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Broadcast industry glossary
Plain-English definitions for the commercial, technical, and measurement language used across radio, TV, streaming, podcasts, and media sales.
- Terms
- 113
- Categories
- 6
Showing 113 terms
A
- A-D ConverterAnalog-to-Digital Converter; specialized hardware that translates continuous analog electrical signals into binary digital data (1s and 0s).
- ACR (Automatic Content Recognition)Technology embedded within Smart TVs that visually or acoustically scans what is playing to identify the exact content or commercials.
- Actives vs. PassivesActive listeners actively contact radio stations for requests or contests; passive listeners consume the media without direct engagement.
- Actuality (Sound Bite)Unfiltered, raw audio recordings captured on location outside the controlled studio, featuring interviews or ambient background sound.
- Ad-LibUnscripted, entirely improvised vocal delivery by a professional broadcaster, host, or voiceover talent.
- Addressable TVTechnology allowing advertisers to display completely different commercials to different households simultaneously while they watch the exact same linear program.
- AdjacencyAn advertising pod positioned immediately next to a specific, high-value program feature, such as a weather report or sports update.
- AES / EBU (AES3)A professional digital audio transfer standard developed jointly by the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcasting Union.
- AffidavitA formalized, notarized statement accompanying a station's invoice, legally verifying that the commercial aired at the exact times specified.
- Aided RecallA research methodology used to test audience memory retention of advertisements by providing specific prompts or hints to the respondent.
- AircheckA recorded, verified copy of a broadcast, historically captured on magnetic tape and now archived completely digitally.
- AM Drive / PM DriveThe morning (typically 6 AM – 10 AM) and afternoon (typically 3 PM – 7 PM) rush hour broadcast periods.
- AOR (Agency-of-Record)A designated advertising agency officially contracted by a brand to purchase all media and manage comprehensive strategy on their behalf.
- AQH (Average Quarter-Hour Persons)The average number of individuals tuning into a station for at least five consecutive minutes within a specific 15-minute interval.
- AQH RatingAQH Persons expressed as a mathematical percentage of the total measured demographic population in a specific geographic market.
- Arbitron / Nielsen AudioThe legacy and current primary authoritative bodies for radio audience measurement in the United States.
- ATSC A/85The North American technical equivalent to R128, utilized by the Advanced Television Systems Committee to regulate broadcast loudness.
- AttributionThe analytical science of assigning credit to a specific media touchpoint for a desired consumer action, such as a website visit or a finalized sale.
- Audience CompositionThe demographic, psychographic, or socioeconomic breakdown of a station's listener base, usually expressed in percentages.
- Audience TurnoverThe calculated ratio of a station's cumulative audience (Cume) compared to its Average Quarter-Hour (AQH) audience.
- AutomationComplex software and hardware ecosystems (e.g., Zetta, Playout) pre-loaded with audio elements that control the station's broadcast sequence.
- Avail (Availability)Unsold units of commercial time available for broadcasters to sell to prospective advertisers.
- Average AudienceThe estimated number of people listening to a radio station or viewing a television program during any given minute of the broadcast.
- AVOD (Ad-Supported Video-On-Demand)Streaming services offering free or discounted content interrupted by scheduled commercials (e.g., Tubi, Hulu with ads, YouTube).
B
- B2B (Business-to-Business)Commercial transactions occurring explicitly between two enterprises; broadcast media sales is inherently and entirely a B2B industry.
- BedAn instrumental music track played continuously underneath a presenter's voice or a commercial narrative read.
- Brand Safety / SuitabilityTechnologies and guidelines ensuring an advertiser's commercial does not appear adjacent to offensive, violent, or highly controversial content.
- Broadcast-to-PodcastThe automated technological process of converting linear, live radio broadcasts into on-demand podcast episodes.
- BTA (Best Time Available)Commercials scheduled by the station to run at the best available time only after all premium, higher-paying sponsor commitments are met.
- BVOD (Broadcast Video-On-Demand)Content provided by traditional television broadcasters, offering catch-up and on-demand access to their linear programming via the internet.
C
- CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)The total combined sales, operational, and marketing expenditure required to successfully win a new advertising client.
- Churn (Customer Attrition)The quantitative rate at which existing advertising clients cancel their schedules, fail to renew, or defect entirely to rival stations.
- Cluster / Ad PodA contiguous group of commercial advertisements played sequentially during a designated break in programming.
- Co-op Advertising (Co-operative)An arrangement where a major product manufacturer financially subsidizes the advertising costs of a local retailer promoting their specific product.
