Media Buying
AM Drive / PM Drive
The morning (typically 6 AM – 10 AM) and afternoon (typically 3 PM – 7 PM) rush hour broadcast periods.
What is AM Drive / PM Drive?
AM Drive and PM Drive are the two premium dayparts of radio. Both capture the commuter audience — the captive drivers moving between home and work — which is one of the most valuable audiences in all of advertising because it is mobile, attentive, and in a decision-making mindset about purchases like coffee, food, fuel, and errands.
Terrestrial radio still dominates in-car listening despite streaming competition: over 80 percent of in-car audio in most markets remains live broadcast radio. Drive-time inventory therefore trades at a premium that can be 40–80 percent above midday rates. When buyers talk about 'the best spots on the station', they almost always mean AM Drive and PM Drive placements within specific high-rated shows.
Why it matters
These segments represent the prime real estate of radio inventory, reliably capturing the highest AQH and Cume numbers across the broadcast day.
Related terms
- 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.
- Daypart— The specific time segments into which a broadcast day is divided for the purpose of selling advertising time (e.
- Remnant Inventory— Unsold advertising space that is typically sold at a steep discount at the last minute to avoid broadcasting dead air.
- ROS (Run of Schedule / Run of Station)— An advertising agreement where commercials are distributed randomly across all available dayparts and days.