Stunting (broadcasting) (fictional)

Stunting is a practice in radio broadcasting, which occurs when a station begins, abruptly and without advance announcement, to air content that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play. The tactic is most commonly used when a station is about to undergo a major change, such as a change in format, branding, frequency, ownership or management, or occasionally as a simple prank on listeners and rival broadcasters. Either way, stunting is intended as a publicity stunt to generate a greater amount of media publicity and audience attention, by virtue of its shock value, than a straightforward format change could provide. Depending on the station's situation and its management's preference, stunt formats can last anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks before the permanent change is launched.

To a lesser extent, stunting has also been seen on television, most commonly in conjunction with April Fool's Day.

Continuous loop
A station may stunt by repeating the same song or songs over and over on a continuous loop:
 * The song(s) in question are commonly in relation to the coming format or branding; in August 2016 the station KIRN-FM stunted for five days with a loop of "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen, which led into it's impending flip from a simulcast of 's Persian-language programming to an active rock format as a new version of legendary L.A. rock station KMET-FM. The stunt notably attracted mainstream media attention, with the hashtag "#halen993" being used to discuss the event on Twitter.
 * For a week in late-March 2020, conservative talk station KDRC-FM/ stunted with a loop of R.E.M.'s song "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", interspersed with comedic segments such as "Washing Your Hands for Dummies" and "How to Survive a Pandemic" to poke fun at the COVID-19 pandemic.

Temporary formats
Occasionally a station dropping an old format will stunt with a transitional format, either containing clues and previews relating to the new format (such as songs referencing its new branding, and artists who may be included in the eventual format), or having little to do with it. This can include songs based on specific themes (such as a single musician), or novelties that would not be viable as a permanent format.
 * In 2003, after it's sale to Clear Channel, WWKV in dropped its contemporary Christian music programming for a stunt format it dubbed "Marx FM", featuring left-leaning protest songs (such as "Killing in the Name", "Eve of Destruction", "War", and "Imagine"), Communist propaganda music (such as the State Anthem of the Soviet Union and "The Internationale"), and Russian-language Europop tracks. The stunt led into its relaunch as Top 40/CHR station WCFR-FM 100.7 KISS FM.
 * WJAX-FM/ used an unbranded adult hits format as part of its transition from an all-news format to active rock as JAX 95.9 in 2016. The stunt's playlist featured a song with "rock" in the title (such as LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem") at the top of each hour, which teased its upcoming format.
 * On August 2, 2017, after playing "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC, WSPV-FM in dropped its CHR format for a stunt format it called "Z-666", featuring songs about Hell or with the words "Hell", "devil" or "Satan" in the title (such as "Lake of Fire" by Meat Puppets, "To Hell with the Devil" by Stryper, "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC, "Hotter Than Hell" by Kiss, and "Burn in Hell" by Twisted Sister) and songs overlaid with screaming and fire sound effects. The stunt led into the return of it's 1990s "Rock City 99.5" active rock format (the last (edited) song played under the Z-666 stunt format, "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." by John Cougar Mellencamp, acted as a hint to the returning format).
 * Multiple stations in the United States and Canada have stunted with Chinese music under the branding Kung Pao, such as WXJJ (which led into a flip to variety hits), WWSA-FM (which led into its relaunch as Hot AC Z-101), WOXA-FM (which led into a flip to country music as WBTC-FM Boston's True Country 104.7), and WKFZ (which led into a flip to a Top 40/CHR format).
 * Prior to the September 1, 2021 launch of an adult hits format, CHR station KQFW in stunted by playing every song on the 2021 update of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, along with playing songs from the original and 2010 versions that were "shortlisted" for (i.e. dropped from) the 2021 version. This was mixed with sweepers stating the station would be "playing these hits, and more, as soon as the countdown's over".
 * Prior to the move of WBCN's rock format to its frequency, WBAY-FM stunted with songs by the band (which WBCN helped popularize in the US) as "U2FM".
 * In January 2023, WBLN/ dropped its progressive talk format and stunted as "Wooo! FM", a temporary format "hosted" by, playing songs about wealth and money or songs that referenced or made mention of Flair. This led into its relaunch with a 2000s hits format as "Awesome 99.9".

Christmas music and other holiday formats
The popular practice of radio stations playing all-Christmas music during the lead-up to (and occasionally the week after) Christmas Day has sometimes been used as a transitional period between formats. Sometimes, Christmas music is used as a more blatant stunt format outside of the holiday season.
 * In 2017, conservative talk station KHXK, America's Talk 1540, laid off it's on-air staff and flipped to Christmas music for the season as Rudolph 100.3 (marketing with the frequency of it's translator on 100.3 FM) before emerging on New Years' Day as Rhythmic Hot AC Party 100.3.

On television
In March 2020, ESPN El Kadsre began airing a non-stop marathon of sports movies and the animated TV series Hurricanes due to the cancellation of all live sporting events caused by the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, ESPN2 El Kadsre began a non-stop run of the "ESPN8 - The Ocho" format, a homage to the sports comedy DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, to entertain sports fans disappointed by the cancellations, with ESPN2 (as "ESPN8") airing events that were "almost a sport" including, but not limited to: chess boxing, roller derby, Gaelic games, table tennis, pickleball, vintage base ball, sack races, sambo, competitive cheerleading, demolition derbies, bodybuilding competitions, dodgeball, lawn mower racing, khuresh, runnings of the bulls, Little League baseball, beauty pageants, and karaoke contests.

Since 2015, one of the El TV Kadsre Television Network channels in El Kadsre has stunted as "El TV Krusty 1" during the mid-to-late-summer to show the annual Every.Simpsons.Ever. marathon. The stunt was originally held on El TV Kadsre 5 in 2015, then on the El TV Kadsre Parliamentary Channel in 2016 and 2017 (the NRTA gave approval to the stunt on both occasions, as the Parliament of El Kadsre was in recess, so the channel had no other programming to broadcast) and on El TV Kadsre 4K since 2018.