tentpole
verbEtymology From tent + pole.
1
Broadcasting, Media To schedule a popular programme between two newer or less popular ones in the hope that viewers will watch them.
tentpole
nounUS /ˈtɛntˌpoʊl/
Etymology From tent + pole.
1
One of the poles used to hold up a tent.
2
Broadcasting, Entertainment, Film, Lifestyle, Media, Television, Theater US, Figuratively A large-scale entertainment production that is a major source of revenue for its studio, television network, or investors.
- His [James Rolfe's] reasoning dances around the simple fact that has set this innocuous-seeming movie apart from its fellow blockbusters this summer—that it’s a tentpole genre film starring women.2016 May 18, David Sims, “The Outcry Against the All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Remake Gets Louder”, in The Atlantic:
- Derived terms
- tentpole film, tentpole movie, tentpole project, tentpole property