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 is normally played.
Stunting is typically used to generate publicity and audience attention for upcoming changes to a station's programming, such as new branding, format, or as a soft launch for a newly established station. 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 one or more songs, an interim format (such as the discography of a specific artist, Christmas music, and themes that would not be viable as a permanent format), or other unconventional presentations, sometimes including 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 Fools' 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, playlist, or other content on a continuous loop: The song(s) in question are commonly a clue towards the incoming format or branding, such as was the case in March 2014 when San Francisco Regional Mexican station KVVF/KVVZ stunted with a loop of "Hot in Herre" by Nelly for three days. This led into the stations' relaunch as rhythmic contemporary Hot 105.7. The stunt notably attracted mainstream media attention, with the hashtag "#nelly1057" being used to discuss the event on Twitter. In late-June 2022, CKKS-FM in Greater Vancouver similarly faced mainstream media attention when it played a loop of "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine as part of its transition from hot adult contemporary Kiss to modern rock Sonic. The loop included staged segments of DJs discussing their repeated playing of the song, and "callers" either requesting "Killing in the Name", or being denied a request for a different song. These led to a false impression that its employees had commandeered the station to protest routine staffing changes associated with the format change. Often the song chosen for the loop does not pertain to either the old or new format: In one of the oldest radio stunts recorded, WNOE-AM/New Orleans played "Shtiggy Boom" by The Nuggets nonstop for 58 hours and 45 minutes before the launch of its Top 40 format in early 1955. In 1961, XEAK San Diego/Tijuana played "Mope-itty Mope" by The Bosstones for 72 hours straight before launching one of the first all-news formats in North American radio. In 1962, WPOP/Hartford overnight DJ Joey Reynolds famously played the then-unknown record "Sherry" on his show on a loop for several hours. Although Reynolds was fired over the stunt, heavy airplay of the single by WPOP helped launch the career of the band that recorded it, The Four Seasons. Bob Fass was known for repeatedly looping songs throughout his overnight show Radio Unnameable, most famously with Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" in the late 1960s. Fass's use of such stunts was a perverse form of pledge drive, often threatening to keep playing the songs over and over again until flagship station WBAI received a certain threshold of donations.Fisher, Marc. Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation. Page 136. Several stations, including WMGV/Winneconne and WXMP/Peoria, have stunted with various versions of "Louie Louie" by Richard Berry. In 1983, as part of an escalating rivalry involving the song between DJs at Foothill College's KFJC and UC Berkeley's KALX, KFJC conducted a 63 hour stunt event in which it aired approximately 800 different versions of "Louie Louie". In July 2013, the new Toronto radio station CIND-FM stunted with a loop of "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley in a reference to the Rickroll meme, prior to its official launch as adult album alternative Indie 88. Linder Radio Group is known for routinely using "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" by Rolf Harris as a filler stunt when changing a format on one of its stations. For four days before the July 8, 2012, relaunch of KOKE-FM/Austin — a station which popularized progressive country in the early 1970s, a live recording of Dale Watson's "Country My Ass" played in a continuous loop. This example of stunting is notable for the station-specific nature of the song's lyrics; Watson re-recorded the song for the occasion, adding a new coda in which he sings, "Now Austin's on track, 'cause KOKE-FM's back." In May 1990, the staff of Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio station Triple J staged an industrial action, after its news director was suspended for playing a clip of the N.W.A. song "Fuck tha Police" in a segment discussing its subject matter (despite the full song having been played by the station before without incident). During the action, Triple J played another N.W.A. song, "Express Yourself" (whose lyrics criticize censorship of rap music), 82 times in a row. Triple J paid homage to the event during the April 30, 2014 relaunch of digital radio station ABC Dig Music as sister station Double J, which was preceded by a stunt loop of 13 different versions of "Express Yourself" (including the original recording, and covers of the song by Australian acts such as The Audreys, Darren Hanlon, and Wagons). WJMP/Kent, OH, in a protest over the Major League Baseball players' strike, continuously played two versions of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" sunrise-to-sunset (the station operated only during daytime hours), for two months (and 57,161 total plays) from August to October 1994. The stunt merited WJMP an entry in the Guinness Book of Sports Records. "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M. has been played on a loop on multiple occasions. In May 1992, WENZ in Cleveland stunted with the song for 24 hours to mark its flip from CHR