It might be just a coincidence, but I have been noticing that most shows I watch that are released weekly, air on Sundays.
Is it really a thing? And if it is, what is the commercial reason behind it?
In: Other
Traditionally, the best slots for TV shows are in the evening time, Sunday through Thursday. The reason for that is, especially before DVR’s and streaming services changed the game, the best time slots were when the most people were likely to be at home, watching TV. Most people work during the daytime, so evening times after dinner are considered “prime time.” And people are most likely to go out or travel on Fridays and Saturdays, so those are considered the worst evenings – though Saturday can be great for kids’ programming like Saturday morning cartoons. In fact, Friday nights are often called the “death slot” because of how likely the shows that air on Fridays are to get low ratings and get canceled.
Of the good days for primetime TV, the premiere slots are typically Thursday night, because most people stay in and plan to go to out on Friday night, and Sunday night, because people are likely to be at home, relaxing and getting ready for the next week (and typically Wednesday is next in precedence). Shows that air in those times have a tendency to do better and pick up higher ratings, which means that good shows sometimes gravitate to those prime slots. After all, if your network has a new show that you want to succeed, you’ll try to put it in the best timeslot possible. And if you have a show on another night that’s doing well, it might be good to switch it to one of those dates, to take advantage of its popularity and get even more viewership and ad revenue.
Basically, good shows are more likely to air on Sundays or Thursdays, on the major networks at least – those slots tend to select for the best quality programming, so our favorite shows are more likely to air on those days. Though, of course, streaming is changing the game a bit, with Netflix and Hulu releasing shows on any day, and Disney+ choosing to release everything on Fridays, hoping to get a big weekend boost.
Latest Answers