Stunting (broadcasting)


Stunting is a type of publicity stunt in radio broadcasting, where a station—abruptly and often without advance announcement—begins to air content that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play.
Stunting is typically used to generate publicity and audience attention for upcoming changes to a station's programming, such as a new branding or format. Occasionally, a stunt may be purely intended as publicity or a protest, and not actually result in a major programming change. Stunts often involve a loop of a single song, or an interim format, which may sometimes include hints towards the station's new format or branding.
To a lesser extent, stunting has also been seen on television, most commonly in conjunction with April Fool's Day, or to emphasize a major programming event being held by a channel.

Types of radio stunting and noted examples

Continuous loop

A station may stunt by repeating the same song or songs over and over on a continuous loop:
Occasionally a station dropping an old format will stunt with a transitional format, either containing clues and previews relating to the new format, or having little to do with it. This can include songs based on specific themes, or novelties that would not be viable as a permanent format.
The popular practice of radio stations playing all-Christmas music during the lead-up to Christmas Day has sometimes been used as a transitional period between formats. Sometimes, Christmas music is used as a more blatant stunt format outside of the holiday season.
has broadcast its share of stunts over the years, many on April Fools' Day. In 1997, it showed the Screwy Squirrel short "Happy-Go-Nutty" for 12 hours, repeated in a loop, with the tongue-in-cheek claim that Screwy had taken over the programming studio and would show nothing else. Numerous complaints were received about this particular event, generally fielded by Cartoon Network's cable providers, who had been left in the dark about the stunt. Likely because of the backlash, Cartoon Network has not shown such an unannounced stunt of this magnitude since. Meanwhile, Adult Swim has held a number of their own April Fools' programming stunts, such as promoting a television premiere of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters before its theatrical release ; airings of the Tommy Wiseau film The Room, one airing in 2012 being cut off by a then one-off revival of Cartoon Network's former anime block Toonami; and an airing of Toonami with all programming presented in subtitled Japanese rather than an English dub. The stunts have sometimes included unannounced previews and premieres of new and existing series, such as additional episodes of Perfect Hair Forever after its supposed series finale, the third season premiere of Rick and Morty, and during the aforementioned Toonami in Japanese stunt, an unannounced world premiere of the first episode of FLCLs third season FLCL Alternative before its second season Progressive had even premiered in the U.S. yet.
Nick Jr. Too, a sister to the British Nick Jr. channel, has occasionally aired long-term marathons of Peppa Pig, during which it has branded as "Nick Jr. Peppa". In a similar manner, Sky Sports has also temporarily rebranded some of its channels to devote them specifically to certain major events, such as The Ashes series in cricket, the PDC World Darts Championship, and golf's Open Championship. In January 2019, Sky Sports Action was temporarily renamed "Sky Sports USA", with programming focusing on the National Basketball Association for the NBA Global Games series in London, and the National Football League playoffs and Super Bowl LIII.
At least two networks have used stunting-type events prior to their formal launches: MLB Network, for example, aired a continuous loop of baseball highlights and promos as a "soft launch" in the weeks before its formal debut on January 1, 2009, while Canada's Sun News Network employed an on-screen countdown clock graphic in the hours before its April 18, 2011, launch.
Since 2017, one of ESPN's networks has stunted as "ESPN8" on or near August 8, carrying a marathon of programming featuring obscure and unconventional sporting events and competitions, such as chess boxing, disc golf, dodgeball, esports, Highland games, kabaddi, lawn mower racing, mini-golf, and roller derby. The stunt pays tribute to the fictitious portrayal of an eighth ESPN network in the 2004 sports comedy film , nicknamed "The Ocho", which carried coverage of events that were "almost a sport". The stunt was originally held on ESPNU—a channel that normally carries college sports events during the academic year, but moved to ESPN2 beginning in 2018. DodgeBall has also been screened as part of this lineup since 2018.