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( Television program)
A television program (U.S.), television programme (UK), or television show (U.S) is a segment of broadcast programming in television broadcasting. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically recurring television series. A television series that is intended to be broadcast a finite number of episodes is usually called a miniseries or serial (although the latter term also has other meanings). Americans call a short run lasting less than a year a season; People of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland call this a series. This season or series usually consists of 6–26 installments in the USA, but in the UK there is no defined length. U.S. industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries. A single instance of a program is called an episode, although particularly in the USA this is sometimes also called a "show", and in the UK a "programme" and the USA a "program". A one-off broadcast may, again particularly in the USA and USA-influenced countries, be called a "special", or particularly in the UK a "special episode" (though this usage is dying out in the face of increasing Americanisation of UK culture). A television movie or in the UK a television film ("made-for-TV" movie) is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than being released in cinemas or direct-to-video, although many successful television movies are later released on DVD. Today, advertisements play a role in most television programming, such that each hour of programming can contain up to 15 minutes of advertisements in some countries. By contrast, being publicly funded, the BBC in the United Kingdom does not run advertisements, except to advertise its own programmes. Its promotions appear between and near the end of programmes but not in the middle of them, much like the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Australia. The number of commercial interruptions can also vary, for instance Japanese television tends to prefer fewer and longer commercial breaks while American television has several spread throughout the program. This has an impact on the writing of the show; in order to provide a smooth transition as well as keep the audience from switching channels. With rise of internet video clips, there is serious debate about where the future of television programmes is going.
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