to modern rock as 107.9 The End. After being acquired by Radio One, WENZ reprised the stunt as a farewell to the format before it flipped to mainstream urban on May 14, 1999. On April 16, 2012, after its sale by Family Radio to Merlin Media, WKDN/Philadelphia stunted with the song for several hours, in an apparent reference to the failed predictions by Family Radio owner Harold Camping that the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011. Later in the day, the stunt shifted to nonstop airings of The Sean Hannity Show as Hannity @ 106.9, leading towards its relaunch as conservative talk iQ 106.9. On December 21, 2012, in honor of the alleged Mayan apocalypse, modern rock station CFEX-FM/Calgary stunted with a loop of "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" with no change in format. The song was interspersed with "Apocalypse Survival Tips" and "Get to Know a Mayan" sketches. Prior to its August 26, 2019 launch of a sports talk format affiliated with Fox Sports Radio, WDAS/Philadelphia stunted with a loop of the NFL on Fox theme music over the preceding weekend. The change in format was announced in advance of the flip. In a non-music example, the launch of Black Information Network—a chain of iHeartMedia news radio stations targeting African Americans—featured its initial stations playing a loop of speeches by prominent African Americans, mixed with sweepers promoting the launch date, and containing the tagline "Our side of the story is about to be told." Prior to the September 30, 2021 launch of an adult hits format, AAA station KTHX-FM in Reno stunted with instrumental jazz music mixed with sweepers stating that the station was "on hold". On Halloween in 2023, CKFT-FM/Fort Saskatchewan stunted with an hour-long loop of a sample from "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, consisting solely of Vincent Price saying "Your body starts to shiver." This stunt led into its switch to all-Christmas music for the holiday season, and the announcement of a new morning host. On May 12, 2025, as part of a transition from country to adult hits Big FM, CKHK-FM/Rockland and CHRC-FM/Hawkesbury both stunted with a loop of "Bye Bye Mon Cowboy" by Quebecois musician Mitsou. The song was a nod to the stations' new owners also operating a French-language radio station in Cornwall, Ontario, but the two stations would continue to broadcast in English.
Temporary formats Occasionally a station dropping an old format will stunt with a transitional format. This can include songs based on specific themes (such as a single musician), songs that serve as hints towards the station's future format and branding, and novelties that would not be viable as a permanent format. In some cases (sometimes referred to as a "wheel of formats"), a station may cycle between multiple formats during the stunt until the new, permanent format launches, and may use the cycle to solicit feedback from listeners on the eventual format.John Smyntek, "FM 106.7 changing, but to what?," The Detroit Free Press, May 18, 2006.
As part of its February 1996 transition from country music to rhythmic contemporary WKTU, New York City's WYNY carried simulcasts of programming from several of its Evergreen Media sister stations, including WRCX/Chicago (to mark the occasion, Mancow Muller informed the expanded audience of Mancow's Morning Madhouse that there would be "no more goat-ropin' music" on WYNY, made jokes directed towards competitors WHTZ and WXRK, and pulled a prank on the latter's morning host Howard Stern), KKBT/Los Angeles, WLUP/Chicago, KIOI/San Francisco, and WXKS/Boston. In 2006, after its sale to new owners, KFYE in Kingsburg, California, dropped its contemporary Christian music programming for a stunt format it dubbed "Porn Radio", featuring songs with sexually-suggestive lyrics, and songs edited to include moaning sounds; on August 3, 2006, the station emerged as rhythmic adult contemporary Sexy 106.3. The station would hold a second publicity stunt in March 2007, promoting that KFYE would "say goodbye" on March 30: the ensuing event was a change in call letters to KSXE to match the Sexy moniker. WLYK in Cape Vincent, New York (serving Kingston, Ontario) pulled a similar stunt when it transitioned to new operators in February 2023, replacing its outgoing Kiss CHR format with "The Pole" (a pun of the name of one of the station's new owners, Jon Pole)—a variety format which played pop, rock, and hip-hop music that one would hear at a strip club. The stunt notably attracted the attention of an actual strip club in Kingston. The station emerged as adult hits Lake FM on March 17, 2023. In May 2009, WSKS in Utica, New York, announced that due to "financial constraints", its contemporary hit radio (CHR) format would be replaced by a beautiful music format similar to what was broadcast on sister station WUTQ. The ensuing programming included staged scenes of station employees protesting the changes. The "new format," however, lasted for only two hours before WSKS management came clean, restored the CHR format, and confirmed the stunt was a way to promote the station's new lineup. As a publicity stunt for the program by local broadcaster Global, Toronto radio station CIRR-FM (which usually broadcasts a CHR format targeting the LGBT community) temporarily rebranded as Glee FM on April 12, 2010, adding music from the U.S. musical comedy-drama series Glee to its playlist. On August 16, 2010, British radio station Oxford's FM 107.9 held its own Glee FM stunt, leading into its August 18 relaunch as Glide FM.