time segment in the broadcast day. Radio and television stations have divided the day into time segments to reflect broadcast programming patterns and audience composition throughout the day. Commercial time may be purchased by the daypart (rather than by the program), and its cost is based upon the average size of the audience for a specific daypart. prime time is an example of a television daypart where the programming is usually of a general nature with family appeal for a wide demographic range of viewers, and is usually the daypart with the largest viewing audience.
Dayparts are set by the individual stations, but they typically follow a standard pattern. Weekday radio is typically divided into five dayparts as follows: (Weekend days are not divided, but are simply called Weekends.)
| 6:00 A.M. | - | 10:00 A.M. | MORNING DRIVE* |
| 10:00 A.M. | - | 3:00 P.M. | Daytime |
| 3:00 P.M. | - | 7:00 P.M. | AFTERNOON DRIVE* |
| 7:00 P.M. | - | 12:00 A.M. | Nighttime |
| 12:00 A.M. | - | 6:00 A.M. | Overnight |
*The combination of drive time accounts for radio's prime time.
Typical television dayparts may be as follows:
| 7:00 A.M | - | 9:00 A.M. | M-F | Morning |
| 9:00 A.M. | - | 4:30 P.M. | M-F | Daytime |
| 4:30 P.M. | - | 7:30 P.M. | M-F | EARLY FRINGE |
| 7:30 P.M. | - | 8:00 P.M. | Sun-Sat | Prime access |
| 8:00 P.M. | - | 11:00 P.M. | Sun-Sat | Prime time |
| 11:00 P.M. | - | 11:30 P.M. | M-F | Late news |
| 11:30 P.M. | - | 1:00 A.M. | M-F | Late fringe |
| 1:00 A.M. | - | Sun-Sat | Late night |
