captive audience

Idioms  

1. Listeners or onlookers who have no choice but to attend. For example, It's a required course and, knowing he has a captive audience, the professor rambles on endlessly. This expression, first recorded in 1902, uses captive in the sense of “unable to escape.”

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Example Sentences

"We would go on the road with no plans, no hotels booked, no gigs lined up and we thought the only place we might find a captive audience was at a university - a completely off-the-wall idea but I'm glad we did it."

From BBC

As played by Hawke, Hart adores holding court, entertaining his captive audience with witty put-downs and gossipy Broadway anecdotes.

From Los Angeles Times

In the hospital newborns are a captive audience, so it’s easier to get them there than waiting for a later visit, which some may miss.

From The Wall Street Journal

They wanted a captive audience for long enough to lay out their case for change.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Coatsworth said these shops "benefit from a captive audience allowing the company to generate strong margins".

From BBC