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Glite Dictionary
sustaining program

sustaining program

1 7.7
A radio or TV show that runs without a commercial sponsor
  • noun
  • Jargon
: programa de sostenimiento
  • Local public television offers a sustaining program that showcases community events while remaining advertisement-free.

Examples

  • Viewers appreciated the sustaining program that aired interesting documentaries without being interrupted by ads.

  • In addition to filling airtime, sustaining programs provided the station with valuable revenue to finance its overall operations.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The radio station relies on its sustaining program to provide high-quality content without any commercial interruptions.

Synonyms

program
vssustaining program
  • US
993 1.8

A show on radio or television for an audience

is an unsponsored broadcast without commercial support

Surface Forms

sustaining program singular
sustaining programs plural

Morphology

sustain + program

Although 'sustain' means 'maintain' and 'program' is a broadcast, the industry sense 'sustaining program' = a show aired without a commercial sponsor is a specialized broadcasting term that is not derivable from the literal combination. A B1 learner who knows the constituents would not reliably infer the unsponsored/broadcaster‑supported meaning, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

The noun sustaining program comes from the idea of a station sustaining a program itself when no advertiser pays for it. So the station 'keeps it going', which is why the phrase means a show aired 'without the support of a commercial sponsor'.