Political Media Glossary

Access channels  Cable channels set aside by a cable operator for use by the public, educational institutions, municipal government, or for lease on a non-discriminatory basis. Often used by candidates for call-in programs and debates viewed by voters in groups in supporters' homes.

Adjacency  A program or time period, which immediately precedes or follows a scheduled program on a single radio or television station. News programs are almost only sold as adjacencies. These are always local or spot commercials.

Advertising weight  The amount of advertising planned for and used by a candidate. It is usually stated as the number of messages or impressions delivered or broadcast insertions placed over a flight.

Affidavit  The sworn statement of a television or radio station that a commercial appeared as stated on the invoice. It is important to request this type of confirmation to show that all commercials actually ran. If any commercials didn't run, the candidate is entitled to a make-good during the campaign or a refund after the election.

Affiliate  A local television station affiliated with one or more of the major networks, e.g. ABC, CBS, and NBC. They broadcast both network and locally originated programming.

Afternoon drive  Radio daypart between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Agency commission  The compensation paid by a station to recognized agencies for services rendered in connection with placing advertising with it. The standard agency commission allowed is 15% of the gross cost.

Agency of record  An agency that purchases the candidates' media time for another agency or a group of agencies serving the same client. The only entity authorized to place orders and make changes with a station for the candidate.

AM  Amplitude Modulation. AM is the standard broadcast transmission system used by the majority of licensed radio stations. The term is commonly used to differentiate between AM and FM radio.

Announcement  A TV or radio commercial or public service message, when broadcast.

Area of Dominant Influence (ADI)  A market area designated by American Research Bureau (ARB) and used in Arbitron ratings surveys. ADI is analogous to A.C. Nielsen's Designated Market Area DMA and is similar to the Bureau of the Budget's Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area SMSA. Each ADI is an exclusive geographical area consisting of all counties in which the Home Market Stations receive a preponderance of viewing hours. Every county in the U.S. is assigned to one and only one ADI.

Audience accumulation  The total net audience exposed to repeated periodical, outdoor, television, or radio advertising.

Audience composition  The number and kinds of people listening to a TV or radio program classified by their age, sex, income, etc.

Audience turnover  An approximation of the number of times a radio station's audience changes during a period of time. It is computed by dividing the estimated number of different, unduplicated, persons listening to a radio station within a specified time period by the average audience during that time period.

Avail, Availability  A commercial time slot that has not been sold and thus is available for purchase. It is also a specific day and time rate card listing all programming demographics and price.

Average quarter hour estimates  Radio audience estimates are based on Average persons, Average ratings and Metro share per quarter-hour.

Average persons  Is the estimated number of persons listening to a station during any quarter hour in a time period.

Average ratings  Is the number of listeners, Average persons, as a percentage of all persons in the metro area or designated demographic group within the metro area. Persons are counted once in each 1/4-hour. Thus, if a person listening to one 1/4 hour is counted once, a person listening to all four 1/4 hours is counted four times.

Back-to-back  Describes the situation in which two commercials directly follow each other. Candidates can ask to run or not to run back-to-back with specific other candidates.

Billing  The charge made to an advertiser by an agency, based on the gross charges for the media from which time has been purchased, along with any other charges and fees incurred by the agency that are passed on to the advertiser.

Broadcast calendar  A calendar used for order and accounting purposes in the radio and TV industry which contains months of four or five whole weeks, each week beginning on a Monday. Each quarter in the broadcast calendar contains 13 weeks. In political buying, weeks usually begin on Tuesday and end on Mondays.

Card rate  The cost of time quoted on a rate card.

Chain break  The time between network programs during which a station identifies itself, and a commercial appears.

Clear channel station  An AM radio station allowed 50,000 kilowatts, the maximum power allowed, and priority in the use of frequency band. At sunset, other stations (daytime stations) on this frequency, in other geography, sign off.

Clearance  Obtaining a time period for a commercial on a station and obtaining approval to use a commercial from the stations legal and continuity departments.

Closing date  The closing time is specified by the medium. The last hour or day that an announcement may be submitted for approval to a station or network management to be included in the schedule. Also the latest commercials can be trafficked.

Clutter  Excessive amounts of advertising carried by a station from other political advertisers.

