The broadcast calendar is a standardized

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

used primarily for the planning and purchase of

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

programs and

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. Every week in the broadcast calendar starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday, and every month has either four or five such weeks. Broadcast calendar months thus have either 28 or 35 days. The key link between the broadcast and

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

s is that the first week of every broadcast month always contains the Gregorian calendar first of the month. For example, if January 1 falls on a Saturday, then the broadcast calendar year would begin on the preceding Monday, December 27. Broadcast January would then have five weeks, ending on January 30, and the four weeks of broadcast February would begin on January 31. The number of weeks in a broadcast month is based on the number of Sundays that fall in that month with the period ending on the last Sunday of the month. Days and weeks in a broadcast calendar are often referred to by number rather than name, as in Week 47, Day 3. Since each week starts on a Monday, day three is always a Wednesday, while week 47 is always the 47th week of the broadcast calendar year. The Gregorian equivalent in a given year can be looked up on any number of published calendars that are freely available for download on the Web. Broadcast calendar years can have either 52 or 53 weeks. A broadcast calendar will have 53 weeks in a

leap year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep t ...

where January 1 falls on a

Saturday 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 god Saturn. His planet, Saturn, controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. T ...

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

, or in a

common year A common year is a calendar year with 365 days, as distinguished from a ''leap year'', which has 366 days. More generally, a common year is one without Intercalation (timekeeping), intercalation. The Gregorian calendar, used by the majority of ...

where January 1 falls on a

. In the 21st century, 53-week broadcast calendar years are 2006, 2012, 2017, 2023, 2028, 2034, 2040, 2045, 2051, 2056, 2062, 2068, 2073, 2079, 2084, 2090, and 2096. The broadcast calendar often closely matches certain specialized financial calendars, such as the 4-4-5 calendar, but the length of a broadcast month can vary year to year. The broadcast year differs in most years from the ISO week year, although both start the week on Monday, because ISO starts with the week containing the first Thursday (and January 4) instead of the first Sunday (and January 1). Furthermore, the start of a broadcast day is typically not at midnight, but near morning, usually at or near 5 a.m. local time, often coinciding with the station’s first local newscast of the day.

References

External links

Examples of broadcast calendars at the Radio Advertising BureauBroadcast Calendar Generator Demo
Calendars Specific calendars Television terminology {{tv-term-stub