Media Programming Directors
In short: today's best AI models could do about 76% 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 79% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 21% of the time, stays with people.
Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in preparation of radio or television station program schedules and programs, such as sports or news.
$90,360 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on31 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet1 h
- Stays with people8 h
Media Programming Directors, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 31 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 1 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 8 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Plan and schedule programming and event coverage, based on broadcast length, time availability, and other factors, such as community needs, ratings data, and viewer demographics (about 6 h); Monitor and review programming to ensure that schedules are met, guidelines are adhered to, and performances are of adequate quality (about 3 h); Prepare copy and edit tape so that material is ready for broadcasting (about 3 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.
- 79%
- 13%
- 8%
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, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 40%. Today's estimate: 76%.
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, 0.032% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 273rd largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 23 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.014% to 0.0085% (released February and March 2025); 0.0061% to 0.0078% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.034% to 0.032% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.014% | 489 of 708 | 3 of 23 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0085% | 529 of 703 | 4 of 23 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0061% | 510 of 655 | 1 of 23 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0078% | 514 of 672 | 1 of 23 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0078% | 528 of 677 | 2 of 23 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.034% | 268 of 434 | 2 of 23 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.032% | 273 of 447 | 2 of 23 |
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 6% of this job's working time as physical work. For 0% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere. 0.00 of 3.
- Not physical 94%
- No robot shown 6%
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 . 23 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan and schedule programming and event coverage, based on broadcast length, time availability, and other factors, such as community needs, ratings data, and viewer demographics.Done daily by most who do it. | 15% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1 work day | 95%Half by now | |
| Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in broadcast news, sports, or programming.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor and review programming to ensure that schedules are met, guidelines are adhered to, and performances are of adequate quality.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Operate and maintain on-air and production audio equipment.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare copy and edit tape so that material is ready for broadcasting.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Develop ideas for programs and features that a station could produce.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Establish work schedules and assign work to staff members.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Develop promotions for current programs and specials.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Coordinate activities between departments, such as news and programming.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Select, acquire, and maintain programs, music, films, and other needed materials and obtain legal clearances for their use as necessary.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | 92%Half by now | |
| Evaluate new and existing programming to assess suitability and the need for changes, using information such as audience surveys and feedback.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Read news, read or record public service and promotional announcements, or perform other on-air duties.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 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.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
- Motion Picture and Video Industries37,700 people
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers23,000 people
- Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations18,570 people
- Performing Arts Companies8,270 people
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services8,240 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Media Programming Directors is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 76% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 79% 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 Media Programming Directors 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: Plan and schedule programming and event coverage, based on broadcast length, time availability, and other factors, such as community needs, ratings data, and viewer demographics (95% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Monitor and review programming to ensure that schedules are met, guidelines are adhered to, and performances are of adequate quality (99% of the task's time now); and Prepare copy and edit tape so that material is ready for broadcasting (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Media Programming Directors stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in broadcast news, sports, or programming; Operate and maintain on-air and production audio equipment; and Direct setup of remote facilities and install or cancel programs at remote stations. Together such tasks are about 21% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Media Programming Directors?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.032% went to this job's tasks, the 273rd largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 23 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 9%. 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 Media Programming Directors?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 6% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 0% of the working time. Its index is 0.00 of 3. 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 23 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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