View source for Broadcasting

{{short description|Distribution of audio or audiovisual content to dispersed audiences}}
{{Redirect|Broadcast|other uses|Broadcast (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Broadcasting1.JPG|alt=|thumb|A broadcasting antenna in [[Stuttgart]]]]

'''Broadcasting''' is the [[data distribution|distribution]] of [[sound|audio]] and [[audiovisual]] content to dispersed audiences via an electronic [[medium (communication)|mass communications medium]], typically using the [[electromagnetic spectrum]] ([[radio wave]]s), in a [[:wikt:one-to-many|one-to-many]] model.<ref name=peters >{{cite book |last1=Peters |first1=John Durham |title=Speaking Into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication |date=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-66277-0 |oclc=40452957 |title-link=Speaking Into The Air }}{{pn|date=January 2025}}</ref> Broadcasting began with [[AM radio]], which became popular around 1920 with the spread of [[vacuum tube]] [[radio transmitter]]s and [[radio receiver|receivers]]. Before this, most implementations of electronic communication (early [[radio]], [[telephone]], and [[telegraph]]) were [[wikt:one-to-one|one-to-one]], with the message intended for a single recipient. The term ''broadcasting'' evolved from its use as the agricultural method of sowing seeds in a field by casting them broadly about.<ref name=douglas >{{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=Susan J. |title=Inventing American Broadcasting, 1899–1922 |date=1987 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-3832-3 |location=Baltimore |url-access=registration |oclc=15485739 |url=https://archive.org/details/inventingamerica00doug}}</ref> It was later adopted for describing the widespread distribution of information by printed materials<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strahorn |first1=Robert Edmund |title=The Hand-book of Wyoming and Guide to the Black Hills and Big Horn Regions: For Citizen, Emigrant and Tourist |date=1877 |publisher=R.E. Strahorn |isbn=978-5-87089-407-2 |chapter=Forest Productions |hdl=2027/uc1.31822031033079?urlappend=%3Bseq=80%3Bownerid=9007199276777726-84 |quote-page=74 |quote=in the case of the estimates sent broadcast by the Department of Agriculture, in its latest annual report, the extent has been sadly underestimated. }}</ref> or by telegraph.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015070278273;view=1up;seq=340 "Medical Advertising"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801211136/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015070278273;view=1up;seq=340 |date=1 August 2020 }}, ''Saint Louis Medical and Surgical Journal'', December 1886, p. 334: "operations formerly described in the city press alone, are now sent broadcast through the country by multiple telegraph".</ref> Examples applying it to "one-to-many" radio transmissions of an individual station to multiple listeners appeared as early as 1898.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101050973286;view=1up;seq=841 "Wireless Telegraphy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727033000/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101050973286;view=1up;seq=841 |date=27 July 2020 }}, ''The Electrician'' (London), 14 October 1898, p. 815: "there are rare cases where, as Dr. Lodge once expressed it, it might be advantageous to 'shout' the message, spreading it broadcast to receivers in all directions".</ref>

Over-the-air broadcasting is usually associated with [[Radio broadcasting|radio]] and [[Terrestrial television|television]], though more recently, both radio and television transmissions have begun to be distributed by cable ([[cable television]]). The receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively small subset; the point is that anyone with the appropriate receiving technology and equipment (e.g., a radio or television set) can receive the signal. The field of broadcasting includes both government-managed services such as [[public radio]], [[community radio]] and [[public television]], and private [[commercial radio]] and [[commercial television]]. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, part 97 defines ''broadcasting'' as "transmissions intended for reception by the general public, either direct or relayed".<ref>Electronic Code of Federal Regulation. (28 September 2017). Retrieved 2 October 2017.</ref>  Private or two-way [[telecommunications]] transmissions do not qualify under this definition. For example, [[amateur radio|amateur]] ("ham") and [[citizens band]] (CB) radio operators are not allowed to broadcast. As defined, ''transmitting'' and ''broadcasting'' are not the same.

