Teasing is important in radio. Oh, I’m sure you’ve never heard this before. Like ever.
I know you have. You know you have. But here’s a 2025 twist: Teasing is more important than ever in radio. And with each passing day, week, month and year, its importance grows.
That’s because the competition for listeners and viewers grows by the day. Every day, there are new podcasts, YouTube shows, TV shows, and radio programs being launched to compete for your audience’s attention. Every day, your listener can pull up Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok to consume content that is similar to yours. The algorithm on these apps will feed them more of the same content to keep them locked onto their platform.
So, what are you doing to combat that?
Obviously, creating great content is imperative. That’s stating the obvious. But how are you keeping them for 3-5 minutes through a break? What are you saying and teasing that will prevent them from moving to another platform? Forget moving to another radio station, they could easily pick up their phone and have thousands of competitors right at their fingertips.
In theory, it’s an economic model: Supply is constantly increasing in entertainment, but if demand isn’t keeping up, then you need to do everything in your power to retain and try to grow your slice of the pie.
A fantastic tease is your best bet to keep your audience engaged in your show. Now, some hosts have such strong branding and/or market equity that they can get by without it. However, that’s few and far between. And even if you have it, getting complacent in this media landscape is not the answer. It’s a recipe for failure.
In Talk radio, it’s imperative to not just think about teasing from the standpoint of your upcoming topic, although that’s a good start. Think about a tease related to your angle on the topic.
News/Talk example: Instead of, “We’ll talk about President Trump’s tariffs coming up next!” How about, “We’ll talk about the sector of the economy that could hurt you the most from President Trump’s tariffs coming up next!”
A Sports Talk example: Instead of, “We’ll talk about the NFL Draft coming up next!” How about, “We’ll tell you the player that (LOCAL TEAM) should look at as the steal of the NFL Draft coming up next!”
The same goes for guests. It’s no longer enough to tease the name of the upcoming guest, unless it’s an absolute rock star, i.e. President Trump. If I really want to get the thoughts of a person, I can go find their social media feeds on my own time. What is something you will ask the guest that can be part of your incredible tease?
News/Talk Example: “We’ll talk to Congressman Bob Smith about why he thinks the tariffs could actually add money to your pocket coming up next!”
Sports/Talk Example: “NFL Draft Insider Bob Smith will share why he thinks (LOCAL TEAM) is destined to move up/down in the draft coming up next!”
You know how to tease your own show better than I do, but this is something to consider as we ask listeners to sit through long breaks that can be, admittedly, cluttered at times. How are we making sure that it’s worth their time?
And the final bit of advice: If you tease it, you better damn well pay it off!
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
