Brokered programming
Encyclopedia
Brokered programming 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.
s. Others are hobby programs or vanity programs paid for by the host or his 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 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 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.
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.
-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.
The use of brokered programming varies by station -- some stations, mainly news radio
and sports radio
stations, use brokered programming to fill holes in some dayparts, especially during the late-night hours and weekends. The format of brokered programs varies; many sports radio stations will use brokered programs from sports handicappers and prognosticators to fit their format, while news and talk radio stations will often rely on brokered programs that sell alternative medical products, fitting those stations' older audiences. Program time is often brokered to churches on Sunday mornings in a manner that parallels televangelism
; there are also religious stations that rely primarily on brokered programs, and these stations often get the derisive title of "pay for pray," a play on the unethical practice of "pay for play
" on music stations. There are also some AM radio stations that are dedicated to the brokered format, selling time for as little as 15 minutes or even selling the entire broadcasting day to a single entity, with the station holding the broadcast license
and providing the facilities. That long-form type of brokered programming is especially popular among ethnic and religious broadcasters as well as with privately owned U.S.-based shortwave radio broadcasters.
laws and the playing of the song, as it is paid for, cannot be applied to song popularity charts, as has happened in the early 2000s with some forms of this concept. http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=5303
the station, it is a local marketing agreement
(LMA). Like owning a station, this counts toward United States Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) caps that prevent excessive concentration of media ownership
in the U.S. and Canada.
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
to pay for itself, and may be controversial, esoteric or an advertisement in itself.
Common examples of brokered programming
Common examples are religious and political programs and talk-show-format programs similar to infomercialInfomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s. Others are hobby programs or vanity programs paid for by the host or his 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
Remote broadcast
In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...
or simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
, with the producer paying multiple stations an airtime fee. Financial advisors and planners
Financial planner
A financial planner or personal financial planner is a practicing professional who helps people deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which includes: cash flow management, education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance...
often produce this kind of programming.
Brokered commercial programs promote products or services by scripting shows made to sound similar to talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
or news programming, and may even include calls from 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 or toll-free telephone number
Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call...
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.
Such programming is most common on talk radio stations and used to fill non-prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
slots and to augment income from spot-advertisement sales during normal programs.
Talk radio
Although some syndicators of multi-topic, ad-supported talk shows may pay a fee to stations with very large ArbitronArbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
-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.
The use of brokered programming varies by station -- some stations, mainly news radio
News Radio
News Radio can refer to:* NewsRadio, the NBC sitcom which aired from 1995–1999.* News radio, the all-news or news/talk radio format....
and sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
stations, use brokered programming to fill holes in some dayparts, especially during the late-night hours and weekends. The format of brokered programs varies; many sports radio stations will use brokered programs from sports handicappers and prognosticators to fit their format, while news and talk radio stations will often rely on brokered programs that sell alternative medical products, fitting those stations' older audiences. Program time is often brokered to churches on Sunday mornings in a manner that parallels televangelism
Televangelism
Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
; there are also religious stations that rely primarily on brokered programs, and these stations often get the derisive title of "pay for pray," a play on the unethical practice of "pay for play
Payola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
" on music stations. There are also some AM radio stations that are dedicated to the brokered format, selling time for as little as 15 minutes or even selling the entire broadcasting day to a single entity, with the station holding the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
and providing the facilities. That long-form type of brokered programming is especially popular among ethnic and religious broadcasters as well as with privately owned U.S.-based shortwave radio broadcasters.
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 format, 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.Record companies
Record companies (through independent promoters) may also purchase brokered time on music stations to have the station play a new single as a "preview", which has the potential to be inserted onto a station's general playlist but has not received the traction to do so. These spots are often the length of the song with an introduction and disclaimer at the end of the song stating the artist, album title, and releasing label, and come under titles such as CD Preview. The segments must be carefully disclaimed by the record companies so as to not violate payolaPayola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
laws and the playing of the song, as it is paid for, cannot be applied to song popularity charts, as has happened in the early 2000s with some forms of this concept. http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=5303
Local marketing agreements
If a station sells all of its time to a programmer, essentially leasingLeasing
Leasing is a process by which a firm can obtain the use of a certain fixed assets for which it must pay a series of contractual, periodic, tax deductible payments....
the station, it is a local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
(LMA). Like owning a station, this counts toward United States Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) caps that prevent excessive concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
in the U.S. and Canada.
Examples of brokered, non-religious programming
- The American Advisor with Joseph Battaglia
- The Gold Show with Jonathan Rose of Capital Gold
- The Don McDonald Show (financial planning/advice)
- Purity Products (multivitamins and dietary supplements)
- New Vitality (multivitamins and dietary supplements)
- Cutlery Corner Knife Show (ION Television)
- Healthline with Dr. Bob Marshall (multivitamins and dietary supplements)
- Financial Planning for Life
- The Money Report with Bruce Barket
- Res-Q Health Line
- The Rock & Roll Lawyer Show with Sheldon Kay
- The Mutual Fund Show with Adam BoldAdam BoldAdam Bold is an American author and businessman. He is the founder and minority shareholder of The Mutual Fund Store, and host of The Mutual Fund Show, a national weekly talk radio show focused on actively managed mutual fund investments...
(financial planning/advice) - Market Wrap with Moe Ansari (financial planning/advice)
- The Power Hour with Joyce Riley and Dave von Kleist
- Boomers and Seniors
- Let's Talk Nutrition
- Inside Business with Fred Thompson
- Sacramento and Co.
- The Kevin TrudeauKevin TrudeauKevin Mark Trudeau is an American author, radio personality, and infomercial salesman best known for promoting alternative medicine. A number of his television infomercials and several of his books, including Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, allege that both the U.S...
Show - SMILE TALK with Dr. John Chao
- Norm and Mike
- House Calls
- Eat Bulaga
See also
- Talk radioTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
- InfomercialInfomercialInfomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
- Leased accessLeased accessLeased access is airtime that the Federal Communications Commission mandates must be provided by cable operators for use by independent cable programmers and producers who are not owned by the operators...
(for cable television) - AdvertisingAdvertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...