Transmission of radio and television programs from a radio or television station to home receivers by [[radio wave]]s is referred to as ''over the air'' (OTA) or [[Terrestrial television|terrestrial]] broadcasting and in most countries requires a [[broadcast license|broadcasting license]].  Transmissions using a wire or cable, like [[cable television]] (which also retransmits OTA stations with their [[retransmission consent|consent]]), are also considered broadcasts but do not necessarily require a license (though in some countries, a license is required).  In the 2000s, transmissions of television and radio programs via [[streaming]] digital technology have increasingly been referred to as broadcasting as well.<ref>{{cite web |first=Diana Larrea |last=Maccise |author2=Montaser Marai |url=https://institute.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/2018/mobile%20journalisn%20english.pdf |title=Mobile Journalism |publisher=AlJazeera Media Training and Development Centre |year=2018 |access-date=24 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205928/https://institute.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/2018/mobile%20journalisn%20english.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of broadcasting}}
In 1894, Italian inventor [[Guglielmo Marconi]] began developing a wireless communication using the then-newly discovered phenomenon of [[radio wave]]s, showing by 1901 that they could be transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vujovic |first=Ljubo |year=1998 |title=Tesla Biography |url=http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114205727/http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm |archive-date=14 January 2016 |publisher=Tesla Memorial Society of New York}}</ref> This was the start of [[wireless telegraphy]] by radio. Audio radio broadcasting began experimentally in the first decade of the 20th century. On 17 December 1902, a transmission from the Marconi station in [[Glace Bay]], Nova Scotia, Canada, became the world's first radio message to cross the Atlantic from North America. In 1904, a commercial service was established to transmit nightly news summaries to subscribing ships, which incorporated them into their onboard newspapers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TR Center – Talking Across the Ocean |url=https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Blog/Item/Talking%20Across%20the%20Ocean |access-date=12 March 2021 |publisher=theodorerooseveltcenter.org |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417162827/https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Blog/Item/Talking%20Across%20the%20Ocean |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[World War I]] accelerated the development of radio for [[military communications]]. After the war, commercial radio [[AM broadcasting]] began in the 1920s and became an important mass medium for entertainment and news. [[World War II]] again accelerated the development of radio for the wartime purposes of aircraft and land communication, radio navigation, and radar.<ref>{{cite book | last=Thompson | first=R.J. Jr. |title=Crystal Clear: The Struggle for Reliable Communications Technology in World War II |publisher=Wiley |year=2011 |isbn=9781118104644 }}</ref> Development of stereo [[FM broadcasting]] of radio began in the 1930s in the United States and the 1970s in the United Kingdom, displacing AM as the dominant commercial standard.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Théberge |first1=P. |title=Living Stereo: Histories and Cultures of Multichannel Sound |last2=Devine |first2=K. |last3=Everrett |first3=T |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=9781623566654 }}</ref>

On 25 March 1925, [[John Logie Baird]] demonstrated the transmission of moving pictures at the London department store [[Selfridges]]. Baird's device relied upon the [[Nipkow disk]] and thus became known as the [[mechanical television]]. It formed the basis of experimental broadcasts done by the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] beginning on 30 September 1929.<ref>{{cite web |year=2006 |title=The Pioneers |url=http://www.mztv.com/newframe.asp?content=http://www.mztv.com/pioneers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514070220/http://www.mztv.com/newframe.asp?content=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mztv.com%2Fpioneers.html |archive-date=14 May 2013 |publisher=MZTV Museum of Television}}</ref> However, for most of the 20th century, televisions depended on the [[cathode-ray tube]] invented by [[Karl Ferdinand Braun|Karl Braun]]. The first version of such a television to show promise was produced by [[Philo Farnsworth]] and demonstrated to his family on 7 September 1927.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Postman |first=Neil |date=29 March 1999 |title=Philo Farnsworth |url=http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/farnsworth.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930214902/http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/farnsworth.html |archive-date=30 September 2009 |magazine=Time magazine}}</ref> After [[World War II]], interrupted experiments resumed and television became an important home entertainment broadcast medium, using [[VHF]] and [[UHF]] spectrum. [[Satellite broadcasting]] was initiated in the 1960s and moved into general industry usage in the 1970s, with DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellites) emerging in the 1980s.