- COFDMCoded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing; a highly complex modulation method used heavily in DAB and digital television.
- Contextual TargetingPlacing ads based on the specific, thematic subject matter of the content being consumed, rather than tracking the user's history.
- Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)An advertising pricing model where the advertiser pays only when a specific desired action (a sale, a click, a form fill) is completed.
- Cost Per Completed View (CPCV)A digital video and advanced TV metric where the advertiser only pays if the video advertisement plays entirely to completion.
- CPM (Cost Per Mille / Thousand)The standard monetary cost associated with delivering exactly 1,000 ad impressions to an audience.
- CPP (Cost Per Point)The financial cost required to reach an audience equivalent to exactly one percent of the targeted demographic population in a market.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)Enterprise software (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) used comprehensively to track interactions, manage pipelines, and forecast future revenue.
- CTV (Connected TV)Televisions connected to the internet via internal smart capabilities or external devices (e.g., Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick).
- Cume Persons (Cumulative Audience)The total number of distinct, different people who tune into a radio station during a specified daypart for a minimum threshold of time.
D
- DAB / DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting)The dominant European standard for the digital transmission of radio signals, utilizing advanced audio coding (HE-AAC v2) for superior quality.
- DAI (Dynamic Ad Insertion)Technology that allows vastly different advertisements to be seamlessly stitched into identical content streams based on the specific listener's demographic profile.
- DaypartThe specific time segments into which a broadcast day is divided for the purpose of selling advertising time (e.g., Morning Drive, Midday).
- Dead AirA terrifying period of unintended silence during a broadcast caused by technical failure, automation crash, or severe operator error.
- Direct SalesAdvertising inventory sold by the station's internal account executives directly to local business owners, completely bypassing advertising agencies.
- Dormant ClientA former advertising client who has completely ceased spending with the station but remains economically active in the broader market.
- DSP (Demand-Side Platform)A software system utilized by advertisers and agencies to automate the purchase of programmatic digital, audio, and video inventory.
F
- FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV)Linear-style streaming channels delivered over the internet at no cost to the consumer, supported entirely by dynamically inserted commercials.
- Fill RateThe percentage of available ad requests (avails) that are successfully filled with a paying advertisement by an automated ad server.
- FingerprintingAn ex-facto technology that analyzes the intrinsic acoustic or visual characteristics of a signal to create a unique identifier without altering the source.
- Firmographic DataDescriptive attributes of a business utilized for B2B segmentation, such as primary industry, employee count, and annual revenue.
- Fixed PositionA scheduled broadcast spot that is contractually guaranteed to air at an exact time or within a highly specific programming feature.
- Flight / Flight DatesThe specific, contractual start and end dates of a marketing campaign or a schedule of broadcast commercials.
- FrequencyThe average number of times a targeted individual or household is exposed to a specific advertisement within a defined campaign flight.
- Frequency CappingA technological limit placed on how many times a specific user IP or device ID can be served the exact same digital ad within a timeframe.
- FrontloadThe intentional concentration of the vast majority of a campaign's commercial spots in the earliest days of the scheduled flight.
G
- Gross Impressions (GIs)The total mathematical sum of all exposures to an advertisement, regardless of whether they represent unique individuals.
- Gross Rating Points (GRPs)The sum of all rating points achieved for a particular commercial schedule, calculated by multiplying AQH Rating by the Number of Spots.
- Gross RevenueThe total, unadjusted top-line income generated from advertising sales before deducting agency commissions, operational costs, or taxes.
I
- ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)A firmographic and behavioral definition of the absolute perfect account for a B2B organization to target with its marketing.
- Inbound SalesA modern sales methodology where prospects initiate contact with the broadcaster as a direct result of marketing, SEO, or content strategies.
- Intent DataBehavioral signals strongly indicating a business is actively researching or currently in the market to purchase a specific product or service.
M
- MakegoodFree commercial time provided to an advertiser by a broadcaster to strictly compensate for a missed spot, a technical error, or severely under-delivered ratings.
- Multiplex (MUX)A group of digital radio stations bundled, compressed, and transmitted together seamlessly on a single radio frequency in DAB systems.
O
- OES (Optimum Effective Scheduling)A mathematical scheduling strategy explicitly designed to reach a majority of a station's audience three or more times within a single week.
- OpenRTB (Real-Time Bidding)A standard technical protocol for the automated, auction-based buying and selling of ad impressions within milliseconds.
