Broadcast Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 31% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 32% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 68% of the time, stays with people.
Set up, operate, and maintain the electronic equipment used to acquire, edit, and transmit audio and video for radio or television programs. Control and adjust incoming and outgoing broadcast signals to regulate sound volume, signal strength, and signal clarity. Operate satellite, microwave, or other transmitter equipment to broadcast radio or television programs.
21,110 people do this job in the US. $59,570 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on13 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people27 h
Broadcast Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 13 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 27 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Control audio equipment to regulate volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts (about 2 h); Edit broadcast material electronically, using computers (about 2 h); Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts (about 1 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 32%
- 0%
- 68%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 23%. Today's estimate: 31%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 28 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.055% to 0.04% (released February and March 2025); 0.0096% to 0.014% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.011% to none (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.055% | 264 of 708 | 4 of 28 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.04% | 304 of 703 | 2 of 28 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0096% | 459 of 655 | 2 of 28 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0096% | 483 of 672 | 3 of 28 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.014% | 446 of 677 | 4 of 28 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 342 of 434 | 1 of 28 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 28 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 32% of this job's working time as physical work. For 6% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 5% in a purpose-built cell, 1% in any setting. 0.09 of 3, the 533rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 68%
- No robot shown 26%
- In a purpose-built cell 5%
- In any setting 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 28 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Produce educational and training films and videotapes by performing activities, such as selecting equipment and preparing scripts.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 21% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Design and modify equipment to employer specifications.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems, and perform maintenance or minor repairs, using hand tools.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up, operate, and maintain broadcast station computers and networks.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.7 h38 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Record sound onto tape or film for radio or television, checking its quality and making adjustments where necessary.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Sound Devices 688 / 888 mixer-recorder with Dugan Automixing (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Edit broadcast material electronically, using computers.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | 94%Half by now | |
| Control audio equipment to regulate volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 2.5 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Observe monitors and converse with station personnel to determine audio and video levels and to ascertain that programs are airing.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min13 min to 2.5 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Preview scheduled programs to ensure that signals are functioning and programs are ready for transmission.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 50 min13 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Play and record broadcast programs, using automation systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Audio and Video Technicians48% now, 56% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians39% now, 48% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment26% now, 32% by 2028
- Robotics Technicians22% now, 26% by 2028
- Power Distributors and Dispatchers91% now, 91% by 2028
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians37% now, 55% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Broadcast Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 31% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 32% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Broadcast Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Control audio equipment to regulate volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts (99% of the task's time now); Edit broadcast material electronically, using computers (94% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Broadcast Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Produce educational and training films and videotapes by performing activities, such as selecting equipment and preparing scripts; Design and modify equipment to employer specifications; and Install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems, and perform maintenance or minor repairs, using hand tools. Together such tasks are about 68% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Broadcast Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 2%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Broadcast Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 32% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 6% of the working time, 1% in any setting. Its index is 0.09 of 3. One example: AvL Model 2088 2.0m Auto-Acquisition Drive-Away Antenna with AAQ Antenna Controller for "align antennae with receiving dishes to obtain the clearest signal for transmission of broadcasts from field locations". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 28 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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