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prime time

prime time

72 3.1
Evening time when most people watch television
  • noun
  • /praɪm taɪm/
translation icon : franja de máxima audiencia
  • The network charged higher rates for advertising slots during prime time when viewership peaks.
  • prime time news
  • prime time television
  • prime time hosts

Yeah, we're gonna give you lots of prime time television spots.

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Examples

  • She had the prime time slot on a Friday night.

  • A deal was concluded with the Discovery Channel, which would air a nationwide prime-time documentary special during the Easter weekend.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Each group had to create a commercial to be shown during prime time for kids on Saturday morning.

    Academic text (1992)
  • When we finally got into prime time, we were over a million an episode.

    Blog text (6)
  • Yeah, we're gonna give you lots of prime time television spots.

  • And they take those prime time slots to show families what they could be driving.

  • You might not be tuning in for the prime time programming, but you can see people from both parties being interviewed.

  • A new update was just released, which means now's a prime time to download and explore the app.

    Blog text (10)
  • Ayotte was picked to deliver a prime-time speech Tuesday at the Republican National Convention.

    Blog text (5)
  • Sacramento viewers saw the production titled Colorama as a prime-time program on October 17, 1964.

    Academic text (2017)

Surface Forms

prime time singular
prime times plural
primetimes plural
primetime singular

Morphology

prime + time

The adjective 'prime' (best/foremost) combined with 'time' (a period) yields the general idea of a 'peak' or 'best' time, so the core meaning is partially predictable from the constituents. However, the specific, conventionalized sense referring to peak television-viewing hours and high advertising value is a domain-specific collocation that requires extra cultural/industry knowledge, making the expression not fully transparent to learners.

Etymology

Prime time comes from early radio and television schedules. Broadcasters put their best shows in the evening 'prime' hours when the most people watched, so prime time now means the time with the most viewers and when advertisers pay more.