What are the common types of Television Programs?

Common television formats are news programs, interviews, serials, sitcoms, commercials, etc. Television program formats have undergone several changes during the past years. Many new formats and genres are experimented every day.

1.       News

Television news covers a wide range of audio and video information. Basically news is in the form of newscasts, news breaks and headlines. News programs in television include sportscasts, weather reports, film news, etc. News more than an hour or two old may be considered stale. The maximum length for almost any television news story is two minutes, normal length is 30 seconds. A television script is written in present tense. Slang and colorful phrases are avoided in television news writing. In a television news script the titles usually come before names. Abbreviations and direct quotations are avoided. Attribution should come before a quotation. Usage of punctuation is comparatively less in a television news script.

2.      Interviews

Television interviews are mainly two types; news interviews and entertainment interviews. A television interview creates more impact on the audience as the emotions and gestures of the persons convey more message than what they speak.

3.      Discussions

Discussions are common television programs these days. Every news channel conducts discussions on topics of current relevance. The discussion will be on a particular topic and the panelists participate live in the broadcasting. Usually these are live broadcasts. This can be done through teleconferencing, online communication, etc.

4.      TV features

These are non-news or news related programs on a specific subject, which is presented in a way that attracts the audience.

5.      Special events

This is the coverage of events in which audiences are interested. For example, special coverage of election results, cultural events, sports events, etc.

6.      Reality shows

These types of programs normally document actual events and ordinary people instead of professional artists. Such programs are presented without a script and with dramatic and humorous situations.

7.      Musical programmes

These are programs that consist of music videos and in some cases including a host and other programming elements.

8.     Sponsored programmes

Programs produced by individuals and broadcast through television after purchasing time slots.

9.      Soap operas

Soap operas are also called soaps or serials. These are fictional drama about people’s daily life and other issues.

10.  Cookery shows

Programs which are hosted by famous cooks, who teach people about new recipes, are called cookery shows.