Originally, all broadcasting was composed of [[analog signal]]s using [[analog transmission]] techniques but in the 2000s, broadcasters [[Digital switchover|switched]] to [[Digital signal (broadcasting)|digital signals]] using [[digital transmission]]. An analog signal is any [[continuous signal]] representing some other quantity, i.e., ''analogous'' to another quantity. For example, in an analog [[audio signal]], the instantaneous signal [[voltage]] varies continuously with the [[Sound pressure|pressure of the sound waves]].{{fact|date=January 2025}} In contrast, a [[digital signal]] represents the original time-varying quantity as a [[Sampling (signal processing)|sampled]] sequence of [[Quantization (signal processing)|quantized]] values which imposes some [[Nyquist frequency|bandwidth]] and [[dynamic range]] constraints on the representation. In general usage, broadcasting most frequently refers to the transmission of information and entertainment programming from various sources to the general public:{{fact|date=January 2025}}
* [[Analog audio]] radio (AM, FM) vs. [[Digital audio radio service|digital audio radio]] ([[HD radio]]), [[digital audio broadcasting]] (DAB), [[satellite radio]] and [[digital Radio Mondiale]] (DRM)
* [[Analog television]] vs. [[digital television]]
* [[Wireless]]

The world's technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks more than quadrupled during the two decades from 1986 to 2007, from 432 [[exabytes]] of (optimally compressed) information, to 1.9 [[zettabytes]].<ref name="HilbertLopez2011">{{cite journal |last1=Hilbert |first1=Martin |last2=López |first2=Priscila |title=The World's Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information |journal=Science |date=April 2011 |volume=332 |issue=6025 |pages=60–65 |doi=10.1126/science.1200970 |pmid=21310967 }}</ref> This is the information equivalent of 55 newspapers per person per day in 1986, and 175 newspapers per person per day by 2007.<ref name="Hilbertvideo2011">{{cite web |url=https://ideas.economist.com/video/giant-sifting-sound-0 |title=video animation on The World's Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information from 1986 to 2010 |publisher=Ideas.economist.com |access-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118072720/https://ideas.economist.com/video/giant-sifting-sound-0 |archive-date=18 January 2012  }}</ref>

==Methods==
In a broadcast system, the central high-powered [[broadcast tower]] transmits a high-frequency [[electromagnetic wave]] to numerous receivers. The high-frequency wave sent by the tower is modulated with a signal containing visual or audio information. The receiver is then [[Antenna tuner|tuned]] so as to pick up the high-frequency wave and a [[demodulator]] is used to retrieve the signal containing the visual or audio information. The broadcast signal can be either analog (signal is varied continuously with respect to the information) or digital (information is encoded as a set of discrete values).<ref name="stallings-intro">{{cite book |last=Haykin |first=Simon |url=https://archive.org/details/communicationsy000simo |title=Communication Systems |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-471-17869-9 |edition=4th |pages=[https://archive.org/details/communicationsy000simo/page/n21 1]–3 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>[http://www.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm How Radio Works] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102215734/http://www.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm|date=2 January 2016}}, HowStuffWorks.com, 2006.</ref>

Historically, there have been several methods used for broadcasting [[electronic media]] audio and video to the general public:
* [[Telephone]] broadcasting (1881–1932): the earliest form of electronic broadcasting (not counting data services offered by stock [[Electrical telegraph|telegraph companies]] from 1867, if [[ticker tape|ticker-tapes]] are excluded from the definition). Telephone broadcasting began with the advent of [[Théâtrophone]] ("Theatre Phone") systems, which were telephone-based distribution systems allowing subscribers to listen to live [[opera]] and [[theatre]] performances over telephone lines, created by French inventor [[Clément Ader]] in 1881. Telephone broadcasting also grew to include [[telephone newspaper]] services for news and entertainment [[Radio programming|programming]] which were introduced in the 1890s, primarily located in large [[Europe]]an cities. These telephone-based [[subscription services]] were the first examples of electrical/electronic broadcasting and offered a wide variety of programming.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}}
* [[Radio broadcasting]] (experimentally from 1906, commercially from 1920); [[sound|audio]] signals sent through the air as [[radio waves]] from a [[transmitter]], picked up by an [[radio antenna|antenna]] and sent to a [[tuner (radio)|receiver]]. [[Radio stations]] can be linked in [[radio network]]s to broadcast common [[radio program]]s, either in [[broadcast syndication]], [[simulcast]] or [[subchannel]]s.
** [[Television]] broadcasting (telecast), experimentally from 1925, [[commercial television|commercially]] from the 1930s: an extension of radio to include [[video]] signals.
* [[Cable radio]] (also called ''cable FM'', from 1928) and [[cable television]] (from 1932): both via [[coaxial cable]],  originally serving principally as transmission media for programming produced at either radio or [[television station]]s, but later expanding into a broad universe of cable-originated [[cable channel|channels]].
* [[Direct-broadcast satellite]] (DBS) (from {{Circa|1974}}) and [[satellite radio]] (from {{Circa|1990}}): meant for direct-to-home broadcast programming (as opposed to studio network uplinks and down-links), provides a mix of traditional radio or television broadcast programming, or both, with dedicated satellite radio programming. (See also: [[Satellite television]])
* [[Webcast#Origins|Webcasting]] of video/television (from {{Circa|1993}}) and audio/radio (from {{Circa|1994}}) streams: offers a mix of traditional radio and television station broadcast programming with dedicated [[Internet radio]] and [[Internet television]].

