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Brokered programming
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Brokered programming
Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot commercials. A brokered program is typically not capable of garnering enough support from advertisements to pay for itself, and may be controversial, esoteric or an advertisement in itself.
Common examples are religious and political programs and talk-show-format programs similar to infomercials on television. Others are hobby programs or vanity programs paid for by the host and/or their supporters, and may be intended to promote the host's personality, for instance in preparation for a political campaign, or to promote a product, service or business that the host is closely associated with. A live vanity show may be carried on several stations by remote broadcast or simulcast, with the producer paying multiple stations an airtime fee. Financial advisors and planners often produce this kind of programming.
Brokered commercial programs promote products or services by scripting shows made to sound similar to talk radio or news programming, and may even include calls from actual listeners (or actors playing the part of listeners). The programs are a specific type of infomercial, as they focus on a topic related to the product and repeatedly steer listeners and "callers" to a particular website and/or toll-free telephone number in order to purchase the product being featured. Although presented in the style of live programs, these are typically pre-recorded and supplied to stations on tape, disc, or digital downloadable formats, such as MP3 files.
Such programming is most common on talk radio stations and used to fill non-prime time slots and to augment income from spot-advertisement sales during normal programs.
Most of these programs feature a disclaimer at either the beginning or the end of the program (or both), usually read by the program's host or (most often) by a separate announcer; some radio stations play a standard disclaimer before all such programs.
Certain mainstream sports and entertainment broadcasts may resort to buying brokered airtime to air on television if they cannot secure a deal that pays rights fees or a barter agreement. Examples include the last years of the Professional Bowlers Tour, Major League Baseball's short-lived The Baseball Network venture in the mid-1990s, professional football leagues such as the 2009–2012 United Football League and Alliance of American Football, and motorsports events produced and sponsored by Lucas Oil. In the case of professional football, brokered programming has typically not been feasible in the long term, as the sport requires rights fees to make it viable; leagues that have relied on brokering television time have collapsed in short order due to financial losses. Regional sports networks also pad their non-play-by-play schedule with brokered shows catering to niches like high school sports, poker, and all-terrain vehicles. Some packages of high school football and basketball games are brokered more with the specific purposes of college recruiting and future name, image, and likeness deals in mind rather than the actual team matchup, which is mainly prevalent with nationally-ranked high school athletic powers that do not play traditional local schedules against local opponents and highlight certain heavily-recruited players.
Although some syndicators of multi-topic, ad-supported talk shows may pay a fee to stations with very large Arbitron-verified listenership, the same syndicator will normally charge a fee to small stations and may charge nothing to stations with moderate listenership. Each arrangement depends on whether the station can deliver enough listeners to allow the syndicator to earn money from ad sales. Syndicated programs normally carry a number of their own advertisements that must be played during commercial breaks, but set aside time for local stations to play their own advertisements.
Stations also frequently employ one or more of their own hosts, but at some small stations these hosts may be unpaid volunteers motivated by the chance to promote an agenda, gain personal exposure or get work experience.
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Brokered programming
Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot commercials. A brokered program is typically not capable of garnering enough support from advertisements to pay for itself, and may be controversial, esoteric or an advertisement in itself.
Common examples are religious and political programs and talk-show-format programs similar to infomercials on television. Others are hobby programs or vanity programs paid for by the host and/or their supporters, and may be intended to promote the host's personality, for instance in preparation for a political campaign, or to promote a product, service or business that the host is closely associated with. A live vanity show may be carried on several stations by remote broadcast or simulcast, with the producer paying multiple stations an airtime fee. Financial advisors and planners often produce this kind of programming.
Brokered commercial programs promote products or services by scripting shows made to sound similar to talk radio or news programming, and may even include calls from actual listeners (or actors playing the part of listeners). The programs are a specific type of infomercial, as they focus on a topic related to the product and repeatedly steer listeners and "callers" to a particular website and/or toll-free telephone number in order to purchase the product being featured. Although presented in the style of live programs, these are typically pre-recorded and supplied to stations on tape, disc, or digital downloadable formats, such as MP3 files.
Such programming is most common on talk radio stations and used to fill non-prime time slots and to augment income from spot-advertisement sales during normal programs.
Most of these programs feature a disclaimer at either the beginning or the end of the program (or both), usually read by the program's host or (most often) by a separate announcer; some radio stations play a standard disclaimer before all such programs.
Certain mainstream sports and entertainment broadcasts may resort to buying brokered airtime to air on television if they cannot secure a deal that pays rights fees or a barter agreement. Examples include the last years of the Professional Bowlers Tour, Major League Baseball's short-lived The Baseball Network venture in the mid-1990s, professional football leagues such as the 2009–2012 United Football League and Alliance of American Football, and motorsports events produced and sponsored by Lucas Oil. In the case of professional football, brokered programming has typically not been feasible in the long term, as the sport requires rights fees to make it viable; leagues that have relied on brokering television time have collapsed in short order due to financial losses. Regional sports networks also pad their non-play-by-play schedule with brokered shows catering to niches like high school sports, poker, and all-terrain vehicles. Some packages of high school football and basketball games are brokered more with the specific purposes of college recruiting and future name, image, and likeness deals in mind rather than the actual team matchup, which is mainly prevalent with nationally-ranked high school athletic powers that do not play traditional local schedules against local opponents and highlight certain heavily-recruited players.
Although some syndicators of multi-topic, ad-supported talk shows may pay a fee to stations with very large Arbitron-verified listenership, the same syndicator will normally charge a fee to small stations and may charge nothing to stations with moderate listenership. Each arrangement depends on whether the station can deliver enough listeners to allow the syndicator to earn money from ad sales. Syndicated programs normally carry a number of their own advertisements that must be played during commercial breaks, but set aside time for local stations to play their own advertisements.
Stations also frequently employ one or more of their own hosts, but at some small stations these hosts may be unpaid volunteers motivated by the chance to promote an agenda, gain personal exposure or get work experience.