History
Transtar was founded in 1981 by C. Terry Robinson and Bill Moyes. The network debuted at around the same time as the Satellite Music Network, based in Mokena, Illinois. Both companies marketed themselves to prospective affiliates by offering carefully selected music presented by major market talent of high quality that a local station could never afford, as well as the capability of using existing studio equipment like reel-to-reel tape decks and cartridge playback machines to help make an affordable transition. A station signing up for the service would likely need a satellite antenna and receiver, a 25 Hz tone generator to place at the end of commercial clusters at the end of a break recorded on the reel, and 25/35 Hz tone sensors to trigger local liners and station identification. The network communicated with affiliates by using a computer printer (most likely in the studio) that would keep local programming staff informed of announcer changes, closed circuit feeds, and other vital information.
While Satellite Music Network had more affiliates, Transtar offered one major advantage over SMN...a digital cue system. This was especially important among potential affiliates that were FM stations. The digital cue system allowed the network to cue tape machines at the local affiliate station with external data channels sent on a separate digital subcarrier. SMN, on the other hand, cued stations using a subaudible tone on the program feed as it was aired live, but eliminated them from being heard by listeners through filtering out the lower end of the audio signal. While the difference in audio would be negligible at worst on an AM affiliate, it was particularly obvious on an FM station subscribing to the service when a bass line heard on a particular favorite song was now found to be missing.
An engineer at the receiving station could tweak the lower end of the signal by making adjustments on the station's audio processing, allowing the missing bass line to be heard, but then the subaudible cues would, as a result, be fully audible over the air. Transtar used this as a sales tool when marketing their service to prospective affiliates, while often charging inventory on top of a monthly subscription fee, feeling that prospective affiliates would be willing to pay more for a higher quality service. On the downside, announcer shifts, because they originated on the West Coast, all began and ended in the Pacific Time Zone, which made it difficult for East Coast-based affiliates to successfully market individual announcer dayparts, particularly during the morning. This would change years later, when announcer start times were adjusted to favor Eastern and Central Time zones.
In 1989, the company merged with the United Stations Radio Network (which had already bought the RKO Radio Networks in 1985). The new company was named Unistar. That entity, in turn, was bought by Westwood One in 1993. The music networks were run as a self-branded division of Westwood One until 2006, when the agreement with Dial Global began.
Westwood One was an American radio network that was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, and was later purchased by the private equity firm, The Gores Group. Due to purchases, mergers and other forms of consolidation in the 1980s and 1990s, at one time or another, it had ownership stakes in or syndication rights to some of the most famous brands in network radio, including CBS, NBC, Mutual, CNN, Fox, and Unistar. The company was one of the largest producers and distributors of radio programming in the United States. It broadcast entertainment, news, weather, sports, talk, and traffic programming to about 7,700 radio stations across the United States. The company was the top provider of local traffic reports in the US through its subsidiaries, Metro Networks, Shadow Broadcast Services, SmartRoute Systems, and Sigalert.com. Westwood One also offers weather services; originally using Accuweather, Westwood switched to The Weather Channel in 2009.
WSB is a commercial radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast on co-owned 95.5 WSBB-FM. WSB is the flagship station for Cox Media Group; in addition to WSB and WSBB-FM, it owns three other Atlanta radio stations and Atlanta's ABC Television Network affiliate, WSB-TV. From 1939 to 2019, WSB was owned by Cox Enterprises along with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution daily newspaper; the station had been established by the Journal in 1922. The station's studios and offices are located at the WSB Television and Radio Group building on West Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta, which is shared with its television and radio partners.
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator. They can also run in a live assist mode when there are on-air personnel present at the master control, television studio or control room.
KIXI is an AM radio station licensed to Mercer Island/Seattle, Washington on the frequency of 880 kHz. It operates 24 hours a day with a daytime power of 50,000 watts and a nighttime power of 10,000 watts from a transmitter in Mercer Slough Nature Park in Bellevue, where studios are also located.
Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which was broken up in 2007; Cumulus owned the portion of the network that was purchased by Citadel Broadcasting that year.
The RKO Radio Networks, a subsidiary of RKO General, were the first commercial radio networks to distribute programming entirely by satellite. When it began operations on October 1, 1979, the initial RKO network was the first new full-service American radio network in 40 years. Satellite distribution allowed high-fidelity stereo programming to its affiliates.
Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats.
Real Country is a 24-hour radio format produced by Westwood One. Real Country is marketed at the demographic of men aged 35 to 64. Its programming consists of a fairly broad playlist of "Today's Stars and the Legends." Classic country is the station's primary core, with frequent airplay of artists such as George Jones and Johnny Cash, while the station also plays newer hits, particularly by established neotraditional country artists such as George Strait and Alan Jackson. More contemporary artists can be heard on Westwood One's other country format, Best Country Today.
KTNF is a commercial AM radio station licensed to St. Louis Park, Minnesota that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The station brands itself as "The Progressive Voice of Minnesota," and offers a combination of locally produced and nationally syndicated progressive talk programming. It is owned by JR Broadcasting.
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such as news and talk programs, syndicated radio shows, music scheduling, show preparation, and music and sales Research. Jones Media Network also owns many national syndication shows such as Lia, All Night with Danny Wright, The Ed Schultz Show, The Stephanie Miller Show, The Bill Press Show, The Neal Boortz Show, The Clark Howard Show, and A&E Network's Live by Request. Jones Media Networks & Jones Radio Networks own production studios in: New York, NY; Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, DC; Seattle, WA; Centennial, CO; and Florida. Clark Howard and Neal Boortz are broadcast from the studios of WSB-AM in Atlanta, GA; those shows are produced by Cox Radio. Jones Media Networks reaches about 1.3 billion weekly listeners in radio. In 2006, Jones purchased TM Century, a Dallas-based company providing jingles and production services for radio stations across the country.
The NFL on Westwood One Sports is the branding for Cumulus Broadcasting subsidiary Westwood One's radio coverage of the National Football League. The broadcasts were previously branded with the CBS Radio and Dial Global marques; CBS Radio was the original Westwood One's parent company and Dial Global purchased the company in 2011. Dial Global has since reverted its name to Westwood One after merging with Cumulus Media Networks.
A subaudible tone is a tone that is used to trigger an automated event at a radio station. A subaudible tone is audible; however, it is usually at a low level that is not noticeable to the average listener at normal volumes. It is a form of in-band signaling.
WQMU is a hot adult contemporary radio station broadcast on 92.5 FM. It is owned and operated by Renda Broadcasting.
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first two nationwide networks established in the United States. Its major competitors were the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), founded in 1927, and the Mutual Broadcasting System, founded in 1934.
WBAE is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Portland, Maine. Owned by Saga Communications, it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary format. Its studios and offices are located on Western Avenue in South Portland, and its transmitter is off Forest Avenue in Portland. The Bay primarily features music from soft rock artists and music of the 1970s and 80s, with a few newer titles mixed in.
KBGG is a commercial AM radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and it airs a sports radio format, known as "1700 The Champ".
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
KMJ is a commercial radio station in Fresno, California. It airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast with sister station 105.9 KMJ-FM. Owned by Cumulus Media, the studios and offices are located at the Radio City building on Shaw Avenue in North Fresno.
Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and marketing services for national radio.
Supergold (Europe) was an oldies radio sustaining service originally operated by the Telstar Satellite Music Network(TSMN) and later by Chiltern Radio Network in the United Kingdom. Originally devised by entrepreneur and DJ Graham Kentsley, it was one of Europe's first satellite delivered radio stations, receiving a Satellite Television Technology International (STTI) award for satellite communication innovation.
