by Chuck Finney, President
The 2025 Finney Media Why Listen® Survey gives broadcasters valuable insight into what causes Hybrid and Teaching listeners to tune out—and the results point to one overarching theme: the listening experience matters.
In this blog, we have averaged the responses from the two formats so you can more easily see the tuneouts to minimize.
The biggest tuneout is an announcer with a negative, angry, or judgmental tone, with 74 percent saying they are very or somewhat likely to tune out when they encounter it. For ministries built around hope, truth, and transformation, that’s an important reminder: voices and tone matter. And sometimes we’re annoying people with voices they think sound negative, angry or judgmental and we don’t even know it.
Other major tuneouts: Songs you don’t like are a major tuneout at 51 percent saying very or somewhat likely to leave. A topic you’re not interested in is at 50 percent and an announcer who talks too much at 44 percent. Commercials score at 43 percent.
Taken together, these findings challenge us to think beyond content alone. Listeners make quick decisions about whether an experience is worth continuing.
For Hybrid and Teaching formats, that means creating an environment that feels welcoming, relevant, and purposeful. Keep the tone encouraging. Make commercial interruptions worthwhile. Respect the listener’s time. And when you talk, have something meaningful to say.
The objective isn’t simply to prevent tuneout. It’s to give listeners more reasons to stay.
