drive timen.adj.
/ˈdrʌɪv tʌɪm/, U.S. /ˈdraɪv ˌtaɪm/ Originally U.S.
A. n.
Either of two periods in the day, corresponding to the morning and afternoon rush hours, regarded as peak radio audience times due to a large potential audience of commuters.
ΚΠ
1960 Kenosha (Wisconsin) Evening News 16 Sept. (Home ed.) 17/3 Radio Schedule..6:30..WISN—Drive Time.
1984 T. Douglas Compl. Guide to Advertising i. iii. 96 The types of people who listen change at various points of the day, and advertisers can take advantage of this, for example by buying spots in ‘drive time’ in the morning and evening if they want to reach drivers and businessmen.
2019 @JoSmithDWT 4 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 23 Jan. 2020) Listen out for me on @BBCRadioDerby at drive time tonight.
B. adj. In attributive use.
Usually in form drive-time. Occurring during drive time, the morning and afternoon rush hours regarded as peak radio audience times; of or relating to radio programmes broadcast during drive time.
ΚΠ
1966 Arlington Heights (Illinois) Herald 3 Mar. (Paddock Publ. Real Estate section) At WLNA he handled the late afternoon drive time air slot.
1975 N.Y. Times 28 Nov. 63/3 Previous recent studies showed a 51 percent increase in FM morning drive time listening from 1973 to 1975 and a 42 percent increase in afternoon drive time.
1987 P. McCabe Bad News at Black Rock iii. 37 Drive-time radio..a little bit of everything for everyone.
1992 R. H. Limbaugh Way Things ought to Be xvii. 188 I was a disc jockey in my hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, doing an afternoon drive-time show.
2002 Metro 20 Sept. (London ed.) 11/4 ‘Shock jock’ Chris Moyles and drivetime presenter Dave Pearce are among those tipped to go.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.adj.1960