The series has been shown on public television stations nationwide. A two-hour highlight video of the festival was also prepared. Since then the audiences which have traveled to Wilkesboro have grown in increasingly large numbers. Public radio has aired segments of the Watson Festival in various areas of North Carolina, and in 1994 the crew of the National Public Radio s E-Town, hosted by Nick Forster, was on location to tape at the festival. Audiences for MerleFests of the past have been as diverse as the musicians they come to hear.
Many fans are of the baby boom generation, but listeners of all ages can be seen.
Despite its success, MerleFest has continuously made improvements and risked experiments. The Hillside Stage, for example, moved to its fourth location in 1998, in the area that has been under construction for the last two years. It found a home there with large and enthusiastic audiences and a new sponsor for 1999 in Fishman Transducers. Over the years, the once flood-prone soil of the Watson Stage area has been built up, the entire festival entrance scenario changed, and infrastructure painstakingly improved. In 1998 extensive renovations to the Watson Stage physically raised the elevation of the stage to more than six feet, which significantly improved visibility for all.