Editing Dayparting (section)

==North America==
===On radio===
[[Nielsen Audio]] (known as Arbitron until it merged with [[Nielsen Holdings]] in 2013), the leading [[audience measurement]] service in the [[United States]], divides a weekday into five dayparts: morning [[drive time]] (6:00–10:00&nbsp;a.m.), midday (10:00&nbsp;a.m.–3:00&nbsp;p.m.), afternoon drive (3:00–7:00&nbsp;p.m.), evenings (7:00&nbsp;p.m.–midnight) and overnight (midnight–6:00&nbsp;a.m.).

In radio broadcasting through most of the 1990s, dayparting was also used for censorship purposes. Many songs that were deemed unsuitable for young listeners were played only during the late evening or overnight hours, when children were presumably asleep. Even today, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) dictates less stringent decency requirements for programming aired between the hours of 10:00&nbsp;p.m. and 6:00&nbsp;a.m. local time.

The drive time dayparts coincide with [[rush hour]]; these dayparts are traditionally the most listened-to portions of the schedule, since these are the times when most people are in their cars, where [[vehicle audio]] remain nearly ubiquitous. Most stations (both talk and music) air local programming in one or both drive time slots. The midday, or "at work" slot, has in recent years become particularly prone to [[voice-tracking]], as large station ownership groups cut costs and use supposedly local DJs at multiple stations (often in different time zones). Music stations often are careful not to repeat songs during the midday shift, as they generally have a captive audience, and will often use "9 to 5 No Repeat Workdays" and all-request or specialty lunch hours to lure listeners and air a broader variety of music. Evenings are a popular time for [[Broadcast syndication#Radio syndication|syndicated]] programs, while overnights are generally automated, either with or without a voice-tracked DJ, though there are a few niche programs that target special audiences in the overnight and early morning hours (''[[Coast to Coast AM]]'', ''[[Red Eye Radio]]'' and The ''[[Orion Samuelson|National Farm Report]]'', among them). On weekends, music stations often air syndicated programming, without regard to time slots (though Saturday nights often remain live with either local or syndicated hosts, especially on [[oldies]] and [[country music]] stations, to take requests) and talk stations air niche network shows or [[brokered programming]]. Religious programming often airs on Sunday mornings.

In talk radio, where voice tracking is impossible and syndicated content is live and national, these lines blur somewhat. ''[[The Rush Limbaugh Show]]'' aired in a time slot that is in midday in all time zones, but other than that and overnight shows such as ''Coast to Coast AM'', a show that airs in a slot corresponding to afternoon drive time in the [[Pacific Time Zone]] (for instance, ''The [[Lars Larson]] Show'') would fall into a less-listened-to evening time slot on the East Coast. Similarly, a show that airs during early midday on the East Coast (such as the ''[[Glenn Beck Program]]'') would be aired during the morning drive time period on the West Coast, and may not live up to the expectations of listeners expecting local, informative content. The general solution for this problem is to [[broadcast delay]] programming to fit schedules, though another problem develops where West Coast listeners are unable to interact with those programs unless they stream them live from a station east of them, or they have a live video simulcast via a television channel or streaming services.

===On television===
In the United States, dayparting is by far the most common among the [[Big Three television networks]] ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[NBC]] and [[CBS]]), all three of which continue to produce programming for a wide array of audiences (a programming strategy known as [[full-service radio]]). This is also generally true of other countries where the major terrestrial broadcasters have more general audiences.

