[Ads-l] tentpole (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Ben Zimmer]

My 2005 ADS-L post (linked below) includes earlier cites related to TV
programming.

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Newsweek, 28 May 1979, p. 62 (Nexis)
Turning to tactics, the NBC president painstakingly outlined the rationale
for his fall game plan, explaining that he was applying the "tent pole"
theory of scheduling that marked his triumphal reign at ABC. Basically,
this means slotting a network's strongest shows in the 9 p.m. period in
the hope that they will lure viewers to new shows running before and after
them.
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PR Newswire, 22 Apr. 1985 (Nexis)
In TV land, a "tentpole" is a show that is successful for a network on an
otherwise poor rating night.
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New York Times, 27 Aug. 1985, p. C16 (Nexis)
Mr. Tartikoff, describing what he called his "tent-pole positions" of new
programming, mentioned "Helltown," a program about a tough minister played
by Robert Blake, the renovation of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and "The
Golden Girls."
-----

On Fri, Oct 5, 2018 at 4:11 PM MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY RDECOM
AMRDEC (US) <william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:

>
> This is in reference to TV shows rather than movies, but seems relevant:
> _Santa Cruz Sentinel_ 26 Aug 1985 p D-3 col 3
> "A night that lacks both synergy and a hammock still might be saved by a
> "tentpole," what a successful show does when it holds up shows around it
> that might otherwise collapse."
>
>
> >
> > The latest OED quarterly update includes a raft of new movie-related
> terms:
> >
> >
> https://public.oed.com/blog/oed-3-the-revisioning-or-how-we-added-film-terms-in-the-september-2018-release/
> >
> > ...including "tentpole," with early cites quoting Paramount chief Frank
> Mancuso, which I first shared here in 2005.
> >
> > http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-July/051528.html
> >
> > ----
> >   tentpole adj. and n. Film  (a) adj. designating a big-budget film
> which is expected to generate sufficient revenue to support a range of other
> > projects by the same studio; of or relating to such a film;  (b) n. a
> film of this kind.
> >
> > 1987   N.Y. Times 4 June. c21/6   Mr. Mancuso describes ‘Beverly Hills
> Cop
> > II’ as a ‘tent pole’ movie. Each year Paramount makes several
> high-budget films ‘that..are strong enough to support your entire schedule,’
> > he said.
> > 1987   N.Y. Times 5 Sept. c15/3   He [sc. Mancuso] rescued ‘Top Gun’ from
> > the discard pile because he thought the combination of aerial
> photography, Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis..might make a tent pole.
> > 1991   Premiere Nov. 31/2   Tartikoff..was so eager to make Patriot Games
> > part of a new ‘tent pole’ series that he'd already upped its budget from
> > $28 million to $35 million.
> > 2006   Y. Tzioumakis Amer. Independent Cinema Introd. 11   Tent pole
> films
> > with potential for stratospheric profits.
> > 2012   Variety 27 Feb. 9/3   Studios [were] less likely to take risks on
> > unproven projects, and instead turned their attention to big-budget
> tentpoles.
> > ----
> >

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