Dead air
Encyclopedia
Dead air is an unintended interruption in a radio broadcast during which no sound (i.e. an unmodulated carrier wave
) is transmitted.
The term is most often used in cases where program material comes to an unexpected halt, either through operator error or for technical reasons, although it is also used in cases where a broadcaster has 'dried up'. Among professional broadcasters, dead air is considered one of the worst things that can occur.
Dead air can also apply to television broadcasting, generally when a television channel has an interruption to its output, resulting in a blank screen or in the case of digital television
, a frozen image, until output is restored or an apology message is broadcast.
Having dead air during commercials or sponsorship announcements can cost networks considerable advertising revenue.
Virgin Radio
(now known as Absolute Radio) station. As a promotional stunt
, Evans did not arrive for work, and his show went to air carrying nothing for about 25 minutes.
Another case was BBC Radio 4
's failure to broadcast Big Ben
's midnight chimes on New Year's Day
2003; after the chimes were announced, a technical error caused the station to fall silent for a minute. This was caused by the correct feed not being faded up. The chimes were supposed to be coming via a new link which the BBC
had installed to Westminster
to avoid dead air.
On September 11, 1987, Dan Rather
walked off the set of the CBS Evening News
when a late running U.S. Open
tennis match threatened to delay the start of his news broadcast. The match then ended sooner than expected but Rather was gone. The network broadcast six minutes of dead air before Rather was found and returned to the studio. There was considerable criticism of Rather for the incident.
One significant case of dead air during a Super Bowl
was during Super Bowl XLV
in 2011, when WCHK-FM
, a station in the Green Bay, Wisconsin
area, announced it would counterprogram the game with dead air, since the hometown Packers
were in the game. (The Packers would defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers
31-25).
Carrier wave
In telecommunications, a carrier wave or carrier is a waveform that is modulated with an input signal for the purpose of conveying information. This carrier wave is usually a much higher frequency than the input signal...
) is transmitted.
The term is most often used in cases where program material comes to an unexpected halt, either through operator error or for technical reasons, although it is also used in cases where a broadcaster has 'dried up'. Among professional broadcasters, dead air is considered one of the worst things that can occur.
Dead air can also apply to television broadcasting, generally when a television channel has an interruption to its output, resulting in a blank screen or in the case of digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
, a frozen image, until output is restored or an apology message is broadcast.
Having dead air during commercials or sponsorship announcements can cost networks considerable advertising revenue.
Examples
An example of dead air was a Chris Evans radio transmission for the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
(now known as Absolute Radio) station. As a promotional stunt
Stunting (broadcasting)
In radio broadcasting, stunting occurs when a station abruptly airs programming that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play...
, Evans did not arrive for work, and his show went to air carrying nothing for about 25 minutes.
Another case was BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's failure to broadcast Big Ben
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
's midnight chimes on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
2003; after the chimes were announced, a technical error caused the station to fall silent for a minute. This was caused by the correct feed not being faded up. The chimes were supposed to be coming via a new link which the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
had installed to Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
to avoid dead air.
On September 11, 1987, Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
walked off the set of the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
when a late running U.S. Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
tennis match threatened to delay the start of his news broadcast. The match then ended sooner than expected but Rather was gone. The network broadcast six minutes of dead air before Rather was found and returned to the studio. There was considerable criticism of Rather for the incident.
One significant case of dead air during a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
was during Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
in 2011, when WCHK-FM
WCHK-FM
WCHK-FM redirects here. For the stations in the Atlanta, Georgia area that previously carried these calls, please see WWVA-FM and WNSY. For the AM station with these calls, please see WCHK ....
, a station in the Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
area, announced it would counterprogram the game with dead air, since the hometown Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
were in the game. (The Packers would defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
31-25).