Cable and satellite channels, most of which cater to smaller niche audiences, generally use much simpler programming strategies: infomercials in the morning, [[rerun]] (often in [[block programming]] or [[Marathon (media)|marathon]] format) in the daytime, and feature programming in prime time, replayed in late night (though this structure varies, some channels may opt not to lease out certain time periods to infomercials and program overnight and morning time periods with entertainment programs instead). [[United States cable news]] outlets typically program a network-style morning show, rolling news coverage in the daytime with opinion programming or long-form documentaries at night; [[ESPN]] follows a similar format, but with sporting events in prime time, while its opinion programs air primarily on sister outlet [[ESPN2]]. Stations such as [[MTV]], [[BET]] and [[VH1]] that feature music programming may devote their morning and/or midday blocks to [[music videos]]. Children's channels such as [[Disney Channel]] and [[Nickelodeon]] generally air programs for preschool children during the early morning hours in the form of blocks such as [[Nick Jr.]] and [[Disney Junior]], [[PBS]] carries a similar lineup called [[PBS Kids]], while broadcast networks carry syndicated content; some air older programs (such as reruns of classic cartoons such as ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' on [[Cartoon Network]]) at midday while children are at school, while programs for older school-age children and high school-aged teenagers air in the late afternoon slot. During prime time, programs that are generally aimed at the entire family (such as movies, which Disney Channel often airs) are common. Cartoon Network switches from children's programming content later in the evening to carry adult-oriented live-action/animation block [[Adult Swim]], which runs through late night.

====Daytime====
On [[television]], like on radio, the day is divided into similar dayparts, although the times have been blurred somewhat. In general, [[breakfast television]] programs air between 7:00 and 10:00&nbsp;a.m.; on [[television network]], these are usually long-form news programs featuring entertainment, light fare and features aimed toward women. Until the 1970s or so, children's programs such as ''[[Captain Kangaroo]]'' aired in this time slot (since that time, however, the school day has started earlier, making such programs less viable).

After breakfast comes [[daytime television]], which targets college students, older retirees and the ever-shrinking base of stay-at-home moms and housewives; the [[soap opera]], [[tabloid talk show]], [[court show]] and (much more rarely since the 1990s) the [[game show]] are popular genres in this daypart. In the United States and Canada, a local midday [[news broadcasting]] also airs during the noon hour on most stations as well (this is not always the case; some stations may schedule their midday newscasts up to one hour earlier). PBS and other noncommercial [[public broadcasting]] networks generally broadcast educational programs aimed at children, especially toddlers and preschool children (such as ''[[Sesame Street]]'') throughout the early and later part of the daytime slot, while some show other alternative programs such as cooking programs during the midday period. Cable and satellite television networks generally broadcast an occasional movie during the daytime slot or acquired programs during prime time.

The later part of the daytime slot can sometimes be targeted at children ages 7&ndash;12 and teenagers ages 13&ndash;16 when they come home from school. The U.S. networks [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] and [[The WB]] had children's program blocks during the mid-1990s into the early 2000s, and even prior to that, CBS's ''[[Match Game]]'' exploited this audience to set ratings records in the 1970s. PBS traditionally broadcasts educational children's programs until approximately 5:00&nbsp;p.m. in most areas, some PBS stations broadcast children's programs until 6:00&nbsp;p.m., and some even until 7:00&nbsp;p.m..

From 5:00 to 7:00&nbsp;p.m. (in the United States, this can sometimes be as early as 4:00&nbsp;p.m.), newscasts are usually shown on most television stations. Local news is usually coupled with a half-hour network newscast and possibly a syndicated news program. Unlike morning news shows, these are more generally targeted programs and feature more hard news stories (network evening newscasts, unlike their local counterparts, tend to limit weather and sports coverage unless it is a notable news story). In the United States, stations affiliated with minor networks, or those that have no network affiliation at all, usually air syndicated sitcom reruns or continue daytime programming during this daypart. Following the news, [[prime time]] begins with what is usually referred to as the "[[fringe time]]" or "access period" (so named after the [[Prime Time Access Rule]], former legislation in the United States which previously ''required'' networks to not show network-supplied programming in that hour). In the United States (and Canada, to a certain extent), two game shows, ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' have dominated this time slot since the 1980s, and they usually compete with syndicated entertainment [[newspaper]] magazines (such as ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'') and syndicated reruns of popular primetime programming like ''[[Seinfeld]]'' and ''[[Friends]]''. Additional local newscasts have become increasingly popular in this time slot.

