Radio Stunting! When Stations Throw Out the Rulebook

Turn on your radio one day and hear the same song playing over and over again. Come back a few hours later and it is still there. By the next morning, you are starting to wonder: is the station broken, or is something bigger going on?

This is radio stunting, a long running tradition in broadcasting where stations temporarily abandon their normal programming to grab attention, build buzz, and set the stage for what comes next.

What Exactly Is Radio Stunting?

Radio stunting is a deliberate disruption. Stations loop a single song, play sound effects for hours, run countdowns, or even air bizarre “fake formats.” The point is not to keep listeners comfortable, it is to make them stop, notice, and talk about the station.

It is the broadcast equivalent of covering a new storefront with paper and a giant “coming soon” sign. Listeners may not know what is behind it yet, but they cannot help but wonder.

Classic Examples That Made History

The tactic has been around for decades, and some of its most famous cases sound almost mythical today:

• The Endless Loop: In the 1950s, a New Orleans station spun “Shtiggy Boom” nonstop for more than two days, leaving the city buzzing about what was happening.
• Louie Louie Mania: In 1983, California’s KFJC played 823 versions of the rock classic “Louie Louie” across 63 hours straight, a marathon that cemented itself in radio folklore.
• Wild Things in Tampa: In 1998, Tampa listeners were hit with 48 hours of Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing,” a stunt that ended with the launch of a new hip hop station.

Each example turned the dial into a kind of stage and listeners became part of the drama.

Why Stations Still Do It

Even in an age of streaming and algorithm-driven playlists, stunting still works because it creates moments. A looping novelty song or sudden silence does not just live on the FM dial anymore, it spreads on TikTok, Reddit, and Twitter, amplifying the mystery far beyond the station’s coverage area.

Stations use these stunts to:

• Signal change — A new format or identity is about to debut.
• Spark conversation — A city full of confused listeners trying to explain what they just heard.
• Build anticipation — By the time the new station launches, the audience is primed and paying attention.

The Culture of Controlled Chaos

At its heart, radio stunting is about theater. It is audio performance art with a marketing twist, creating confusion and curiosity long enough to make a station’s reinvention feel like an event.

Decades after the first loops and gimmicks, stunting still has a place in modern broadcasting. Sometimes the fastest way to get people talking about radio is to make radio sound completely unlike itself.