Glossary A–ZLetter L
Loop
The loop is the sequence in which a screen's content runs one item after another and then starts again from the beginning.
The length of the loop is the sum of all entries. A loop of twelve spots of ten seconds each lasts two minutes; each spot then plays thirty times an hour. In advertising, the loop is often divided into fixed slots that are sold individually. Unsold slots are filled with filler content.
With advertising, the loop determines how often a spot plays per hour, which is why it must not quietly get shorter. That happens, for example, when an item is skipped outside its time window or a slot is left empty. Conversely, frequency drops when extra content is added. For viewers: the longer the loop, the less often someone walking past sees the same content.