Tent pole programming

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In the world of motion pictures and television programming, a tent pole is when the strength of a central program or franchise is used to balance out the performance of a movie studio or television network. An example of this strategy in television is to schedule a well-known program alongside new or unknown programming, in an attempt to keep viewers watching after the flagship program is over. Tent poles are heavily promoted, usually large scale productions which are initial offerings in a string of releases and are expected by studios to turn a profit in a short period of time. When the production fails to meet expectations it is said that the "tent pole has flopped".