Glossary of Media Terms

T-1 – A leased line, high-speed connection linking a home computer to the Internet, and capable of carrying data at 1.5 million bits per second.

T-3 – A leased line, high speed connection linking a home computer to the Internet, and capable of carrying data at 44.7 million bits per second. Used for full-screen, full motion (streaming) video.

Target Audience – A portion of the TV audience identified (targeted) by an advertiser to be the most likely to purchase its product.

Telco – Telephone company.

Telecast – A television broadcast.

Teletext – Broadcast of text and graphics along with a TV signal for reception on specially equipped sets.

Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) – New York based trade association dedicated to promoting the value of local broadcast television

Television Household – An occupied household having one or more television receivers in use.

Terabyte – About one thousand gigabytes (one million megabytes).

Terminal – A device in one location that enables commands to go to a computer at a different location

Theft of Service – Unauthorized use of a cable system or pay service.

Tiering – Combining cable channels, sometimes both basic and pay, to sell at a package price.

TIFF - The Tagged-Image File Format (TIFF) is used to exchange files between applications and computer platforms. TIFF is a flexible bitmap image format supported by virtually all paint, image-editing, and page-layout applications. Also, virtually all desktop scanners can produce TIFF Images.

Time Buying Service – Companies that primarily buy commercial time on local stations and cable systems for resale to advertisers or agencies.

Time Period – An interval of time on a station, cable system or network. Sometimes, but not necessarily, an entire Daypart (prime time, daytime, etc.). In audience research, ratings for time periods are often calculated, as opposed to program averages, for purpose of evaluating station or network performance.

Time Period Rating – Rating calculated for a specific time interval, such as 15 or 30 minutes, as opposed to a specific program.

Total Audience – Percent of households tuning to all or to any portion of a program for at least 6 minutes.

Total Day – See, Daypart

Total Telephone Frame (TTF) Sample – A sample of telephone numbers (listed and unlisted) used by Nielsen Station Index to identify and recruit households into its local samples.

Traffic Department - The department at a station or network that keeps track of program logs, schedules commercials, etc.

Translators – Low-powered relay facilities used by television stations to carry their signals beyond the normal coverage area into remote areas. Usually situated in high terrain, the translator receives the over-the-air signal of a station and re-transmits it (usually with more power) on another unused channel in a prescribed direction.

Transponder – A communications satellite component that receives and retransmits a TV signal or other data communications

TVB – See Television Bureau of Advertising

Two-Way Cable -- See, Interactive Cable.

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