Dead air

Last updated
For other uses, see Dead Air.Not to be confused with Radio silence.

Dead air, also known as unmodulated carrier[ citation needed ], is an unintended period of silence that interrupts a broadcast during which no audio or video program material is transmitted. [1]

Contents

Radio and television

Dead air occurs in radio broadcasting when no audio program is transmitted for an extended period of time, usually more than a few seconds. In television broadcasting, the term denotes the absence of both audio and video program material. However, a carrier wave is still transmitting. In radio, the result is silence, and in television, the result is a silent black or gray screen. [2] [3] [1]

Television directors may use the command "fade to black" or "to black" to indicate a momentary transition to a completely black image. [4] However, the term "dead air" is most often used in cases where program material comes to an unexpected halt, either through operator error or technical malfunction. Among professional broadcasters, dead air is considered one of the worst things that can occur. [5] Moreover, dead air may impact advertising revenue if it affects the airplay of paid commercials. [6]

The term "dead air" does not refer to a broadcast transmitter that is intentionally shut down, i.e. "closed", "signed off" or "off the air", by a control operator. Such a broadcast transmitter is said to have gone "dark". [7] [8]

Broadcast regulations

Broadcast stations can use programmable devices known as "silence sensors", "off air alarms" or "silence monitors" that will sound an alarm and alert personnel if dead air persists more than a few seconds. [9] [7]

In the U.S., prolonged dead air, such as a shutdown occurring without permission, is an actionable offense that can result in fines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). According to the FCC, a station has a 30-day limit for going silent without approval. [10] [11]

Examples

On September 11, 1987, Dan Rather walked off the set of the CBS Evening News when a late running U.S. Open tennis match threatened to delay the start of his news broadcast. The match then ended sooner than expected but Rather was gone. The network broadcast six minutes of dead air before Rather was found and returned to the studio. [12] CBS affiliates criticized Rather for the incident. [13]

One significant case of dead air occurred during Super Bowl LII in 2018, when the NBC television broadcast experienced 26 seconds of dead air during a commercial break. The network blamed "a brief equipment failure." [14] NBC reported that no commercial advertising was lost. [6] Prior to Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay, Wisconsin, radio station WCHK-FM announced that it would intentionally go to dead air during the game, since the hometown Packers were playing in the game and station management believed nobody would be listening to music while the Super Bowl was being broadcast on another station. [15]

Prevention

Many broadcasters install a silence detector independently operating from their broadcasting headquarters. In the event of dead air lasting more than an acceptable duration, e.g. ≤ −70 dB and (if applicable) static/no picture for 30 seconds, an emergency program is cued.

The emergency program contains at least some generic audio (and video) with a station identification. Radio stations usually play a loop of music. The playlist is fixed so staff listening in to their own station can recognize the pattern of titles, infer how long the outage has already (at least) lasted and take action to fix the problem.

Apart from providing a safeguard in the event of unscheduled interruption (like a fire in the building or technical issues), this mechanism may be used deliberately during programmed blackouts caused by strikes of technicians, journalists, and producers. When staff of the French public broadcasting network Radio France went on strike in September 2020, a pretaped message informing listeners that no service is available due to industrial action was inserted into the loop. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

A television broadcaster or television network or is a telecommunications network for distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United States, multichannel video programming distributors. Until the mid-1980s, broadcast programming on television in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of terrestrial networks. Many early television networks such as the BBC, CBS, NBC or ABC in the USA and in Australia evolved from earlier radio networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy</span> 2004 controversy over indecent exposure on television

The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004, from Houston, Texas, on the CBS television network, is notable for a moment in which Janet Jackson's right breast—adorned with a nipple shield—was exposed by Justin Timberlake to the viewing public. The incident, sometimes referred to as Nipplegate or Janetgate, led to an immediate crackdown and widespread discourse on perceived indecency in broadcasting.

