Tent-pole (entertainment)

In broadcast programming and motion pictures, a tent-pole or tentpole is a program or film that supports the financial performance of a film studio or television network. It is an analogy for the way a strong central pole provides a stable structure to a tent. A tent-pole film may be expected to support the sale of tie-in merchandise.

Types

In the film industry, tent-poles are sometimes widely released initial offerings in a string of releases and are expected by studios to turn a profit in a short period of time. Such programming is often accompanied by larger budgets and heavy promotion.[1] A tentpole movie, for example, is a film that is expected to support a wide range of ancillary tie-in products such as toys and games.[2]

An example of this strategy in television is to schedule a popular television program alongside new or unknown programming, in an attempt to keep audience viewers watching after the flagship program is over; a prominent example is the long-running Star Trek series.[3] A related concept is the hammock: in broadcast programming, if a network has two tent-pole series, it can boost the performance of a weak or emerging show by inserting it between the two tent-poles.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Rise of the Blockbuster". BBC News. 16 November 2001. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  2. Plastic Reality: Special Effects, Art and Technology in 1970s U.S. Filmmaking, Julie A. Turnock, ProQuest, 2008. p. 236
  3. Teitelbaum, Sheldon (5 May 1991). "How Gene Roddenberry and his Brain Trust Have Boldly Taken 'Star Trek' Where No TV Series Has Gone Before : Trekking to the Top". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. p. 16. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  4. "Michael Dann, TV Programmer, Dies at 94; Scheduled Horowitz and Hillbillies". The New York Times. 31 May 2016.
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