Is 2017 Really a 53 Week Year?

by Bonnie Rothenstein | September 20, 2016

So you think you have a pretty good understanding of the calendar. 365 days, 52 weeks and each month begins on the 1st. And then you step into the media world and we tell you that the broadcast month of April actually started on Monday, March 28. Have we lost our minds?

To dig a little deeper, the months are further divided into quarters. There are 4 quarters throughout the year, each consisting of 3 months and 13 weeks. Typically each quarter consists of a five-week month and two four-week months.

Now that you have a better understanding of the broadcast calendar, here’s a curve ball for you . While it only happens every five or six years, a 53-week broadcast year isn’t unheard of. These happen around a leap year or when January 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. That means 2017 is a 53-week year, which hasn’t happened since 2012. In 2017, 4th quarter will have 14 weeks with October and December each being 5 weeks long. Additional years where there will be 53 weeks include 2023, 2028 and 2034.

So beware, the 2017 broadcast calendar will have an extra week. The year will begin on Monday December 26, 2016 and will end on Sunday December 31, 2017. While budgets may change a bit to incorporate the additional week, call information will remain consistent since we always look at average weekly calls per month. An additional week won’t mess with that figure. One thing to always keep in mind: when we talk about April calls, budgets, sign-ups etc., we are talking about the broadcast month of April.