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WABC’s 2-minute delay

Ex-RadioTV

Ex-RadioTV

What could be the reason for a full 2-minute delay on WABC’s on air program?
“News at 59” comes along at a minute past the hour. WABC chime-time time checks are incorrect, including the ones sponsored by Bulova watches. Where else, but @WABC would something like that happen?
WABC until recently used a 30-second delay, but it’s grown longer. The stream actually comes through a full minute ahead of the broadcast on 770.
 
They probably needed more delay time. If they have to dump more than 3 or 4 times with 30 seconds there may not be enough time for the delay to rebuild before they need to bump audio again. So they add more delay time so they can dump 5 or 6 times before they run out of dumps due to the delay being depleted and not rebuilding to safe mode. This adds better protection for the station so they are not letting questionable language through on the air. You don't have to worry about your webstream since it's doesn't have the restriction on words that can't be said. It's not un common for station do have up to a minute or more of profanity delay to allow for dumping 6 or more times during a talk segment.

While you could say this is a problem with WABC talent or "That's how people in New York" talk. I have seen station over the nation having to increase delay time to make sure they are running audio that won't get them finned. It's a simple no cost solution versus paying lawyers and fines.
 
I agree that no station wants to invite an FCC fine. And we’re way past the “7-second delay” of the past.
I also understand the reality of dumping a delay once, and then possibly having a second dump before adequate protection has built up, but you have well-compensated hosts who should be aware of what’s going on and who should be able to verbally fill until a sufficient delay can be built up again. You drop the call and vamp a little. WABC managed for years with a two-step delay that totaled 30 seconds when fully built up.
xmtrland said:
While you could say this is a problem with WABC talent or "That's how people in New York" talk. I have seen station over the nation having to increase delay time to make sure they are running audio that won't get them finned.
Click to expand...
If you have to worry about more than a couple sequential dumps, you have a problem with your call screeners, your producers, your talent, or all three. This isn’t rocket science.
Maybe WABC recently had a close call, and that’s why they’ve padded the length of the delay to this extreme, given the varied level of experience within their own staff. Just like some hosts there are better than others, it’s likely the same situation behind the glass. (And it certainly is in the news department. But I digress.)
Perhaps it’s tied to the recent addition of Anthony Cumia’s show?

If you must run this much delay:
  • Consider NOT selling “chime-time” sponsorships that announce the incorrect time, especially to Bulova, a manufacturer of timepieces, and
  • Don’t billboard newscasts as being at “:59” when they aren’t making it to air until :01*
* or (possibly) :00 on streaming platforms, including their own.
 
Likely a combination of regular delay and the delay introduced from the IP connection getting audio from the studio to the transmitter.

That said, the point of promoting News at :59 isn’t a promise, it’s an appointment setting. Come in at :59 past, you’re there when the news starts. And oh look, they might keep you for three minutes or more, perfect for a PPM market these days.

Also, who cares if the Chime Time isn’t exactly accurate? That’s not the point of the feature or the sponsorship.
 
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Nathan Obral said:
Isn't it a package deal? Bulova now has naming rights for Piscopo's Sinatra show...
Click to expand...
It could be a package deal for Bulova. Previously, Ramsey Mazda had naming rights to the Sinatra show, but that sponsor said "buh-bye" to the show and all of WABC on 1/1/25. Ramsey didn't have the chime-time tie-in.
There are other chime-time sponsorships sprinkled throughout WABC's schedule, attached to a law firm, a suburban PBA organization, and probably others too. They're short. Just the jingle, the time (from 2-minutes ago), and a one-or-two sentence billboard.
 
This is not really brain surgery. Install a second clock in each air studio and control room. Label one "Real Time" and the other "Air Time". Sync "Air Time" to what's getting out over the air, accounting for the delay. This is the time that gets used in time checks. The real time clock gets used for coordination activities like network joins. (If necessary, color code them to minimize the chance of confusion.)

Oh, and add delay to the stream until it's synced to OTA, so regardless of how a listener listens, there is only one time. For the cost of a few Bulovas, problem solved.
 
Weiserguy said:
This is not really brain surgery. Install a second clock in each air studio and control room. Label one "Real Time" and the other "Air Time". Sync "Air Time" to what's getting out over the air, accounting for the delay. This is the time that gets used in time checks. The real time clock gets used for coordination activities like network joins. (If necessary, color code them to minimize the chance of confusion.)

Oh, and add delay to the stream until it's synced to OTA, so regardless of how a listener listens, there is only one time. For the cost of a few Bulovas, problem solved.
Click to expand...
Would the dump delay throw the stream/OTA sync off, if it was activated for a caller, or not?
 
radiofan2023 said:
Would the dump delay throw the stream/OTA sync off, if it was activated for a caller, or not?
Click to expand...
This actually asks the technical question of how long it would take to reset a two-minute delay. At least for some implementations of seven-second delays I've heard, it takes two minutes to reset and results in a lot of popping, sluggish sounds between then.
 
radiofan2023 said:
Would the dump delay throw the stream/OTA sync off, if it was activated for a caller, or not?
Click to expand...
I doubt it. Phone call delays are a function of each particular control room, before their audio baseband (or digital) output exits to master control. The relative delaying is all set at the output from master control to Lodi or their streaming supplier. Am I wrong?

So I typed the above and edited it a few times, and in thinking it through I'm less sure than I was last night. I'd assumed there was the delay on the phone/dump system plus extra delay leaving the building for Lodi. I'd be interested in what an actual studio design engineer (or 2 or 3) thinks.
 
I had Brucie tuned in last night over 770, catching it via skywave here in western PA. There was definitely an issue somewhere in the chain (I'm guessing with the STL) because the audio kept dropping out momentarily and then picking back up, but when the audio would come back, it would start right where it left off so the songs sounded off-kilter because the rhythms would be impacted, etc.

Hopefully they are able to get that fixed!

I guess that's not something that was much of an issue back in the Marti STL days haha
 
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