open-line

American  

[oh-puhn-lahyn] / ˈoʊ pənˌlaɪn /

adjective

1. (of a radio or TV show) maintaining open telephone lines to permit listeners or viewers to phone a program with comments, questions, requests, etc.; call-in.

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open-line British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): phone-in.  a radio or television programme in which listeners' or viewers' questions, comments, etc, are telephoned to the studio and broadcast live.

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Etymology

Origin of open-line

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

The government-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation offers a wide array of shows, from Writers & Company, an award-winning program hosted by the journalist Eleanor Wachtel focused on books and authors, to Cross Country Check-Up, a 51-year-old weekly national open-line radio program, broadcast live simultaneously through six time zones across the country every Sunday afternoon on CBC Radio One.

From New York Times

Every Thursday, the actor, comedian and producer Tim Heidecker hosts open-line “office hours.”

From Washington Post

NJ.com reports Friday that officials described the call as an errant, open-line emergency cellphone call “commonly referred to as a ‘butt dial.'”

From Time

Open-line calls have long plagued emergency dispatchers, who handle about 240 million calls in more than 6,000 communications centers across the country, according to Trey Forgety, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association, a trade group.

From New York Times

Even in the land-line age, open-line calls provided a singular vexation.

From New York Times