==Economic models==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2022}}
There are several means of providing financial support for continuous broadcasting:
* [[Commercial broadcasting]]: for-profit, usually privately owned stations, channels, networks, or services providing programming to the public, supported by the sale of air time to advertisers for [[radio advertisement|radio]] or [[television advertisement]]s during or in breaks between programs, often in combination with cable or [[pay cable]] subscription fees.
* [[Public broadcasting]]: usually [[non-profit]], publicly owned stations or networks supported by license fees, government funds, grants from foundations, corporate [[underwriting]], audience memberships, contributions or a combination of these.
* Community broadcasting: a form of [[mass media]] in which a [[television station]], or a [[radio station]], is owned, operated or [[broadcast programming|programmed]], by a community group to provide programs of local interest known as [[local programming]]. Community stations are most commonly operated by [[non-profit group]]s or [[cooperatives]]; however, in some cases they may be operated by a local [[college]] or [[university]], a [[cable company]] or a municipal government.
* Internet Webcast: the audience pays to recharge and buy virtual gifts for the anchor, and the platform converts the gifts into virtual currency. The anchor withdraws the virtual currency, which is drawn by the platform. If the anchor belongs to a trade union, it will be settled by the trade union and the live broadcasting platform, and the anchor will get the salary and part of the bonus. This is the most common profit model of live broadcast products.

Broadcasters may rely on a combination of these [[business model]]s. For example, in the United States, [[National Public Radio]] (NPR) and the [[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS, television)  supplement public membership subscriptions and grants with funding from the [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]] (CPB), which is allocated bi-annually by Congress. US public broadcasting corporate and charitable grants are generally given in consideration of [[underwriting spot]]s which differ from commercial advertisements in that they are governed by specific [[FCC]] restrictions, which prohibit the advocacy of a product or a "call to action".

==Recorded and live forms==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2022}}
{{anchor|Recorded broadcasts and live broadcasts}}
[[File:TV Station Control Room.JPG|thumb|A [[television studio]] [[production control room]] in [[Olympia, Washington]], August 2008]]
[[File:On Air DSC0004 1.jpg|thumb|An "On Air" sign is illuminated, usually in red, while a broadcast or recording session is taking place.]]
[[File:Radio Maria Studio in Adliswil.jpg|thumb|[[Radio Maria]] studio in [[Switzerland]]]]
The first regular television broadcasts started in 1937. Broadcasts can be classified as ''recorded'' or ''live''. The former allows correcting errors, and removing superfluous or undesired material, rearranging it, applying [[slow-motion]] and repetitions, and other techniques to enhance the program. However, some live events like [[sports television]] can include some of the aspects including slow-motion clips of important goals/hits, etc., in between the [[live television]] telecast. American radio-network broadcasters habitually forbade prerecorded broadcasts in the 1930s and 1940s, requiring radio programs played for the Eastern and Central [[time zone]]s to be repeated three hours later for the Pacific time zone (See: [[Effects of time on North American broadcasting]]). This restriction was dropped for special occasions, as in the case of the German [[dirigible]] airship ''[[Hindenburg disaster|Hindenburg]]'' disaster at [[Lakehurst, New Jersey]], in 1937. During [[World War II]], prerecorded broadcasts from war correspondents were allowed on U.S. radio. In addition, American radio programs were recorded for playback by [[Armed Forces Radio]] [[radio station]]s around the world.

