (6:00pm – 7:00pm; 7:50pm–8:0pm), and Danes (7:30pm – 8:00pm) on Planet TV.
Spain
In
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, prime time refers to the time period in which the most-watched shows are broadcast. Prime time in Spain starts quite late when compared to most nations as it runs from 22:30 till 01:00. Most news programmes in Spain air at 21:00 for an hour and prime time follows. However, due to fierce competition, especially among the private stations prime time has even been delayed until 23:00. Most channels are delaying prime time in order to protect their top shows from sporting events.
In the 1990s, prime time in Spain began at 21:00, moving to 21:30 in the latter half of the 1990s and 22:00 in the early 2000s. Commercial broadcaster
LaSexta and the second channel from the Public broadcasting
La 2 have attempted to shift prime time back to 21:30 in 2006 and Spring 2007, but these attempts have been unsuccessful. Fellow public channel
La 1 also tried to pull prime time back to 21:00 in early 2015, to no avail.
The lateness in the start of prime time in Spain is also due to
Spanish culture. Spanish people generally work from 09:00–14:00 and then from 17:00–20:00 as opposed to the standard 09:00–17:00. The popular late-night show ''
Crónicas marcianas
''Crónicas'' ("chronicles") is a 2004 Ecuadorian thriller film, written and directed by Sebastián Cordero. The film was produced by, among others, Guillermo del Toro, director of ''Pan's Labyrinth'', and Alfonso Cuarón, director of '' Chi ...
'' during the late 1990s–2000 also helped to extend prime time well into the early hours with the show being watched by a share of 40%, despite finishing at 02:00.
Spain might also be unique in that it has a second prime time, running from 14:30–17:00 which coincides with the extended Spanish lunch break. Shows airing in the secondary prime time period on many occasions beat those prime-time shows at night on a daily basis. The second prime time occurs only on weekdays, though and the slot is usually filled with ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'',
news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
,
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s and
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
s.
Sweden
In
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, prime time starts at 20:00. It is preceded by a daily newscast at 19:30 and local news at 19:50.
Ukraine
In
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, prime time ( uk, прайм-тайм, найкращий час) runs from 18:30 to 21:30 on working days and from 15:00 to 01:00 on holidays.
United Kingdom
In the
UK, prime time (can also be known as peak time in that country) runs from 19:00 to 23:00.
North America
![Dayparting in the United States](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Dayparting_in_the_United_States.svg)
In
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, television network feed their prime-time programming in two blocks: one for the
Eastern and
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
time zone
A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...
s, and the other, on a three-hour tape delay, for the
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...
, to their local
network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
. In
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
(including
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
) as well as
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, there is no change in the interpretation or usage of "prime time" as the concept is not attached to time zones in any way. Affiliates in the
Mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
,
Alaskan
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, and
Hawaiian zones are either on their own to delay broadcast by an hour or two, or collectively form a small, regional network feed with others in the same time zone.
Prime time is commonly defined as 8:00–11:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific and 7:00–10:00 p.m. Central/Mountain. On Sundays, the major broadcast television networks traditionally begin their primetime programming at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern/Pacific, 6:00 p.m. Central/Mountain). Some networks such as
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
,
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, and
MyNetworkTV broadcast only from 8:00–10:00 p.m., a time period known as "common prime". Most networks air primetime programming nightly, but the smaller MyNetworkTV has programmed only on weekday evenings since its 2009 retreat towards a programing service. The CW returned to Sunday broadcasting in 2019, then added Saturday for the first time in 2021. In Canada,
CTV and
Global both follow the same model as the larger U.S. networks (although both may occasionally air programming in the 7:00 p.m. hour in the event of scheduling conflicts with other U.S. imports), while
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
,
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
and
CTV 2 schedule prime-time programs only within the common prime period (with the 10:00p.m. hour dedicated to
syndicated programming
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
on Citytv and CTV 2, and CBC airing its news program ''
The National''). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has alternatively defined prime time as ranging fro
6 pm to 11 pmt
Since the early 2000s, the major networks have come to consider Saturday prime time as a
graveyard slot
A graveyard slot (or death slot) is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early mor ...