Combination rate  A discounted rate offered to encourage use of two or more stations having common ownership. Occasionally, an advertiser has no choice but to buy the combination, as time may not be sold separately.

Coverage  The portion of an area, community or group that may be reached by an advertising medium.

Commercial break  Interruptions of programming in which commercials are broadcast.

Commercial protection  The amount of time that a network or station provides between the scheduling of competitive commercials by agreement between advertisers. When there is excessive clutter competitors often run back-to-back. In answering attacks it is often good to come second, but usually it is best to be at the front of a break.

Contour map  A broadcast coverage map showing the quality of reception possible on the basis of signal strength.

Cost per thousand (CPM)  A figure used to compare media costs, but the basis for comparison must be specified (e.g., "18+ Adults, households, 35-49 year-old women").

Cost per rating point (CPP)  The cost of reaching one percent of a given demographic group.

Cume  Abbreviation for "cumulative." The total number of unduplicated individuals or individual households reached by a given announcement if it runs two or more times in the same environment over a fixed period of time.

Cume rating  This number expresses a percentage of the total population.

Cume person  This is an expression of Reach. It is the estimated number of different persons in a demographic group who receive the message at least once.

Daytime TV  A loose term generally applied to the period from morning sign-on to 5 PM. In political advertising, it is usually considered 9 AM to 5 PM because the period before 9 AM, usually morning news and farm programming, has a markedly different demographic character. Radio: The time is from 10 AM till 3 PM.

Demographics  Demographic characteristics or "demos." It is a broad term that refers to the various social and economic characteristics of a group of households or a group of individuals. It refers to characteristics such as the number of members in a household, age, type of employment, occupation, education, and individual and household income.

Designated Market Area (DMA)  Designations by A.C. Nielsen similar in concept to ARB's Area of Dominant influence (ADI). A DMA is generally a group of counties in which stations located in the Metro Area achieve the largest audience share. Like ADIs, DMAs are exclusive in that they don't overlap.

Distant signals  Also known as, adjacent market signals, these are broadcast station signals imported via microwave from outside the immediate area and retransmitted to cable homes.

Drive time  Radio term. Morning or AM Drive: 6 AM to 10 AM; Afternoon or PM Drive: 3 PM to 7 PM.

Dubs  Duplicate tapes, made from a Master, sent to different stations for broadcast. Today commercials are often sent by wire or satellite.

Early fringe  TV: The time period preceding prime time. Usually 4 to 8PM, except in the Central Time Zone where it is usually 3 to 7 PM. It includes local programming and network news.

Firm order  A definite order for time and space that cannot be cancelled after a given date, known as the firm order date.

Fixed position  A specific period of station broadcasting time reserved for an advertiser and sold at a premium rate.

Fixed rate  Station's price for a time slot, which guarantees that the advertiser's announcement will run in that position without preemption.

Flight  The length of time a broadcaster's campaign runs. A series of flights in a media campaign separated by a hiatus is called Flighting.

FM  Frequency Modulation. FM is a radio broadcast band in the broadcast spectrum different from that used by AM stations. There is no static in FM radio reception.

Format  Radio: This is the actual content of the station's broadcast. News, Black, Classical, Middle of the Road (MOR), Top 40 Hits, and  Country are some of the varied and changeable formats. It is the most important factor in determining a station's listenership and the resulting demographic characteristics of the audience.

Frequency  The number of times an individual or household is exposed to a message or schedule within a given period of time.

Frequency discount  A discount given to an advertiser for various numbers of spots bought in a specific period.

Fringe time  TV: The hours directly before and after prime time. May be further specified as "early fringe" or "late fringe".

Gross cost  The total price for a spot on a schedule before the standard advertising agency commission is taken from it.

Gross impressions  The total number of impressions, exposures to an advertising message, for all commercials and/or insertions in a given schedule. Duplications are counted as multiple impressions.

Gross rating points GRP  The sum of all rating points, counting duplication, achieved in a market area during a specified period of time. GRP are a multiplication of the Reach by the Frequency.

Group discount  A special discount in station rates for the simultaneous use of a group of stations, i.e. affiliated AM and FM radio stations (combo rates), and stations bought as part of networks (e.g. farm, news, etc.).