A disadvantage of recording first is that the public may learn the outcome of an event before the recording is broadcast, which may be a [[spoiler (media)|spoiler]]. Prerecording may be used to prevent [[announcer]]s from deviating from an officially approved [[screenplay|script]] during a [[live radio]] broadcast, as occurred with [[propaganda]] broadcasts from Germany in the 1940s and with [[Voice of Russia|Radio Moscow]] in the 1980s. Many events are advertised as being live, although they are often recorded live (sometimes called "[[live television|live]]-to-[[video tape|tape]]"). This is particularly true of performances of musical artists on radio when they visit for an in-studio [[concert]] performance. Similar situations have occurred in [[television production]] ("''[[The Cosby Show]]'' is recorded in front of a [[live television]] studio [[audience]]") and [[news broadcasting]].

A broadcast may be distributed through several physical means. If coming directly from the [[radio studio]] at a single station or [[television station]], it is sent through the [[studio/transmitter link]] to the [[transmitter]] and hence from the [[television antenna]] located on the [[radio masts and towers]] out to the world. Programming may also come through a [[communications satellite]], played either live or recorded for later transmission. Networks of stations may [[simulcast]] the same programming at the same time, originally via [[microwave]] link, now usually by satellite. Distribution to stations or networks may also be through physical media, such as [[magnetic tape]], [[compact disc]] (CD), [[DVD]], and sometimes other formats. Usually these are included in another broadcast, such as when [[electronic news gathering]] (ENG) returns a story to the station for inclusion on a [[news program]]me.

The final leg of broadcast distribution is how the signal gets to the listener or viewer. It may come over the air as with a [[radio station]] or [[television station]] to an [[antenna (radio)|antenna]] and [[radio receiver]], or may come through [[cable television]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.diwaxx.ru/|title=Информационно – развлекательный портал – DIWAXX.RU – мобильная связь, безопасность ПК и сетей, компьютеры и программы, общение, железо, секреты Windows, web-дизайн, раскрутка и оптимизация сайта, партнерские программы|website=Diwaxx.ru|access-date=11 November 2017|archive-date=3 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103065154/http://www.diwaxx.ru/|url-status=live}}</ref> or [[cable radio]] (or [[wireless cable]]) via the station or directly from a network. The [[Internet]] may also bring either [[internet radio]] or [[streaming media]] television to the recipient, especially with [[multicast]]ing allowing the signal and [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] to be shared. The term ''[[broadcast network]]'' is often used to distinguish networks that broadcast over-the-air television signals that can be received using a [[tuner (television)|tuner]] inside a [[television set]] with a [[television antenna]] from so-called networks that are broadcast only via [[cable television]] ([[cablecast]]) or [[satellite television]] that uses a [[dish antenna]]. The term ''[[broadcast television]]'' can refer to the [[television program]]s of such networks.

==Social impact==
[[File:WTUL Microphone.jpg|thumb|left|[[Radio station]] [[WTUL]] studio, [[Tulane University]], [[New Orleans]]]]
The sequencing of content in a broadcast is called a [[scheduling (broadcasting)|schedule]]. As with all technological endeavors, a number of technical terms and [[slang]] have developed. A list of these terms can be found at [[List of broadcasting terms]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.qsl.net/n2jac/jota2k/BROADCAST+GLOSSARY.htm|website=Qsl.net|access-date=11 November 2017|title=Broadcast Terminology|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116173416/https://www.qsl.net/n2jac/jota2k/BROADCAST%20GLOSSARY.htm|archive-date=16 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Television]] and [[radio]] programs are distributed through radio broadcasting or [[cable television|cable]], often both simultaneously. By coding signals and having a [[cable converter box]] with [[Code (cryptography)|decoding]] equipment in [[home]]s, the latter also enables [[subscription]]-based channels, [[pay-tv]] and [[pay-per-view]] services. In his essay, [[John Durham Peters]] wrote that [[communication]] is a tool used for dissemination. Peters stated, "[[Dissemination]] is a lens—sometimes a usefully distorting one—that helps us tackle basic issues such as interaction, presence, and space and time&nbsp;... on the agenda of any future [[communication theory]] in general".<ref name=jpeters >{{Citation |last=Peters |first=John Durham |title=Communication as Dissemination |date=2006 |url=https://sk.sagepub.com/books/communication-as/n23.xml |work=Communication as…: Perspectives on Theory |pages=211–222 |place=Thousand Oaks, California |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. |doi=10.4135/9781483329055.n23 |isbn=978-1-4129-0658-6 |access-date=22 August 2022 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822070805/https://sk.sagepub.com/books/communication-as/n23.xml |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|211}} Dissemination focuses on the message being relayed from one main source to one large [[audience]] without the exchange of [[dialogue]] in between. It is possible for the message to be [[Propaganda|changed or corrupted by government officials]] once the main source releases it. There is no way to predetermine how the larger population or audience will absorb the message. They can choose to listen, analyze, or ignore it. Dissemination in communication is widely used in the world of broadcasting.