====Evening====
Prime time is the highest-profile television daypart, from 7:00 or 8:00&nbsp;p.m. to 10:00 or 11:00&nbsp;p.m., depending on the network and time zone. The highest rated programs on television often air during prime time, and almost all scripted programming (except soap operas, game shows, and more recently, [[sketch comedy]] shows) air during the prime time slots. Occasionally, especially during the 1980s and in the 2000s, programs that were "daytime oriented" sometimes enter the prime time daypart, such as the popular nighttime soap opera ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' and the game show ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (American game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]]''. Usually the main reason for the high profile of prime time television is due to the fact that many people who come home from work and school tend to watch television rather than engage in any other activity.

In North America, Friday nights are often considered to be the "[[Friday night death slot]]", due to the concept that many shows scheduled on or moved to Friday nights would not last long before cancellation due to low ratings. Some shows have achieved success on Fridays even with the notion of the "death slot" (examples include CBS's ''[[Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series)|Hawaii Five-0]]'', ''[[Blue Bloods (TV series)|Blue Bloods]]'' and ''[[MacGyver (2016 TV series)|MacGyver]]'', programs within the now-defunct [[TGIF (TV programming block)|TGIF]] lineup, and more recently ''[[Shark Tank]]'', both aired on ABC in the U.S.). Other "death slots" include Saturday nights, the 12:00 noon and 4:00&nbsp;p.m. weekday time slots (at least during the 1980s; both time slots have since been abandoned by all networks and given to local news or syndication), and the time slot or slots immediately opposite popular shows such as ''[[American Idol]]'' or the [[Super Bowl]] (see also ''[[Super Bowl counterprogramming]]''). The phenomenon of fewer viewers on Friday and Saturday is in part because most people (particularly the younger viewers that advertisers often seek) are usually not home to watch television on Friday and Saturday nights as they participate in leisure activities on those days, and as a result, programs that air during this time usually receive low ratings. However, some cable channels aimed at children, teenagers or [[preadolescence]] audiences (such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel) have experienced success with original programs that they commonly air in the perceived Friday and Saturday night death slots; Nickelodeon in particular, has aired first-run teen programs during Saturday prime time since 1992 with the creation of the [[SNICK]] block (later renamed [[TeenNick]] from 2004 to 2009), as well as [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s "[[TGIF (TV programming block)|TGIF]]" block from the 1980s and '90s.

Following prime time, [[Late-night news|late-local news]] often air, followed by [[late night television]] programs. Late-night shows are predominantly targeted toward younger male audiences (college students and people who suffer from [[insomnia]] are also a large audience for late night programs) and feature a common format of a male host delivering a [[stand-up comedy]] routine (known as a [[monologue]]) centered around current events, followed by several guests and a house band's performance.

====Overnight====
After the late night shows, programming varies; this time slot between approximately 2:00 and 6:00&nbsp;a.m. is known as overnight (or the "[[graveyard slot]]" due to the extremely low numbers of viewers). This daypart is the only portion of the day not monitored or reported on by Nielsen in the U.S. in most circumstances, although many stations still consider this a viable programming daypart and actively sell breaks. Some stations may [[sign-on and sign-off]] for the night (though this has become less common since the 1980s), air [[infomercial]], or air news or reruns of other programming. It is also often used as a timeslot to "burn off" (air programming the station is required to run) shows the station is contractually obligated to run but is not concerned with viewership, often after an announced cancellation or poor ratings performance. This daypart can also be used to air programming intended to be recorded via [[Digital video recorder|DVR]] and watched later ("[[time shifting]]"), or a spot to air programming preempted from another daypart due to breaking news, live sports, or other program interruptions. Many stations run rebroadcasts of local late news broadcasts at 2:00&nbsp;a.m., with visual disclaimers that indicate the programming is pre-recorded. In many areas, PBS member stations may also air encores of children's programs on a digital subchannel at this time.

