Programming optimization utilizing a framework for audience rating estimation

摘要

The television program scheduling system receives from one or more published data sources, historical audience data for previous telecasts of the shows on one or more television networks, and calibrates a model for audience rating estimation based on the historical audience data. The calibrated model for audience rating estimation may be utilized to generate estimates or projections of audience in the future. The television program scheduling system may generate an optimal schedule assignment of the shows to time periods that maximizes total resulting estimated audience based on the calibrated model for audience rating estimation. The generation utilizes a time expanded network in which each node represents an assignment of a show to a specific time period, with a specific stacking, and preceded by a lead-in show, and a feasible transition between two nodes represents a valid transition between two shows.