Shoulder programming is a type of pre-event and post-event

broadcast programming Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast autom ...

as a companion to live sporting events. This type of programming may be multi-platform and include both

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, ...

and

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

s. Due to exclusive content or access, it may be included in a broadcast rights package for a particular sport or event. The purpose is to expand revenue opportunities through radio or

television advertising A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

or increased exposure to a

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

event.

Examples

NFL

NFL Primetime ''NFL Primetime'' is a sports television program that has aired on ESPN since 1987. The show is presented similarly to ESPN's own ''SportsCenter'', featuring scores, highlights, and analysis of every game of the week in the NFL. When it debuted ...

Monday Night Countdown ''Monday Night Countdown'' (officially ''Monday Night Countdown presented by ESPN Bet'') is an American Pre-game show, pregame television program that is broadcast on ESPN, preceding its coverage of ''Monday Night Football''. For the network's non ...

, and ''SportsCenter Monday Kickoff'' have each been companion

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) programming for

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Monday Night Football was highly rated on ABC from 1970 to 2005, but since ESPN took over in 2006, it could more directly surround the franchise with programming in the time-slots before and after the game.

UFC

The first

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) event on

UFC on Fox ''Fox UFC Fight Night '' (previously referred as ''Fox UFC Saturday'' for broadcasts on Fox or ''FS1 UFC Fight Night'' for broadcasts on other Fox-owned properties) was the branding used for telecasts of mixed martial art competitions from th ...

was a title card between

Junior dos Santos Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweigh ...

and

Cain Velasquez Cain Ramírez Velásquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American former professional wrestler and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competed in the Heavyweight ( ...

in 2011. Networks such as

Fox Deportes Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States. Launched in 1993, Fox Deportes, a divis ...

, ''Fuel TV'' (since re-branded

Fox Sports 2 Fox Sports 2 (branded on-air as FS2) is an American sports-oriented pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in ...

) and

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...

broadcast many hours of programming leading up to and during the fight. Programming included specials by both Fox Deportes and Fuel TV. Replays of the previously-held Velasquez vs Lesnar fight and the weigh-in were aired by Fox Deportes and Fuel TV, respectively. Live radio coverage of the fight was broadcast by Fox Sports Radio. Other programming included a UFC primetime special and the pre-fight and post-fight shows by Fuel TV.

Criticism

ESPN has been criticized for devoting more or less air-time to a sport depending on whether it has rights to the primary organization or league of that sport. Examples include less air-time for

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL), including the cancellation of

NHL 2Night ''NHL 2Night'' is a former news magazine that used to broadcast highlights of National Hockey League games and stories about the league up to five nights a week on ESPN and ESPN2. It was usually broadcast live at 10:00 PM ET or immediately fol ...

following their expiration of ESPN's rights contract and expanding air-time for

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

and the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

following rights deals.

References

{{Reflist Sports radio Sports television Television terminology