Broadcasting focuses on getting a message out and it is up to the general public to do what they wish with it. Peters also states that broadcasting is used to address an open-ended destination.<ref name=jpeters />{{rp|212}} There are many forms of broadcasting, but they all aim to distribute a signal that will reach the target [[audience]]. Broadcasters typically arrange audiences into entire assemblies.<ref name=jpeters />{{rp|213}} In terms of media broadcasting, a [[radio show]] can gather a large number of followers who tune in every day to specifically listen to that specific [[disc jockey]]. The disc jockey follows the script for their radio show and just talks into the [[microphone]].<ref name=jpeters /> They do not expect immediate feedback from any listeners. The message is broadcast across airwaves throughout the community, but the listeners cannot always respond immediately, especially since many radio shows are recorded prior to the actual air time. Conversely, receivers can select opt-in or opt-out of getting broadcast messages using an Excel file, offering them control over the information they receive.

== Broadcast engineering ==
{{Main articles|Broadcast engineering}}
Broadcast engineering is the field of [[electrical engineering]], and now to some extent [[computer engineering]] and [[information technology]], which deals with [[radio]] and [[television]] broadcasting.  [[Audio engineering]] and [[RF engineering]] are also essential parts of broadcast engineering, being their own [[subset]]s of electrical engineering.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Pizzi |first=Skip |title=A Broadcast Engineering Tutorial for Non-Engineers. |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |others=Graham Jones |isbn=978-1-317-90683-4 |edition=4th |location=Hoboken |oclc=879025861 }}</ref>

Broadcast engineering involves both the [[Television studio|studio]] and [[transmitter]] aspects (the entire [[airchain]]), as well as [[remote broadcast]]s.  Every [[Broadcast network|station]] has a broadcast [[engineer]], though one may now serve an entire station group in a city. In small [[media market]]s the engineer may work on a [[contract]] basis for one or more stations as needed.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |date=8 November 2010 |title=about.com – Broadcast Technician or Sound Engineering Technician: Career Information |url=http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/occupations/p/broadcst_sound.htm |access-date=3 August 2013 |publisher=Careerplanning.about.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050918203626/http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/occupations/p/broadcst_sound.htm |archive-date=18 September 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=25 July 2012 |title=Transmission Engineer – TV |url=http://www.skillset.org/tv/jobs/Studio_Broadcast/article_5477_1.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070508172948/http://www.skillset.org/tv/jobs/Studio_Broadcast/article_5477_1.asp |archive-date=8 May 2007 |access-date=3 August 2013 |publisher=skillset}}</ref>

==See also==

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Analog television]]
* [[Bandplan]]
* [[Broadcast engineering]]
* [[Broadcast quality]]
* [[Broadcast television systems]] – contains the standards of the topic
* [[Broadcasting in the United States]]
* [[Cablecast]]
* [[Frank Conrad]]
* [[Dead air]]
* [[Digital television]]
* [[Electronic media]]
* [[European Broadcasting Union]] (EBU)
* [[List of broadcast satellites]]
* [[List of broadcasting terms]]
* [[List of radio awards]]
* [[List of television awards]]
* [[Narrowcasting]]
* [[NaSTA]]
* [[Nonbroadcast Multiple Access Network]] (NBMA)
* [[North American broadcast television frequencies]]
* [[Outside broadcast]]
* [[Radio Act of 1927]], United States
* [[Reality television]]
* [[Society of Broadcast Engineers]] (SBE)
* [[Television broadcasting in Australia]]
* [[Television transmitter]]
* [[Transposer]]
* [[Wilkinsburg]]
}}