KDKA-TV is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Jeannette-licensed independent station WPKD-TV. Both stations share studios at the Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh, while KDKA-TV's transmitter is located in the city's Perry North neighborhood. KDKA-TV, along with sister station KYW-TV in Philadelphia, are the only CBS-affiliated television stations east of the Mississippi River with "K" call signs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRGB</span> CBS affiliate in Schenectady, New York

WRGB is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CW affiliate WCWN. Both stations share studios on Balltown Road in Niskayuna, New York, while WRGB's transmitter is located on the Helderberg Escarpment west of New Salem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WITI (TV)</span> Fox TV station in Milwaukee

WITI is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, serving as the market's Fox network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, WITI maintains studios on North Green Bay Road in Brown Deer, and its transmitter is located on East Capitol Drive in Shorewood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westinghouse Broadcasting</span> Former broadcast company, merged with CBS

The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication.

Radio broadcasting has been used in the United States since the early 1920s to distribute news and entertainment to a national audience. In 1923, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one radio receiver, while a majority did by 1931 and 75 percent did by 1937. It was the first electronic "mass medium" technology, and its introduction, along with the subsequent development of sound films, ended the print monopoly of mass media. During the Golden Age of Radio it had a major cultural and financial impact on the country. However, the rise of television broadcasting in the 1950s relegated radio to a secondary status, as much of its programming and audience shifted to the new "sight joined with sound" service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBBM (AM)</span> Radio station in Chicago, Illinois

WBBM – branded Newsradio 780 WBBM – is a commercial all-news AM radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Audacy, Inc., its studios are located at Two Prudential Plaza in the Chicago Loop, while the station transmitter—diplexed with sister station WSCR—resides in the nearby suburb of Bloomingdale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTTV</span> CBS affiliate in Bloomington, Indiana

WTTV, licensed to Bloomington, Indiana, United States, and WTTK, licensed to Kokomo, Indiana, are television stations affiliated with CBS and serving the Indianapolis area. They are owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Fox affiliate WXIN. The stations share studios on Network Place in northwestern Indianapolis. WTTV's transmitter is located on State Road 252 in Trafalgar, while WTTK's transmitter sits on West 73rd Street on the northern outskirts of Indianapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDSU</span> NBC affiliate in New Orleans

WDSU is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's Central Business District, and its transmitter is located on East Josephine Street in Chalmette.

High-definition television (HDTV) in the United States was introduced in 1998 and has since become increasingly popular and dominant in the television market. Hundreds of HD channels are available in millions of homes and businesses both terrestrially and via subscription services such as satellite, cable and IPTV. HDTV has quickly become the standard, with about 85% of all TVs used being HD as of 2018. In the US, the 720p and 1080i formats are used for linear channels, while 1080p is available on a limited basis, mainly for pay-per-view and video on demand content. Some networks have also began transmitting content at 1080p via ATSC 3.0 multiplex channels, with CBS and NBC affiliates being the main stations that transmit at 1080p.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTEQ-FM</span> Radio station of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota

KTEQ-FM is the campus radio station of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) in Rapid City, South Dakota. The station broadcasts a variety of music formats according to the tastes of the volunteer DJs doing the shows. The only restriction that KTEQ places on the formats of the shows is that the music cannot be Top 40 music. The station was off the air for nearly 13 1/2 years following the loss of its Non-commercial educational broadcast license but returned to air on March 8, 2014. Besides broadcasting over-the-air, the station's programming is also transmitted over channel 6 of the cable television system on the SDSM&T campus and through Internet streaming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVG</span> ABC/CW affiliate in Toledo, Ohio

WTVG is a television station in Toledo, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Dorr Street in Toledo, and its transmitter is located on Stadium Road in Oregon, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLNS-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Lansing, Michigan

WLNS-TV is a television station in Lansing, Michigan, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual ABC/CW+ affiliate WLAJ under a shared services agreement (SSA) with Mission Broadcasting. WLNS-TV and WLAJ share studios on East Saginaw Street in Lansing's Eastside section; through a channel sharing agreement, the stations transmit using WLAJ's spectrum from a tower on Van Atta Road in Okemos, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KAMR-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Amarillo, Texas

KAMR-TV is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KCPN-LD ; Nexstar also provides certain services Fox affiliate KCIT under joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Mission Broadcasting. The three stations share studios on Southeast 11th Avenue and South Fillmore Street in downtown Amarillo; KAMR-TV's transmitter is located on Dumas Drive and Reclamation Plant Road in rural unincorporated Potter County.