, and have largely abandoned scheduling of new scripted programming on that night. The major networks still maintain a prime-time programming schedule on Saturdays, with a mix of live sporting events (most commonly
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
in the United States and
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
in Canada), encores of programs aired earlier in the week, films, non-scripted reality programs,
true crime programs produced by their news divisions and, occasionally,
burning off
In American broadcast programming, "burning off" is the custom of quickly airing the remaining episodes of a television program, usually one that has already been or is planned to be cancelled, without the intent to attract a large number of vie ...
episodes of low-rated or cancelled series.
Prime time can be extended or truncated if coverage of sporting events run past their allotted end time. Since the "
Heidi Game" incident in 1968, in which
NBC cut away from coverage of a
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
/
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
football game on the east coast in order to show a movie (and, in the process, causing viewers to miss an unexpected comeback by the Raiders to win the game), the present-day
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
mandated that all games be broadcast in their entirety in the markets of the teams involved. Due to this rule, game telecasts may sometimes overrun into the 7:00 p.m. ET hour.
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
previously scheduled repeats of its animated series in the 7:00 hour, allowing themselves to simply pre-empt the reruns if a game ran long. This was later replaced by a half-hour-long wrap-up show, ''The OT''. In contrast,
CBS does not, as its weekly newsmagazine ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' has traditionally aired as close to 7:00 p.m. ET as possible. Even if a game runs past that hour, CBS shows ''60 Minutes'' in its entirety after the conclusion of coverage, and the rest of the prime-time schedule on the East Coast is shifted to compensate. For example, if game coverage were to end at 7:30 p.m., prime time would end at 11:30 p.m.
However, in the rare case where the NFL game runs excessively late (8p.m. or later), the series scheduled to air at 10p.m. is preempted, with the West Coast and eastern markets airing only an early afternoon game usually receiving a repeat of the 10p.m. series instead. In an extreme case, CBS's prime time can be extended past midnight during broadcasts of the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
. This does not necessarily apply universally; in 2001, after an
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
game went into double overtime, causing a 45-minute delay of a highly promoted episode of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', NBC made a decision to cut off all future XFL broadcasts at 11:00 p.m. ET. Since the launch of
NBCSN
NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...
, NBC has occasionally invoked this curfew by moving sports overruns to that channel if necessary.
Until the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) regulated time slots prior to prime time with the now-defunct
Prime Time Access Rule in the 1971–1972 season, networks began programming at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific/6:30 p.m. Central and Mountain on weeknights. The change helped instigate what is colloquially known as the "
rural purge
The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the ...
"—a long-term trend away from programs appealing to older and rural audiences in favor of programs catering towards younger, "urban" viewers. As a result, the hour became a lucrative timeslot for syndicated programming in the years that followed, with
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
and
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
, as well as other syndicated reruns, becoming popular.
The vast majority of prime-time programming in English-speaking North America comes from the United States, with only a limited amount produced in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
mandates quotas for
Canadian content in prime time; these quotas indicate at least half of Canadian prime-time programs must be Canadian in origin, but the majority of this is served by national and
local news or localized entertainment gossip shows such as
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
's ''
Entertainment Tonight Canada
''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine ''Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadcas ...
'' and
CTV Television Network
The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...
's ''
ETalk''.
Likewise, the vast majority of Spanish-language programming in North America comes from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Televisa
Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
, a Mexican network, provides the majority of programming to the dominant U.S.-based Spanish broadcaster,
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
. Univision does produce a fairly large amount of unscripted Spanish-language programming, the best known having been the long-running variety show ''
Sábado Gigante
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...
'', hosted and created by Chilean national
Don Francisco. Univision's distant second-place competitor,
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
, produces a much greater share of in-house content, including a long line of
telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
s.
In
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, the largest Francophone area of North America, French-language programming consists of originally produced programs (most of which are produced in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, with a few produced in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
) and a few French-language dubs of English language programs. On all of the Quebec networks, entertainment programming is scheduled only between 8 and 10p.m., with the 10–11p.m. hour given over to a network newscast or a nightly talk show.
