The earliest recorded instance of a simulcast occurred in 1926 when the BBC transmitted a Halle Orchestra concert from Manchester using the wavelengths of regional stations and Daventry. This experiment predated the formal definition of the term by nearly two decades and demonstrated that broadcasting the same content across different frequencies was technically feasible long before the word existed. Before stereo radio became a standard, engineers experimented with transmitting left and right channels on separate radio channels to create a spatial audio experience for listeners. The BBC often transmitted the same program on its National Service and Regional Network during its earliest days, establishing a pattern of redundancy that would later evolve into complex multi-platform strategies. An early use of the word simulcast appeared in print in 1925, though the practice itself was already underway in the technical laboratories of the era. Between 1990 and 1994, the BBC broadcast a channel of entertainment known as Radio 5, which offered a wide range of simulcasts by taking programs from the BBC World Service and Radio 1, 2, 3, and 4 for simultaneous broadcast. This early era laid the groundwork for the modern understanding of simultaneous transmission, proving that audiences could access the same content through different technical means without losing the core message.
Stereo Sound And Rock History
Before stereo TV sound transmission was possible, simulcasting on television and radio became a method of effectively transmitting stereo sound to music broadcasts. Typically, an FM frequency in the broadcast area for viewers to tune their stereo systems to would be displayed on the screen, allowing them to connect their audio equipment to the radio signal. The band Grateful Dead and their concert Great Canadian Train Ride in 1970 was the first television broadcast of a live concert with FM simulcast, marking a pivotal moment in music history. In the 1970s, WPXI in Pittsburgh broadcast a live Boz Scaggs performance which had the audio simultaneously broadcast on two FM stations to create a quadrophonic sound, the first of its kind. The first such transmission in the United Kingdom took place on the 14th of November 1972, when the BBC broadcast a live classical concert from the Royal Albert Hall on both BBC2 and Radio 3. The first pop rock simulcast followed almost two years later, a recording of Van Morrison's London Rainbow Concert simultaneously on BBC2 TV and Radio 2 on the 27th of May 1974. Similarly, in the 1980s, before Multichannel Television Sound or home theater was commonplace in American households, broadcasters would air a high fidelity version of a television program's audio portion over FM stereo simultaneous with the television broadcast. PBS stations were the most likely to use this technique, especially when airing a live concert, and it was also a way of allowing MTV and similar music channels to run stereo sound through the cable TV network. This method required a stereo FM transmitter modulating MTV's stereo soundtrack through the cable TV network, and customers connecting their FM receiver's antenna input to the cable TV outlet. They would then tune the FM receiver to the specified frequency that would be published in documentation supplied by the cable TV provider. With the introduction of commercial FM stations in Australia in July 1980, commercial TV channels began simulcasting some music based programs with the new commercial FM stations and continued to do so into the early 1990s. These were initially rock based programs, such as late night music video shows and rock concerts, but later included some major rock musicals such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Blues Brothers when they first aired on TV. During the mid 1980s the final Australian concert of several major rock artists such as Dire Straits were simulcast live on a commercial TV and FM station. The ABC also simulcast some programs on ABC Television and ABC FM, including the final concert of Elton John with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In South Africa, the SABC radio station Radio 2000 was established in 1986 to simulcast SABC 1 programming, especially imported American and British television shows, in their original English, before South Africa adopted a stereo standard which allowed secondary audio tracks through the television spectrum. The first cable TV concert simulcast was Frank Zappa's Halloween show on the 31st of October 1981, live from NYC's Palladium and shown on MTV with the audio only portion simulcast over FM's new Starfleet Radio network. Engineered by Mark G. Pinske with the UMRK mobile recording truck, this event showcased the technical ingenuity required to merge visual and audio streams. A later, notable application for simulcasting in this context was the Live Aid benefit concert that was broadcast around the world on the 13th of July 1985. Most destinations where this concert was broadcast had the concert simulcast by at least one TV network and at least one of the local FM stations, ensuring that audiences could experience the event through multiple sensory channels simultaneously.
