TV schedule template
A free Excel template for TV channels: a day playlist whose start times fill in by themselves, to the frame; a check of fixed starts; ad minutes in every clock hour; and a week grid. It works in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
Day playlist
One row per item. You type the type, title and duration; start, timecode and “Off by” fill in. The sample morning below is in the file.
- Channel
- Tessa One (example)
- Day starts at
- 06:00:00
- Frame rate
- 25 fps
- Scheduled
- 02:40:10:00
- Left to fill
- 21:19:50:00
- Day ends at
- 08:40:10:00
| # | Start | Planned start | Off by | Type | Title | Episode / version | House ID | Duration (TC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06:00:00:00 | 06:00:00 | On time | Programme | Morning News | Part 1 | NEWS-AM-1 | 00:27:30:00 |
| 2 | 06:27:30:00 | Commercial | Spot: Bakery | 30s | AD-1001 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 3 | 06:28:00:00 | Commercial | Spot: Car dealer | 20s | AD-1002 | 00:00:20:00 | ||
| 4 | 06:28:20:00 | Commercial | Spot: Mobile network | 30s | AD-1003 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 5 | 06:28:50:00 | Promo | Promo: Prime Movie tonight | PR-201 | 00:00:25:00 | |||
| 6 | 06:29:15:00 | Station ID | Channel ident | ID-01 | 00:00:05:00 | |||
| 7 | 06:29:20:00 | Programme | Morning News | Part 2 | NEWS-AM-2 | 00:26:15:12 | ||
| 8 | 06:55:35:12 | Commercial | Spot: Furniture store | 30s | AD-1004 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 9 | 06:56:05:12 | Commercial | Spot: Insurance | 45s | AD-1005 | 00:00:45:00 | ||
| 10 | 06:56:50:12 | Commercial | Spot: Supermarket | 30s | AD-1006 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 11 | 06:57:20:12 | Promo | Promo: Cartoons | PR-202 | 00:00:20:00 | |||
| 12 | 06:57:40:12 | Sponsorship | Weather sponsor | SP-01 | 00:00:05:00 | |||
| 13 | 06:57:45:12 | Programme | Weather | WX-AM | 00:02:14:13 | |||
| 14 | 07:00:00:00 | 07:00:00 | On time | Programme | Morning News | Part 3 | NEWS-AM-3 | 00:27:00:00 |
| 15 | 07:27:00:00 | Commercial | Spot: Bakery | 30s | AD-1001 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 16 | 07:27:30:00 | Commercial | Spot: Airline | 30s | AD-1007 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 17 | 07:28:00:00 | Commercial | Spot: Bank | 20s | AD-1008 | 00:00:20:00 | ||
| 18 | 07:28:20:00 | Promo | Promo: Live Match Saturday | PR-203 | 00:00:30:00 | |||
| 19 | 07:28:50:00 | Commercial | Spot: Mobile network | 30s | AD-1003 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 20 | 07:29:20:00 | Commercial | Spot: Car dealer | 20s | AD-1002 | 00:00:20:00 | ||
| 21 | 07:29:40:00 | Station ID | Channel ident | ID-01 | 00:00:05:00 | |||
| 22 | 07:29:45:00 | 07:30:00 | Early 00:00:15:00 | Programme | Cartoons | S01E03 | KID-0103 | 00:22:00:00 |
| 23 | 07:51:45:00 | Commercial | Spot: Toy shop | 30s | AD-1009 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 24 | 07:52:15:00 | Promo | Promo: Cartoons | PR-202 | 00:00:20:00 | |||
| 25 | 07:52:35:00 | Programme | Cartoons | S01E04 | KID-0104 | 00:22:00:00 | ||
| 26 | 08:14:35:00 | Commercial | Spot: Toy shop | 30s | AD-1009 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 27 | 08:15:05:00 | Commercial | Spot: Supermarket | 30s | AD-1006 | 00:00:30:00 | ||
| 28 | 08:15:35:00 | Station ID | Channel ident | ID-01 | 00:00:05:00 | |||
| 29 | 08:15:40:00 | 08:15:30 | Late 00:00:10:00 | Programme | Lifestyle Magazine | Ep 112 | MAG-112 | 00:24:30:00 |
Ad minutes per hour
Commercials, promos, sponsorship and programmes in every clock hour, against your limit (here 12 minutes).
