All TV Channels focus their listings of programmes depending on what audiences are most likely to be watching the TV Channel at the time of broadcast. My TV Channel is going to be called Teen Music Hits (TMH), and is geared at a young audience, mainly teenagers. The TV Channel will therefore have to gear its schedule around the typical teenager lifestyle, making sure the best programmes are on when teenagers are going to be watching the TV Channel, maximsing viewing ratings. This means between the times of 9'o'clock (typically) and 4, the large majority will be in school, college or work (later aged teens), so programmes will need to keep this in mind. The Channel can start its day according to the teen lifestyle, so on weekdays, the 'TMH Breakfast' show can start at 7.00, and on weekends later on, as young people tend to stay in bed for a 'lie in' Then, on weekdays, after the Breakfast show, there should be lower rated programmes shown, such as repeats or playlist programmes of the 80's etc..
Then, by about 4-5 o'clock, teenagers should have got in and the vast majority put the television on. This is when the good programmes can start. There should be interviews with famous artists or celebs, as this is conventional teenage savy. There should also be a 'TMH' entertainment/news catchup of the day, as teenagers have been out all day, and will want to stay informed of the latest news related to them, such as celeb breakups, new bands. After this then, by around 7 o'clock, there should be teen dramas. Teen Dramas is a series largely focused on teenage charcters, looking at their lifestyles, similar to soap operas. This genre of programme is very much focused on the teenage audience, as they allow the audience to witness charcters growing up, along the way facing an array of realistic teenage issues. After this, there could possibly be a film, again audience related, like high school musical, or Twilight etc.. or a newer playlist programme, more related to the time.
Between 5/6 and 9 o'clock is when the largest teenage audience will be watching the channel. After this, following their lifestyles, some may still be watching, whilst others might have gone out with friends. (small number doing homework). It is also after 9'o'clock when more explicit and unchild -friendly programmes can start, as children should have gone to bed. At about 10'o'clock, programmes which are rating of 12 -15 (18) can be on. I have decided that these programmes will be comedy related, as comedy is one aspect which attracts an audience, of any kind. This can range from Dirty Sanchez, to South Park and Family Guy. Two programmes like this should take the channel up to 11.00, when most teenagers on a weekday will be going to sleep for the night. On the weekdays, there should be a last 60 second news bulletin before finishing. However, on a weekend, some still might be up, so another 15-18 rated film could be shown, before finally finishing.
Taking a teenagers lifestyle into account is one method of maximsing viewing ratings. There is another way of increasing viewings of less popular programmes by using a hammocking technique (putting an unpopular or weak programme in between two popular shows, hoping that viewers will be too lazy to turn over). When most teenagers will be watching the TV Channel (between 5 and 9), this is the best time this technique can be practised to its full effectiveness. This is done by scheduling a very popular programme first, followed by a less popular programme, which is then followed by another very popular programme. This will mean teenagers will have to watch the least popular programme in order to see the next programme. A good example where this has been done is on ITV, where GMTV is shown first, which is one of the most popular breakfast shows in Britain, which is followed by the Jeremy Kyle Show, which has been rated the least viewed programme on ITV, which is then followed by GMTV's breakfast competition, This Morning, which is also very popular. This results in the Jeremy Kyle Show experiencing a higher audience rating.
There are also other techniques television channels use to boost audiences for programmes. I have used a pairing technique, which is putting two similar programmes or the same show on one after the other. A couple of examples where I have done this is with South Park, where it is on first at 10.00 until 10.30, then another episode straight after from 10.30 until 11.00, and then with The Hills earlier on in the day.
As I have decided that my TV Channel and website are going to be music related, I felt it was appropriate to use Theming, whereby a channel picks a theme (eg.music) and show a night of programming about that theme. As my channel is music related, this would work well. I decided that on Friday this would happen, with either a large-lengthed programme on music, or a collection of say one hour slots on music programmes. On my lisitings page for this week, I decided that from 8.00 until 12.00, it is going to be a special programme, celebrating the bestsellers of 2009.