United States
Prime time is the
dayparting
In broadcast programming, dayparting is the practice of dividing the broadcast day into several parts, in which a different type of radio programming or television show appropriate for that time period is aired. Television programs are most of ...
(a block of a day's programming schedule) with the most viewers and is generally where television networks and local stations reap much of their advertising revenues. In recent years, television advertising expenditure in the US has been highest during prime-time drama shows.
The
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
system is explicitly designed for the optimum measurement of audience viewership by dayparts with prime time being of most interest. Television viewership is, in general, highest on weekday evenings, as most Americans are
working time
Working(laboring) time is the period of time that a person spends at paid labor. Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week.
Many countries regulate the work week by law, s ...
, asleep during the overnights, and out taking part in social events on weekends; thus, television has its highest audience at times when people are unlikely to be away from home.
Prime time for radio is called
drive time and, in Eastern and Pacific Time, is 6–10a.m. and 3–7p.m. and, for Mountain and Central Time, is 5–9a.m. and 2–6p.m. The difference between peak radio listenership and television viewership times is due to the fact that people listen to their radios most often while driving to and from work (hence the name "drive time").
A survey by Nielsen revealed that viewers watched almost two hours' worth of TV during prime time.
How Much TV Do People Watch During the Day?
Marketingcharts.com. April 4, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
Mexico
In Mexico, central time normally starts at 7:30 p.m. and periodically ends at 10:30 p.m. The main networks such as Las Estrellas, Azteca Uno and Imagen Televisión broadcast telenovelas produced by themselves or productions acquired from other countries such as Turkey, Brazil, among others.
South America
In many Latin American countries, prime time (known in most countries as ''horario central'' or "Central Time", ''horario estelar'' ("Stellar Time") or ''horário nobre'' ("noble time") in Brazil) is considered to be from Monday to Friday from 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. The time slot is usually used for news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
, telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
and television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
, and special time slots are used for reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
, with great popularity, especially in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. In Brazil, the three most famous telenovelas in the country are shown each weekday and on Saturdays on prime time. There are also news programs, reality shows, and sitcoms.
Argentina
In Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, prime time is considered to be from 8:00p.m. until 12:00a.m.; with the most successful series and telenovelas in the country (such as ''Los Roldán
''Los Roldán'' is a Spanish language telenovela produced by Argentina's Telefe from 2004 to 2005. The drama, which is also described by many as a comedy, actually ended up winning an award in 2004 as Argentina's Comedy of the Year. RCN Colombian ...
'' and '' Valientes''), and entertainment shows, like CQC (Caiga Quien Caiga).
Chile
In Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, prime time is considered to be from 10:30p.m. until 1:00a.m.; where the most successful series and telenovelas in the country (such as ''Socias'' and ''Las Vega's''). Investigation entertainment shows (like '' Informe Especial'', ''Contacto'', ''Apuesto por ti'') also air.
Oceania
Australia
Prime time in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
is officially from 6:00 p.m. to midnight, following Australian Eastern Standard Time
Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30), and Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00). Time is regulated by the individual state ...
, with the highest ratings normally achieved between 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
New Zealand
Traditionally, prime time in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
is considered to be 7:30pm to 10:30pm, but can be extended to cover the entire evening of television (5:00pm to 11:00pm).
See also
* Drive time
*International broadcasting
International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was t ...
*Late night television
Late night television is one of the dayparts in television broadcast programming. It follows prime time and precedes the overnight television show graveyard slot. The slot generally runs from about 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. ET, with variation ...
*Market share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
*Graveyard slot
A graveyard slot (or death slot) is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early mor ...
* The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present
*List of longest-running American primetime television series
This is a list of the longest running U.S. primetime television series, ordered by the number of broadcast seasons offered by a U.S. broadcast network or cable network in prime time on the show's original run. Broadcast syndication that could have ...
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Time
Television genres
Television terminology
Economics and time