| Hour | Commercials | Promos | Sponsorship | Programmes | All items | Commercials against the limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 – 07:00 | 0:03:05 | 0:00:45 | 0:00:05 | 0:56:00 | 1:00:00 | OK |
| 07:00 – 08:00 | 0:02:40 | 0:00:50 | 0:00:00 | 1:11:00 | 1:14:35 | OK |
| 08:00 – 09:00 | 0:01:00 | 0:00:00 | 0:00:00 | 0:24:30 | 0:25:35 | OK |
Week grid
The whole week in half-hour slots; titles starting with News, Kids, Series, Movie, Sport, Music or Magazine get their colour. Prime time from the sample week:
| Time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 | News: Evening News | News: Evening News | News: Evening News | News: Evening News | News: Evening News | News: Evening News | News: Evening News |
| 18:30 | Magazine: Lifestyle | Magazine: Lifestyle | Magazine: Lifestyle | Magazine: Lifestyle | Magazine: Lifestyle | Sport: Weekend Review | Sport: Weekend Review |
| 19:00 | Series: Prime Drama | Series: Prime Drama | Series: Prime Drama | Series: Prime Drama | Series: Prime Drama | ||
| 19:30 | |||||||
| 20:00 | Movie: Prime Movie | Movie: Prime Movie | Movie: Prime Movie | Movie: Prime Movie | Movie: Prime Movie | Movie: Prime Movie | Movie: Prime Movie |
| 20:30 | |||||||
| 21:00 | |||||||
| 21:30 | |||||||
| 22:00 | News: Late News | News: Late News | News: Late News | News: Late News | News: Late News | ||
| 22:30 | Sport: Highlights | Sport: Highlights | Sport: Highlights | Sport: Highlights | Sport: Highlights | News: Late News | News: Late News |
| 23:00 | Movie: Late Movie | Movie: Late Movie | Movie: Late Movie | Movie: Late Movie | Movie: Late Movie | Movie: Late Movie | Movie: Late Movie |
| 23:30 |
How the template counts
- Start times follow from durations. Each item starts where the one above it ends, from the day start you set. Change one duration and everything below moves.
- Frames, not rounded seconds. Durations are kept as whole frames at your frame rate, so the day never drifts. Type a duration as
0:22:30plus frames if you need them (Excel reads22:30as 22 hours). - Fixed starts are checked. A planned start shows “On time”, or how early or late the item really starts.
- The day adds up. The box at the top shows what is scheduled, what is left to fill or how far the day runs over, and when it ends.
Open it in Google Sheets
- Download the template.
- In Google Sheets, choose File → Import → Upload and pick the file. Or drop it into Google Drive and choose Open with → Google Sheets.
- Start on the Start here sheet; the yellow cells are yours to fill.
When the spreadsheet gets too small
One channel and one day fit in a spreadsheet. Several channels, series that must air in order, ad orders to place and a playlist to send to playout every day do not. 9eye is broadcast scheduling and traffic software that does this work: week templates, series that place themselves, ad and promo placement, frame-accurate playlists, checks before air and playout export. See the platform or request a demo. Need a tool of your own, such as a check of your playout files? 9eye Studio builds it.
More free tools: the timecode calculator and the SCTE-35 decoder.
TV schedule template questions
Is the TV schedule template free?
Yes. Download it, change it and share it with your team; there is no sign-up and nothing to pay.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. In Google Sheets choose File, Import, Upload, and pick the downloaded file; or drop it into Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. The formulas, drop-down lists and colours come with it. It also works in LibreOffice.
Why does the template count frames?
Playout runs to the frame, so a schedule that rounds to seconds drifts a little with every item. The template keeps every duration as a whole number of frames at the channel’s frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 or 60 fps) and shows timecode as HH:MM:SS:FF. Timecode is non-drop; for 29.97 fps drop-frame, use the free timecode calculator.
How does it handle fixed start times?
Type the planned time next to an item that must start on time, such as the news at 07:00. The "Off by" column shows how early or late the item really starts, to the frame, so you see which part of the hour to shorten or fill.
How are ad minutes counted?
The Ad minutes sheet adds up commercials, promos, sponsorship and programmes in every clock hour, counting each item in the hour where it starts, and warns when commercials pass the limit you set. Check which items your regulator counts towards the limit; promos for your own programmes and sponsor credits are often counted apart.