In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual program stream, and multiplexing to combine them into a single signal. The practice is sometimes called "multicasting".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSVA</span> Radio station in Harrisonburg, Virginia

WSVA is a commercial radio station licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia, and serving the Central Shenandoah Valley. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by Saga Communications, through licensee Tidewater Communications, LLC. The studios and offices are on Heritage Center Way in Harrisonburg.

WOYK is a commercial radio station licensed to York, Pennsylvania, and also serving the Harrisburg, and Lancaster radio markets. The station is owned by the York Revolution. The Revolution is an Atlantic League of Professional Baseball team, whose games air on WOYK.

KIT is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format to the Yakima, Washington, United States, area. The station is licensed to Townsquare License, LLC and owned by Townsquare Media. The station features programming from ABC Radio, Fox News Radio and Westwood One. The transmitter and broadcast tower are located in southern Yakima along West Washington Avenue near the railroad tracks. The self-supporting tower is 63 m (207 ft) tall.

The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (CTA), the E/I rules, or the Kid Vid rules. Since 1997, all full-power and Class A low-power broadcast television stations have been required to broadcast at least three hours per-week of programs that are specifically designed to meet the educational and informative (E/I) needs of children aged 16 and younger. There are also regulations on advertising in broadcast and cable television programming targeting children 12 and younger, including limits on ad time, and prohibiting the airing of advertising for products related to the program currently airing.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dead air". Oxford Dictionaries (online). Oxford, OXF, GBR: Oxford University Press. 2015. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Modulation and Radio Building Blocks: How does modulation work?". Radio Academy. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Dead air". Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition (online). Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster. 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Desi Bognar (8 September 2017). International Dictionary of Broadcasting and Film. Taylor & Francis. pp. 48–. ISBN   978-1-136-05401-3.
  5. ↑ Susan Tyler Eastman; Douglas A. Ferguson; Robert Klein (20 June 2014), Media Promotion & Marketing for Broadcasting, Cable & the Internet, CRC Press, pp. 128–, ISBN   978-1-136-02482-5
  6. 1 2 Stelter, Brian. "NBC blames 'equipment failure' for brief blackout during Super Bowl". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  7. 1 2 National Association of Broadcasters Engineering Handbook: NAB Engineering Handbook . Taylor & Francis; 26 April 2013. ISBN   978-1-136-03410-7. p. 2007–.
  8. ↑ Harry Henderson. Communications and Broadcasting: From Wired Words to Wireless Web . Infobase Publishing; December 2006. ISBN   978-0-8160-5748-1. p. 84–.
  9. ↑ Kern, Jonathan (2008). Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   9780226431789.
  10. ↑ "Maryland radio station punished for silence" . Radio & Television Business Report - January 2015. Streamline RBR, Inc. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  11. ↑ Oxenford, David (2014-02-04). "Radio Station Being Silent Too Long Brings FCC Sanction – How Long Can a Broadcast Station Be off the Air Before It Causes Trouble at License Renewal Time?". Broadcast Law Blog. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  12. ↑ Boyer, Peter J. (13 September 1987). "Rather Walked Off Set of CBS News". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Sharbutt, Jay (15 September 1987). "Rather Criticized For His Cbs News 'Walkout'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Campuzano, Eder. "Super Bowl 2018: And the most talked-about commercial is ... dead air". Oregon Live. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  15. ↑ "Green Bay Packers fan "Chuck FM" will play "nothing during the game" Sunday". Radio-Info.com. 2011-02-04. Archived from the original on 2012-01-08.
  16. ↑ "Mouvement social à Radio France : les secrets de la playlist de grève de France Inter". Le Parisien. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.