Sweeps

In the United States, the sweeps periods are used for measuring television audiences (based on Nielsen Ratings) and determining the advertising rates in the months of February, May, July, and November.

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The television networks consequently ramp up their programming during these four four-week periods in February, May, July, and November. Outside of these peak periods, it is more common to see reruns of popular programs, while most of the more shocking plot elements (which, in turn, cause more viewers to tune in, pushing advertising rates up) happen largely during sweeps. Newscasts often feature sensationalized reports, sometimes turning into bizarre expos?s.

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In some rare cases (such as N.Y.P.D. Blue and The O.C.), a few shows do not even premiere new episodes until November sweeps, while it is traditional to begin the new American television season in September. Fox is the only network to do this on a regular and constant basis, delaying the premiere of all major shows until November. This is largely due to the network's coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series in October.

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United States: :For other uses, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation)....

Nielsen Ratings: When TV viewers or entertainment professionals in the United States mention "ratings" they are generally referring to Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by the New York City-based firm Nielsen Media Research to determine which shows television viewers watch at what times. Other ratings systems inc...

Advertising: Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. Marketers see advertising as part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, personal selling and sales promot...

Sweeps related Images and Photos (experimental)

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Jack in the Green May Day Celebrations of the Chimney Sweeps of London