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 automatio ...

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

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

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 networ ...

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 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 guid ...

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 debut ...

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

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) programming for

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. 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) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(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 the U ...

was a title card between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez in 2011. Networks such as Fox Deportes, ''Fuel TV'' (since re-branded

Fox Sports 2 Fox Sports 2 (FS2) is an American List of sports television channels, sports-oriented pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based a ...

and

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American 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 division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...

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; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(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 10:00PM ET or immediately follo ...

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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

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 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

following rights deals.

References

{{Reflist Sports radio Sports television Television terminology