In some countries, programming aimed at adult audiences may also air during the late night hours, such as [[softcore pornography]]. In the United States, a handful of cable television channels such as [[Cinemax]] and [[AXS TV]] have used this practice, but this is forbidden on American broadcast television. An exception to this is if the broadcast signal is encrypted; this allowed [[pay television]] that transmitted over broadcast television in the 1970s and 1980s such as [[ONTV (pay TV)|ONTV]] to air pornographic films at night. Until the end of the 1990s (for example [[BBC One]] by November 1997<ref>{{Cite web|title=Final BBC One Closedown 1997|website = [[YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpknHBevFeU}}</ref>) most TV stations around the world would [[sign-on and sign-off|sign-off]] between around [[midnight]] and 3am local time, and showed a [[test card]] until the [[sign-on and sign-off|sign-on]] in the morning. Most often at the main public stations (like BBC1 in Britain) showed the [[national anthem]] before closing down.

====Weekends====
Weekends have a slightly different setup than weekdays. On Saturdays, morning shows share time with the [[saturday-morning cartoon]], where the networks usually fulfill federally mandated regulations requiring the airing of educational or children's shows (such as [[regulations on children's television programming in the United States]], where at least three hours of this programming must air weekly across all television stations; although most of the children's programs have increasingly become more live action in nature than animated). Sunday mornings, often known as a graveyard slot (particularly very early on Sunday morning) feature more morning shows, [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] designed for very small audiences, additional infomercials, [[religious broadcasting]], and a series of influential political and news analysis/interview programs known as the [[Sunday morning talk show]].

Weekend afternoons (both Saturday and Sunday) often feature different sporting events to varying degrees. During the fall, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC in the United States all broadcast football (all four networks air [[college football]] and [[National Football League|NFL]] football), the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] airs on ABC, [[college basketball]] airs on CBS, Fox and ABC during the winter and spring, while the [[National Hockey League|NHL]] airs on ABC during this time period. [[Golf]] (on NBC And CBS), [[auto racing]] (NBC and Fox for [[NASCAR]], though NBC sometimes airs [[IndyCar]] racing) and [[baseball]] (Fox) occur during the summer; in addition, sports anthology series such as the ''[[CBS Sports Spectacular]]'', [[Canada]]'s ''[[CBC Sports]] Saturday'' and ABC's ''[[Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|Wide World of Sports]]'' broadcast a broad variety of sports with a smaller following. Most stations also find time when sports are not airing to air large blocks of infomercials and some syndicated programs during this time slot. Cable networks and some broadcast stations frequently air feature films during weekend afternoons.

In North America, not many new programs air on Saturday nights, with the focus more on movies, reruns and sports. This is largely due to the increasing status of Saturday prime time as a "death slot", which led most American broadcast networks to abandon first-run scripted fare on that night by the mid-2000s. In Canada, [[CBC Television]] has historically aired Saturday night NHL [[ice hockey]] nationally under the title ''[[Hockey Night in Canada]]'', dating back to the early days of radio. Other Canadian networks use the Saturday night slot to meet [[Canadian content]] quotas (a practice colloquially known as the "[[Canadian content]]"). The U.S.-based Fox network established a permanent sports block on Saturday night in 2012, carrying a range of sports including [[Pac-12 Conference]] [[Fox College Football]], [[Major League Baseball on Fox]], [[NASCAR on Fox]] and the [[Fox UFC]] on a periodic basis with reruns airing when sports events are not scheduled (this block displaced Fox's reality series ''[[Cops (TV program)|Cops]]'' from its time slot of over two decades); ABC carries [[Saturday Night Football]] during the fall, then switches to a mix of [[NBA on ABC]], movies, news magazines and prime time reruns for the rest of the year.

In the U.S., late night programming on Saturday features one prominent sketch comedy show, NBC's ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', while other stations carry syndicated reruns. Sunday evening is generally treated as a regular weeknight, with popular prime time programs airing. In the United States and Canada, prime time network programs start one hour earlier on Sunday evenings (6:00 or 7:00&nbsp;p.m., depending on the time zone) than on Monday through Saturdays, an exception to the since-repealed Prime Time Access Rule as part of a 1975 revision that allowed networks to program the time slot on Sundays. No network programming currently airs in the Sunday late night slot.