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Dead Air On WTSH?

DToTheJ

DToTheJ

I am listening to the online stream of WTSH, and I hear a dead air carrier hum, with what sounds like a Spanish station faintly bleeding underneath. I am assuming this is going out over the air, too?

mms://nick11a.surfernetwork.com/WTSH
 
I wonder if this has to do with their CP...?
 
Stations that stream online can't play the same commercials that go out on air. It's a copyright thing. Some stations like WSB sell ad time for their streaming audio. Others just stream dead air.
 
bnaivar said:
Stations that stream online can't play the same commercials that go out on air. It's a copyright thing. Some stations like WSB sell ad time for their streaming audio. Others just stream dead air.
Click to expand...

Is it really a "can't play" or "won't play unless you pay for it" issue? I'm not in the biz, but I find it hard to believe that copyright comes in to play. Whoever creates the ad--the station, or the ad agency--probably doesn't want to restrict exposure unless they are in a position to monetize it (like the station itself that can charge for streaming as an add-on).

Now, more likely are franchise geographic advertising restrictions. Some franchised businesses (e.g., car dealers) have restrictions on where they can advertise geographically, so the World Wide Web is right out. That way a Mercedes dealer in Atlanta can't be heard on a stream and compete with the franchised M-B dealers in other cities. In this day and age it wouldn't be a big deal for someone in Miami to send a fax to RBM asking for a quote for a Benz delivered to his door, if the buyer had heard of RBM through the stream.
 
It's a copyright/royalties thing. I believe talent fees are much higher for the stream. Stations bury it in their costs to advertisers.
 
bnaivar said:
Stations that stream online can't play the same commercials that go out on air. It's a copyright thing. Some stations like WSB sell ad time for their streaming audio. Others just stream dead air.
Click to expand...

As a semi-regular listener to their morning show, I can tell you that:

1. They stream the same over-the-air commercials (which are all local-yokel, for the most part) over the Internet
2. They had another dead air issue a few weeks ago, that lasted about a full week, blacking out all of their programming. I had to tune into a Louisiana station's stream to get my Moby fix this week.
 
The way I understand it, what happened was that voice-talent unions felt that their agreements and pay was based on a certain degree of exposure. Internet streams opened their work to a larger audience than contracts were based on, and they felt they were due additional pay for the additional exposure.

It's similar to how department stores have to change their posters of models regularly because the model is only paid for x many days of exposure.

Personally I think it is a whole lot of hubub for pennies, but I can respect the thought behind it. If internet streams are to be successful, they need to be treated professionally and that includes paying for things.
 
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