Tracking Tv Programs

Tracking TV Programs

Since its invention, television has been an important part of American life and culture. In our modern society, there are even those who would argue that it has become an absolute necessity. Recently, many people have been debating whether or not television content is corrupting our youth and Americans in general. In spite of this, I believe that the networks do an adequate job of providing programs that appeal to the different categories of viewing audiences.

In the early evening, one can find a variety of programs that connect with a large audience spanning children to adults, however as the night progresses the program content changes in order to target mature audiences only.

When the early evening programming begins at around five o'clock the viewer has various selections to choose from. It is about this time that many people are returning home from work, so news programs are a staple of these early time slots. Following this is a barrage of comedy sitcoms, movies, and dramas, such as "Home Improvement" and "Melrose Place". Their viewers include children, families, and single adults. Therefore, these time slots draw larger audiences than any other.

As the evening dwells on, one can start to see a gradual change in program content as they begin to lose the younger viewers and start focusing on more mature audiences. The content becomes more violent and sexually explicit. The comedy also follows this pattern and becomes more adult oriented, such as HBO's

"Def Comedy Jam". This is also the time of night that those famous infomercials begin airing. The reason for this is that these are the cheapest time slots to buy and broadcast on.