The term simulcast, describing simultaneous radio television broadcast, was coined in 1948 by a press agent at WCAU TV in Philadelphia. NBC and CBS had begun broadcasting a few programs both to their established nationwide radio audience and to the much smaller though steadily growing television audience. NBC's Voice of Firestone is sometimes mentioned in this regard, but NBC's Voice of Firestone Televues program, reaching a small Eastern audience beginning in 1943, was a TV only show, distinct from the radio Voice of Firestone broadcasts. Actual TV AM radio simulcasts of the very same Voice of Firestone program began only on the 5th of September 1949. A documented candidate for first true simulcast may well be NBC's We the People. Toscanini's NBC Symphony performance of the 15th of March 1952 is perhaps a first instance of radio TV simulcasting of a concert, predating the much heralded rock concert simulcasts beginning in the 1980s. It could, however, be argued that these Toscanini presentations with admission controlled by NBC, as with all its programming, were no more public concerts than NBC's Voice of Firestone broadcasts beginning in 1949, or its Band of America programs, which were simulcast starting the 17th of October 1949. Likewise Toscanini's simulcast NBC presentation of two acts of Verdi's Aida on the 3rd of April 1949 demonstrated the potential for high culture to bridge the gap between audio and visual media. The evolution of the term from a technical description to a ubiquitous broadcasting strategy reflects the rapid technological advancements of the mid 20th century. As television sets became more common, the need to reach audiences across different platforms became a priority for networks seeking to maximize their reach and revenue. The early experiments with simulcasting laid the foundation for the complex media ecosystems that exist today, where content is distributed across multiple channels simultaneously to ensure maximum audience engagement.
Modern Cost Cutting And Sports
Presently, in the United States, simulcast most often refers to the practice of offering the same programming on an FM and AM station owned by the same entity, in order to cut costs. With the advent of solid state AM transmitters and computers, it has become very easy for AM stations to broadcast a different format without additional cost; therefore, simulcast between FM AM combinations are rarely heard today outside of rural areas, and in urban areas, where often the talk radio, sports radio, or all news radio format of an AM station is simulcast on FM, mainly for the convenience of listeners in office buildings in urban cores which easily block AM signals, as well as those with FM only tuners. In another case, popular programs will be aired simultaneously on different services in adjacent countries, such as animated sitcom The Simpsons, airing Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on both Fox in the United States and Global 1989 to 2018 and Citytv 2018 to 2021 in Canada and entertainment show Ant Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, airing Saturday nights at various times between 7:00 pm and 7:30 pm on ITV in the United Kingdom and Virgin Media One in the Republic of Ireland. In sports, such as American football and baseball, simulcasts are when a single announcer broadcasts play by play coverage both over television and radio. The practice was common in the early years of television, but since the 1980s, most teams have used a separate team for television and for radio. In the National Hockey League, three teams currently use a simulcast: The Buffalo Sabres, with play by play announcer Dan Dunleavy and analyst Rob Ray via MSG Western New York; The Carolina Hurricanes, with play by play announcer Mike Maniscalco and analyst Tripp Tracy via FanDuel Sports Network South; and The Dallas Stars, with play by play announcer Josh Bogorad and analyst Daryl Reaugh via Victory+. Al McCoy of Phoenix, Chick Hearn of Los Angeles, Kevin Calabro of Seattle and Rod Hundley of Utah were the last National Basketball Association team broadcasters to be simulcast. Until his retirement in 2016, the first three innings of Vin Scully's commentary for Los Angeles Dodgers home and NL West road games were simulcast on radio and television, with the remainder of the game called by Scully exclusively for television viewers. For the final game before his retirement, Scully's commentary was simulcast on the radio for the entirety of the game. In the 2021 season, the Toronto Blue Jays broadcast the audio of the Sportsnet play by play with Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez over their radio network in what was stated to be a COVID 19 related measure. Media outlets disputed the decision and felt it was actually a cost cutting move by Blue Jays and Sportsnet owner Rogers Communications, as the team had maintained dedicated radio broadcasts in 2020 with a remote crew. As all NFL television broadcasts are done by the