With more syndication than ever, and technology to deliver it improving, I'm surprised that I'm still hearing little errors and carelessness issues on affiliate stations. Sometimes it is the station's fault, but when I hear the network feed they don't make it very simple for the affiliates to program the show with ease. Sometimes it's tones/cues that aren't fired at the right time, other times it's just how the audio is structured. I listen to a TRN show on the weekend, and the station breaks hard at :30, but it doesn't break quick enough and we usually hear Roy Masters say "The b-" right before break. Another show I listen to is on weekdays, and its network feed is simply a lift of the local flagship station. It's not uncommon that when the affiliate rejoins, I hear the tail end of a promo from the flagship. Once in a while if I'm really lucky, they'll still be doing traffic on the flagship. A lot more networks play commercials underneath the local breaks than I expected too. They really should give the affiliates some breathing room, audio silence for 2 or 3 seconds at least, to break/rejoin. Something compelled me to turn to Roger Hedgecock on KFWB the other day, and a Barracuda.com commercial on the network crashed right into the opening.
One network I almost never hear any of these problems coming from is Premiere, which can probably be attributed to their X-Digital Systems delivery now. They also play music underneath the local spots. They're not beyond missing cues, to the point where they have a log for it. Dave Ramsey's network is also pretty convenient. The feed is 24/7, so no need for taping. The breaks are all hard timed, but they still send tones (which you can hear). Ramsey plays spots under the local avails, probably for his brokered time stations, but I haven't heard any pieces of them due to late cues. I know Citadel uses XDS for their WABC Radio Network, but I don't listen to any of their programs.
One network I almost never hear any of these problems coming from is Premiere, which can probably be attributed to their X-Digital Systems delivery now. They also play music underneath the local spots. They're not beyond missing cues, to the point where they have a log for it. Dave Ramsey's network is also pretty convenient. The feed is 24/7, so no need for taping. The breaks are all hard timed, but they still send tones (which you can hear). Ramsey plays spots under the local avails, probably for his brokered time stations, but I haven't heard any pieces of them due to late cues. I know Citadel uses XDS for their WABC Radio Network, but I don't listen to any of their programs.
