Media Programming Directors

Broadcast programming work mixes creative and technical tasks. For example, coming up with new show ideas or segment concepts still relies on human creativity – although new tools can help spark ideas. Startups like Showrunner have built AI platforms that can write, animate, and even “produce” short TV episodes from a text prompt ^[1].

This shows AI can assist with story generation, but experts note complex plots still need human writers ^[1]. Similarly, writing promotional scripts and ads is seeing some AI help: about half of marketers now use generative AI for content ^[2], and broadcasters like Channel 4 offer an “AI ad engine” for creating TV promotions under human guidance ^[2]. However, fully automated ads have sometimes flopped – for example McDonald’s used AI for a Christmas ad that was criticized for obvious mistakes ^[2] – so stations keep people in the loop to ensure quality ^[2].

AI tools are becoming more common in broadcasting, but adoption is mixed. Recent industry surveys show about a quarter of TV and radio stations already use AI, and many more plan to soon ^{[4] [5]}. Broadcasters report the biggest gains from AI in automating workflows (like translation and captioning) and assisting with content production ^{[4] [5]}.

Cost is a big factor: building big shows has been expensive, and newer AI tools promise to cut production costs significantly. For example, TV advertising used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but AI “smart ad” services let smaller companies create TV commercials much more cheaply ^[2]. This cost advantage can speed up AI adoption in programming and promotions.