Okay, Hot AC programmers, what is the sweet spot when it comes to how many imaging pieces you rotate per hour? Unlike hitting a baseball or a golf ball, when you know and feel the exact sweet spot, programming your radio station’s imaging and the sweet spot for how much per hour can vary from hour to hour.
If you have a high-profile morning show, you may only run a few imaging pieces per hour, including show rejoins. If you are only playing six to eight songs in an hour with lots of personality content, you don’t need many pieces.
On the flip side, if you have un-hosted hours, you need more than a few per hour. I hear many stations that sound over-imaged, in my opinion. I think we, as programmers, differentiate our imaging, promos, and commercials as all being different, but the audience does not!
Ask most listeners, and they view all of it as interruptions to the music. So, getting the balance right is becoming increasingly important in this age of listeners having many choices when it comes to hearing the music they love.
Outside of morning drive, let’s say your talent averages four to five breaks per hour and you play 12 to 14 songs per hour with two or three stop sets. How much imaging should you have in that type of scheduled hour?
I’m a believer that you don’t need imaging pieces after every song, not even every other song. A few dead segs an hour that rotate in your clocks, or even bolder, maybe once an hour, where you go three songs in a row with no imaging.
Tune-outs include too much talking that does not connect with the target audience, too many commercials, and too many interruptions to the music. In reality, your imaging is usually thought of as an interruption to the music!
I don’t know any listeners who will bail on a station if they hear three songs in a row because nothing comes on to tell them what they are listening to! If you have un-hosted hours, the imaging becomes your host, so you need to make it as entertaining as possible, but don’t be afraid of including dead segs of music.
The key is to figure out that sweet spot. It is also vitally important to constantly update the imaging you have, especially if it’s a humorous piece. Like your songs, you should have spin thresholds for all your imaging categories. You should stay on top of how that imaging is rotating through your hours, including quarter-hour exposure.
When it comes to irreverent humorous pieces, quarter-hour maintenance is really critical! They will burn faster than your other inventory. When I was programming “The Pulse” at Sirius XM, my rule for the comedic pieces was 150 spins, then they were pulled. Sooner if they were timely and topical to world events. A good strategy for your imaging inventory is to have different buckets that you create for your station. Let’s say:
1.) Quick Channel IDs
2.) Attitude pieces
3.) Position statements
4.) Jock ID’s
5.) Promos
6.) Jingles, if you use them
7.) Specific music positioning pieces
The amount in each bucket is up to you, and I’ll let you do the rotation math! Every station is different, but the goal is to find that sweet spot that works for you and your station.
Yes, the music and talent are the dominant features on your Hot AC station, but make no mistake—the imaging and how much your station airs are really important to your overall success!
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Jim Ryan is a Music Radio columnist for Barrett Media. In addition, he runs Jim Ryan Media LLC, a consulting company which assists major market radio brands and top talent including national radio personality Delilah. Prior to relaunching his consultancy in 2025, Jim spent 15 years with Audacy/CBS Radio, serving as SVP of Programming. Among his responsibilities included programming WNEW-FM and WCBS-FM. His career includes additional programming stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Jim was voted the #2 PD of 2024 in Barrett Media’s Top 20 series in the AC category. He can be reached by email at Jim@JimRyanMedia.com.