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* Carey, James (1989), ''Communication as Culture'', New York and London: Routledge, pp.&nbsp;201–30
* Kahn, Frank J., ed. ''Documents of American Broadcasting'', fourth edition (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1984).
* Lichty Lawrence W., and Topping Malachi C., eds, ''American Broadcasting: A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television'' (Hastings House, 1975).
* Meyrowitz, Joshua, ''Mediating Communication: What Happens?'' in Downing, J., Mohammadi, A., and Sreberny-Mohammadi, A. (eds), ''Questioning The Media'' (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 1995), pp.&nbsp;39–53
* {{Citation |last=Peters |first=John Durham |title=Communication as Dissemination |date=2006 |url=https://sk.sagepub.com/books/communication-as/n23.xml |work=Communication as…: Perspectives on Theory |pages=211–222 |place=Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California United States |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. |doi=10.4135/9781483329055.n23 |isbn=978-1-4129-0658-6 |access-date=22 August 2022 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822070805/https://sk.sagepub.com/books/communication-as/n23.xml |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}
* Thompson, J., ''The Media and Modernity'', in Mackay, H., and O'Sullivan, T. (eds), ''The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation'' (London: Sage, 1999), pp.&nbsp;12–27
{{Refend}}
* [https://www.histv.net/histoire-de-la-t-s-f-et-de-la-radio International bibliography – History of wireless and radio broadcasting]

==Further reading==
* Barnouw Erik. ''The Golden Web'' (Oxford University Press, 1968); ''The Sponsor'' (1978); ''A Tower in Babel'' (1966).
* Covert Cathy, and Stevens John L. ''Mass Media Between the Wars'' (Syracuse University Press, 1984). {{ISBN|978-0-8156-2307-6}}
* Tim Crook; ''International Radio Journalism: History, Theory and Practice'' Routledge, 1998
* John Dunning;  ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'' Oxford University Press, 1998
* Ewbank Henry and Lawton Sherman P. ''Broadcasting: Radio and Television'' (Harper & Brothers, 1952).
* Maclaurin W. Rupert. ''Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry'' (The Macmillan Company, 1949).
* Robert W. McChesney; ''Telecommunications, Mass Media, and Democracy: The Battle for the Control of U.S. Broadcasting, 1928–1935'' Oxford University Press, 1994
* Gwenyth L. Jackaway; ''Media at War: Radio's Challenge to the Newspapers, 1924–1939'' Praeger Publishers, 1995
* Lazarsfeld Paul F. ''The People Look at Radio'' (University of North Carolina Press, 1946).
* Schramm Wilbur, ed. ''Mass Communications'' (University of Illinois Press, 1960).
* Schwoch James. ''The American Radio Industry and Its Latin American Activities, 1900–1939'' (University of Illinois Press, 1990). {{ISBN|978-0-252-01690-5}}
* Slater Robert. ''This&nbsp;... is CBS: A Chronicle of 60 Years'' (Prentice Hall, 1988). {{ISBN|978-0-13-919234-0}}
* Sterling Christopher H. ''Electronic Media, A Guide to Trends in Broadcasting and Newer Technologies 1920–1983'' (Praeger, 1984). {{ISBN|978-0-275-91277-2}}
* Sterling Christopher, and Kittross John M. ''Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American Broadcasting'' (Wadsworth, 1978).
* Wells, Alan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3zpeKLHPVBQC ''World Broadcasting: A Comparative View''], [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 1996. {{ISBN|1-56750-245-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Broadcasting}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [https://www.radio-locator.com Radio Locator], for American radio station with format, power, and coverage information.
* [https://www.hawkins.pair.com/radio.html Jim Hawkins' Radio and Broadcast Technology Page] – History of broadcast transmitter
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130918081316/https://www.indiedcp.com/broadcast-industry-terminology.html Indie Digital Cinema Services] – Broadcast Industry Glossary

{{Broadcasting}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Wireless video}}
{{Audio broadcasting|state=collapsed}}
{{Communication studies}}
{{Marketing}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Broadcasting| ]]
[[Category:Telecommunications]]