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.
Overview
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Common examples
Common examples are religious and political programs and talk-show-format programs similar to infomercial 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.[1]
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
Radio
Talk radio
Although some
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.
The use of brokered programming varies by station -- some stations, mainly
Sometimes, even programs dealing with gardening and home improvement (usually presented on weekend mornings on many talk radio stations) are broadcast under a brokered arrangement, as was the case with KRLD gardening expert Neil Sperry before his show was canceled outright in 2010.[6]
Program time is often brokered to churches on Sunday mornings in a manner that parallels
Music radio programs
Brokered programs are not exclusive to talk radio; music radio programs can also be brokered. The brokered format, popular among specialty and niche music formats (e.g. polka music), usually involves the show itself lining up its own advertising and paying the station for its airtime. The idea reduces the risk for the station and assures the show remains on the air as long as the show's producers continue to pay the station's airtime fee.
Record companies
Brokered time through agencies
Oftentimes broadcasters will seek the help of an ad agency to secure a brokered radio show. Agencies such as I Buy Time in Dallas, Texas or Bayliss Media Group in Los Angeles, California have the knowledge on how to negotiate a lower per-hour rate than what may be quoted by the radio station to the individual broadcaster.
Local marketing agreements
If a station sells all of its time to a programmer, essentially
Examples of brokered, non-religious programming
- Financial planning/advice/services
- Investors Edge with Gary Kaltbaum
- The Mutual Fund Show
- The Ray Lucia Show
- Other
- The Kevin Trudeau Show
- Music
- Sports
- News and Talk
- Radio Sputnik (via RM Broadcasting)
See also
- Talk radio
- Infomercial
- Leased access (for cable television)
- Advertising
Footnotes
- ^ Canadian talk radio station discusses adopting its first brokered program
- ^ "Mark Gerberich, Three Former PBA Stars Inducted into PBA Hall of Fame". pba.com. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ a b Florio, Mike (October 3, 2012). "UFL teeters on brink of financial implosion". ProFootballTalk.com.
- ^ a b Orr, Conor (May 1, 2019). "League on Fire: The Curious Rise and Spectacular Crash of the Alliance of American Football". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
- ^ "CBS Expands Lucas Oil Motorsports Coverage". lucasoil.com.
- ^ Simnacher, Joe (February 5, 2010). "Radio host Neil Sperry's gardening show on KRLD-AM to be canceled". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
- ^ "Payola suit citing Triple M is settled - Isthmus | the Daily Page". Archived from the original on 2009-09-06. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (29 May 2012). "You Can Change the Channel, but Local News Is the Same". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "On Air Sports Marketing: Services". onairsportsmarketing.com.