Hiatus  A break in an advertising schedule, which is later resumed. The period between two flights is a hiatus.

Households using television (HUT)  This is the number of households watching television at a given time, used as the basis for determining Share.

Holding power  The degree to which a program retains its audience throughout a broadcast. It is expressed as a percentage determined by dividing the average audience by the total audience.

Holdover audience  The audience a program acquires from listeners of a preceding high rated program on the station that stayed with the station. Also called inherited audience. A usually weak program following an important movie or special often can be a bargain.

ID  Any short-length "identification" commercial on radio or TV. E.g.,  a 10-second ID.

Independent station  A TV station that broadcasts programming of only local origination (e.g., old network reruns, syndicated programs, local sports, news and talk shows). Not affiliated with the three major networks.

Late fringe  The period directly following network prime time.

Limited time station  A radio station that is assigned a channel for broadcasting for a specified time only, sharing its channel with other stations at different times. Usually broadcasting only as daytime stations.

Listening area  The geographic area in which a station's transmitting signal can be heard clearly. The area in which transmission is static-free and consistent is called the primary listening area. It is not necessarily contiguous with media markets.

Local advertising  Advertising placed and paid for by a local candidate or merchants with stations in contrast to national, or general, advertising sold by networks.

Local program  A program that originates with the local station rather than being transmitted by a network.

Log time  The actual time a commercial airs, which is taken from the station's log.

Makegood  A commercial or commercials run by agreement with the advertiser in place of one that did not run properly when scheduled. The scheduling of a makegood is subject to negotiation between the agency and the station. If no good replacement programming is found, an advertiser can take a credit for later use, or a cash refund.

Market  The rating services divide the country into markets made up of counties whose audience is dominated by a group of stations. The market name comes from the cities that the major stations are licensed from.

Master  The final approved print of a commercial, from which duplicates are made for distribution to stations.

Media weight  The total impact of a media campaign in terms of number of commercials, insertions, reach and frequency, advertising dollars, or demographics.

Metro Area  The central counties designated by A.C. Nielsen, usually corresponding to the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Rating and population information is broken out by total market or by metro area. Not necessarily the boundaries of the political district or city.

Metro Share  A station's audience as a percentage of the total listening audience in the metro area.

Middle break  Station identification at about the halfway point of a program.

Monitor  To check timing, program, and commercial content of individual broadcasts of radio and/or television commercials, often of the opposition.

Morning drive  Radio daypart from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

Narrowcasting  Describes a cable system's segment geography and demographics to small groups. It is the delivery of programming that addresses a specific need or audience.

National Political Services, Inc.  The political media time buying service you should use.

Net cost  The price paid by an advertising agency to a media outlet. Usually 85% of the listed gross price.

Network  Interconnecting broadcast stations for the simultaneous broadcasting of television or radio programming in a specific time period.

Network affiliate  A broadcast station that is part of a network and therefore offers network programs. Some of the spots on these stations are restricted to network use and some are for the station's local sales.

0 & 0 stations  Television and radio stations owned and operated by a network.

Orbit  A scheduling method used by stations that consists of rotating an advertiser's commercial among different programs and/or time periods.

Overnights  Nielsen household ratings and shares provided to NSI Metered Market clients the morning following the day or evening of telecast.

Package plan discount  In spot television, a discount based upon frequency within a week, often in preset numbers of spots in several day parts.

Participation  An announcement within a program, as opposed to one scheduled between programs (an adjacency).

PI (Per Inquiry Advertising)  An agreement between a station and an advertiser in which the station agrees to accept payment for advertising on the basis of the number of inquiries resulting from advertising, soliciting inquiries, or direct donations to a candidate.

Position  An advertisement's place in programs or time spots.

Preemption, preemptible time  Important news or a special program, at times, changes programming, thus, preempting spots. Higher paying and preferred political commercials can also preempt spots. Time may be sold "non-preemptible" at the highest rate, "two weeks preemptible" at a lower rate, or "immediately preemptible," usually at the lowest rate.

Prime access  The time between the network news and the beginning of the prime time network schedules. It varies from one half to one hour of local programming.

Prime time  Those hours when viewing is heaviest. This varies from region to region. On the East and West Coasts it usually is from 8-11 PM; in the Midwest it usually is 7-10 PM and often limited to network evening programming.