- OTT (Over-the-Top)Video or audio content delivered directly over the public internet, entirely bypassing traditional cable, satellite, or terrestrial RF distribution systems.
- Outbound SalesThe traditional, highly aggressive model of proactive outreach, utilizing cold calling, email sequencing, and networking to secure appointments.
P
- Phase ShiftA technical acoustic anomaly resulting in a detrimental change in the phase of a broadcast signal or audio waveform.
- Piggy-BackThe broadcasting of two distinct commercials from the same corporate sponsor presented back-to-back within a single commercial break.
- Pipeline / FunnelThe visual tracking and management of all active sales opportunities, categorized by their current stage of negotiation and probability to close.
- PPM (Portable People Meter)A wearable electronic device used by Nielsen Audio to automatically track exposure to radio broadcasts by detecting inaudible acoustic watermarks.
- Pre-emption / Pre-emptibleThe practice of a station replacing a scheduled commercial with another, usually because the latter advertiser paid a higher premium rate.
- Pre-Roll / Mid-Roll / Post-RollCommercials inserted at the chronological beginning, exact middle, or very end of a piece of digital audio or video content.
- Programmatic TV / AudioThe automated, machine-to-machine buying and selling of broadcast ad inventory through complex algorithms and real-time bidding systems.
- PTY (Programme Type)An RDS and DAB alphanumeric code transmitted to categorize the overall format or content of the station (e.g., News, Rock, Jazz).
R
- RDS (Radio Data System)A standardized communications protocol used for embedding small amounts of digital information into conventional analog FM radio broadcasts.
- ReachThe absolute number of distinct, individual audience members exposed to a specific advertisement or campaign at least once.
- Remnant InventoryUnsold advertising space that is typically sold at a steep discount at the last minute to avoid broadcasting dead air.
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)A quantitative metric evaluating the specific, direct revenue generated for every single dollar spent on a particular advertising campaign.
- ROI (Return on Investment)The overall net profit or revenue gained compared directly to the total cost of the marketing initiative or software tool.
- ROS (Run of Schedule / Run of Station)An advertising agreement where commercials are distributed randomly across all available dayparts and days.
- RotationThe algorithmic distribution of a scheduled ad across various days and hours within the flight period to ensure diverse audience reach.
- RPM (Revenue Per Mille)The total amount of revenue generated by a publisher or broadcaster for every 1,000 impressions they successfully serve.
- RSS Feed (Really Simple Syndication)A standardized web format used to publish, update, and distribute podcast episodes to various directories and player applications.
S
- Sales CycleThe defined, sequential steps a prospect moves through from initial identification to final, closed-won recognized revenue.
- ScatterThe purchasing of broadcast television or radio inventory that was not sold during the Upfront period, typically bought much closer to the actual air date.
- ShareThe percentage of the total active radio or television consuming audience that is tuned to a specific station at a given time.
- SimulcastThe simultaneous broadcasting of the exact same content across multiple mediums (e.g., terrestrial RF radio and a digital web stream).
- SOV (Share of Voice)The percentage of total advertising weight, impressions, or expenditure within a market or specific product category belonging to one single brand.
- SponsorshipThe premium purchase of naming rights or total exclusivity adjacent to a specific programming feature.
- Spot TelevisionDenotes all available commercial advertising time available for purchase from a local television station, encompassing both local and national spots.
- SSP (Supply-Side Platform)A technological platform utilized by publishers and broadcasters to automate the selling of their available ad inventory.
- SVOD (Subscription Video-On-Demand)Premium streaming services reliant strictly on user subscription fees without commercial interruption (e.g., Netflix, HBO Max).
T
- TAP (Total Audience Plan)An advertising schedule strategically distributed across all available dayparts to maximize total station audience exposure.
- TOMA (Top-of-Mind Awareness)The ultimate objective of a branding campaign, achieved when a brand is the very first to come to a consumer's mind in a specific product category.
- TranscodingThe highly intensive computational process of converting a digital audio or video file from one codec or format into another.
- TSA (Total Survey Area)A geographic definition encompassing the primary metropolitan area plus surrounding suburban and rural counties where the station's signal is received.
- TVOD (Transactional Video-On-Demand)A pay-per-view distribution model where viewers purchase or rent individual titles or events, rather than subscribing to a library.
V
- Value-Added (Added Value)Free promotional inventory, talent endorsements, or digital assets provided to an advertiser to sweeten a proposed ad buy.
- ViewabilityA digital and advanced television metric determining if an ad was actually rendered on a screen long enough to be perceptually seen by a human.