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The Sweeps
"Sweeps" are television surveys which "sweep" North America four times a year - March and November in Canada, November, February and May in the U.S. "Sweeps" measure the number of viewers in local markets. These ratings are then used by local television stations and national networks to set advertising revenues.
When viewers tune in, the networks cash in. In the fall of 1996, the top-rated NBC sitcom Seinfeld became the first regularly-scheduled series to hit the one-million-dollar-per-minute-of-commercial-time mark. The average cost for a 30-second commercial during the 2002 Super Bowl was 1.9 million (U.S.).
It's easy to spot when sweeps mania is upon us. Suddenly famous movie stars pop up on your favorite sitcom, blockbuster theatrical movies have their television premiere, made-for-TV movies feature sensational themes and old-fashioned, lowest-common-denominator fare dominates prime time.
This sudden eruption of flashy content is known within the industry as "hyping" or "stunting". Because of the prohibitive cost, sweeps stunting is essentially an American phenomena. While Canadian broadcasters do more promotions and special news reports, and avoid repeats during their "Sweeps" months, the expensive flash comes from the American networks.
The Canadian industry benefits from the huge American hype because Canadian stations show U.S. programs in prime time, often in simulcast with the originating U.S. network. But the difference in timing between the four U.S. and two Canadian sweeps periods causes some headaches for the Canadian television industry. Although Canadian stations draw viewers during the U.S. Sweeps, the spring Sweeps in Canada is the time when the U.S. networks traditionally pull regular series off the air and test new pilots.
The Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM) is the Canadian company which measures ratings during the Sweeps, while Nielsen Media Research tracks viewers throughout the rest of the year.
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