Production dictionary  see Penney, Edmund. A Dictionary of Media Terms: An Indispensable Guide to Film, Print, and Video Language. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984.

Program following  The TV or radio program that follows a given program.

Program opposite  The TV or radio programs that are running on other stations at the same time as a given program, the competition for the audience of a given program. It is important in determining the value (cost per thousand) of a specific avail. Programming opposite often changes with scheduled changes and specials affecting audience size.

Program preceding  The TV or radio program that is directly before a given program. This program will often alter the demographics of a program following if it is special.

Public TV  Formally  "Educational Station." Non-profit stations that have limited or no commercial advertising and run educational programs. The FCC and the courts have ruled that these stations, like commercial stations, must take advertising for federal candidates.

Public service announcement (PSA)  Promotional material for a non-profit cause, usually prepared at no cost to the service advertised, and carried by stations at no cost.

Rate card  A document giving the time rates of a TV or radio station. It usually includes production requirements, closing dates, programming and demographic information as well as unit cost.

Rating point  TV: The percentage of TV households or demographic categories a TV station reaches with a program, compared with the total of all TV households or population in a category in that area. One rating point is the equivalent of one percent of the demographic population being exposed to the message. Radio: The percentage of individuals in a market who listen to a station at a given time, counted as 1/4-hour persons.

Reach  The total number of people or households reached by a medium or by an announcement. Usually expressed as a percentage of the market.

Rotation  The practice of scheduling a commercial or group of commercials to be featured at intervals throughout a schedule to maintain a desired message balance. It is also, the process of continuing a series of advertisements over and over again in a regular order.

Run-of-station (ROS)  Announcements that can be scheduled at the station's description anytime during the period specified by the seller, E.g., 9 AM to 12 midnight, Monday through Friday.

Satellite  A drone station that rebroadcasts a major station's signal into a remote geography. Usually paid for as part of the major station cost but sometimes sold separately.

Saturation  A media schedule of extensive reach and high frequency during a concentrated period of time, designed to achieve maximum impact, coverage or both.

Scatter plan  The placing of announcements in a number of different prime time TV programs.

Schedule  A list of media to be used during an advertising campaign. The chronological list of programs broadcast by a station.

Share  TV: The percentage of all households using television, HUT, in a market that is watching a given station at a specific time. Radio: The percentage of all current listeners in a market that are listening to a given station at a specific time.

Spot  A time period filled entirely by a commercial or public service message and sold separately from the adjacent time periods. Such announcements may be placed between network programs or within local programs. It is also, time buying (programs and/or announcements) on a market-by-market basis from stations.

Station break  A time period between two programs when a station announces the call letters, channel number, and also broadcasts commercials.

Station log  The official, chronological listing of a radio or television station's programming and commercial announcements throughout the day. Each commercial position has a log time, which comes from this station log.

Superstation  An independent broadcast station that is also distributed to cable homes nationally by satellite. Examples are WTBS in Atlanta, WGN in Chicago, WOR in New York, and KHJ in Los Angeles.

Sweeps  Rating services survey all television local markets four times yearly, in November, February, May, and July, these are called sweep months.

Tag Line  The FCC requires that political advertising have a "Paid for by…" line printed or read at the end or beginning of a commercial.

Target audience  The desired or intended audience for advertising as described or determined by the advertiser. Usually defined in terms of specific demographic (age, sex, income, etc.) characteristics.

Time schedule  From a station: A schedule showing the media in which an advertisement is to appear, the date and time on which it is to appear, the exact length and the cost. From an agency: It should also include program information, and ratings and population in one or more demographic targets.

Total audience  Audience viewing all or any part of a program in excess of five minutes. For programs of less than ten minutes duration, households viewing one minute or more are included.

Traffic instructions  The communication that tells the traffic department of a station the title and code numbers of a specific commercial, to rotate in time periods or play in a specific program position. Stations (and agencies) usually have closing times to protect their performance.

Turnover  The ratio of a weekly rating to a four-week reach. This ratio serves as an indication of the relative degree to which the audience of a program changes. The higher the ratio is the greater the turnover in the audience will be.

Ultra High Frequency (UHF)  Television channels 14-74.

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