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A television program is the content of television broadcasting. The content of an individual broadcast may be referred to as a television program (US English), television programme (UK English) or television show. A program may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically returning television series. A television series that is intended to air a finite number of episodes is usually called a miniseries. Americans call a short run lasting less than a year a season; Europeans call this a series. This season or series usually consists of 10-24 installments of the series. A single instance of a program is called an episode, although this is sometimes also called a "show" or "program". A one-off broadcast may be called a "special". A television movie is a movie that is initially aired on television rather than being released in movie theaters or direct-to-video, although many successful television movies are later released on video.1 What television programming is
The content of television programming may be factual (e.g. documentaries, news or reality television) or fictional (e.g. comedy or dramaThis article refers to the art form. For the town, see Drama, Greece . Drama is a term generally used to refer to an art form involving performances by actors, either real or computer-generated. These performances can be in a variety of media: live perfor).
A drama program usually features a set of actorAn actor is a person who acts, or plays a role in an artistic production. The term commonly refers to someone working in movies, television, live theatre, or radio, and can occasionally denote a street entertainer. Besides playing dramatic roles, actors ms in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives and their adventures. Many shows, especially before the 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends, maintained a status quo where the main characters and the premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. (Because of this, the episodes could usually be watched in any order.) Since the 1980s, there are many series that feature progressive change to the plot, the characters, or both.
Common TV program periods include regular broadcasts (like TV news ), TV series (usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or TV miniseries which is an extended filmFor other uses see film (disambiguation Film — also called movies the cinema the silver screen moving pictures motion pictures photoplays picture shows and flicks — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of the entertainment, usually with a small pre-determined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline. Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length, though critics often complain when programs hit the short end of that range and are still marketed as "minis." In the United States, regular television series have 22 episodes per year. Dramas usually last 44 minutes (an hour with commercials), while comedies last 22 (30 with commercials). However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been changing. Cable networks usually feature series lasting thirteen episodes. Many British series have significantly shorter yearly runs.
Old television shows begin with a title sequenceA title sequence in a television program, is shown at the beginning which displays the show name and credits, usually including actors, producers and directors. A montage of selected images and/or a theme song are often included to suggest the essential t, show opening creditsOpening credits in a television program or motion picture, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of at the bottom of the screen over the beginning of the show, and include closing creditsClosing credits in a television program or motion picture, come at the end of a show and list all the cast and crew involved in the production. They are usually shown on the screen in small characters, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or at the end of the show. However, in the 1990Events January January 3 Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces. January 7 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns. January 9 Lt Gen Bazilio Olara Okello The man who led the coup aginst Dr Apos shows began cold opening with a " teaser " (a short beginning to the episode, designed to catch the viewer's attention), followed by a title sequence, and a commercial break. More plot-driven shows begin with a " previously " (a short introduction to past major plot events through excerpts), even before the teaser. And, to save time, some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the opening credits.
While television series appearing in TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks themselves, the real revenue for the producers is typically when the product is sold into syndication. However, with the rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run have become a significant revenue source as well.
