Why are some television programs repeated often during WETA’s on-air membership drives?
In a word: Success! On-air membership drives, both on TV and FM, are critical to raising funds to support the production and broadcast of our programs. On TV, about 2 percent of our total airtime in a year is devoted to fundraising; less than 1 percent of airtime on Classical WETA. Given the narrow window of opportunity that we have to ask our audience for support, the time that we do spend must be used wisely. Naturally, we find that some programs are far more successful at raising membership dollars than others. Because viewers spend varying amounts of time – at differing times of the day and evening – watching television, we repeat successful programs more often in order to reach the most viewers. On-air membership drives are the most direct way to talk to those who enjoy and value our programs, and successful drives help fund our daily line-up of shows.