national networks or via cable, there are no regular TV to radio football simulcasts. In order to ensure that all of a particular team's games are available on free to air television in their home market, NFL rules require that games not aired by a broadcast television network be simulcast on a broadcast station in the main market of each participating team. In greyhound racing and horse racing, a simulcast is a broadcast of a greyhound or horse race which allows wagering at two or more sites; the simulcast often involves the transmission of wagering information to a central site, so that all bettors may bet in the same betting pool, as well as the broadcast of the race, or bet from home as they watch on a network such as TVG Network or the Racetrack Television Network. The regional sports network MASN previously used simulcasts for MLB games played between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, regional rivals who share the same market and broadcaster. MASN and MASN2 simulcast a single feed of the games with a commentary team featuring personalities from both teams, featuring Jim Hunter and Bob Carpenter alternating play by play duties, and the teams' color commentators. This arrangement ended in 2014, with both channels now originating their own Orioles and Nationals specific telecasts as normal. A more recent trend by sports broadcasts have been alternate feeds offering different viewing options, including specialty camera angles, alternative commentary, or enhanced in game statistics and analysis. In 2021, ESPN introduced a simulcast of selected Monday Night Football games featuring Eli and Peyton Manning, joined by celebrity guests; the success of these broadcasts prompted ESPN to extend the format to other sports, with the Mannings' production company Omaha Productions being involved in some of these broadcasts.
Wrestling And Global Events
Following the acquisition of the assets of the professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling by the rival World Wrestling Federation, a segment simulcast between their two flagship programs WCW Monday Nitro on TNT and the WWF's Raw on TNN on the 26th of March 2001, featured WWF owner Vince McMahon addressing the sale, only for his son Shane McMahon to reveal in universe that he had bought WCW instead, setting up an Invasion storyline to begin integrating WCW talent and championships into WWF. It is not uncommon for broadcasters to simulcast a particular program, such as a marquee event or special, across all of their networks as a roadblock in an effort to maximize ratings by preventing self cannibalizing counterprogramming. For example, Paramount Global and corporate predecessor Viacom has simulcast award shows produced by its flagship properties across its cable channels, such as the MTV Video Music Awards and Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Certain events, particularly major charity appeals such as Hope for Haiti Now and Stand Up to Cancer, may be jointly simulcast by a consortium of networks in order to ensure a wide audience. Radio programs have been simulcast on television since the invention thereof however, as of recent, perhaps the most visible example of radio shows on television is The Howard Stern Show, which currently airs on Sirius Satellite Radio as well as Howard TV. Another prominent radio show that was simulcast on television is Imus in the Morning, which until the simulcast ended in 2015, aired throughout the years on MSNBC, RFD TV and Fox Business Network, in addition to its radio broadcast distributed by Citadel Media. Multiple sports talk radio shows, including Mike Mike, The Herd with Colin Cowherd and Boomer and Carton also are carried on television, saving those networks the burden of having to air encores of sporting events or other paid sports programming which may draw lower audiences. In New Zealand, breakfast programme The AM Show airs on television channel Three and was simulcast on radio station Magic Talk; both networks were owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand until December 2020, when Three was sold to Discovery, Inc. In 2022, the programme was rebranded as AM and ceased simulcasting on Magic Talk, becoming a TV only format. During apartheid in South Africa, many foreign programmes on SABC television were dubbed in Afrikaans. The original soundtrack, usually in English, but sometimes in German or Dutch was available on the Radio 2000 service. This could be selected using a button labeled simulcast on many televisions manufactured before 1995. The intersection of entertainment, politics, and technology in these examples highlights the versatility of simulcasting as a tool for reaching diverse audiences across different media platforms.
Technical Evolution And Safety
On cable television systems, analog digital simulcasting means that analog channels are duplicated as digital subchannels. Digital tuners are programmed to use the digital subchannel instead of the analog. This allows for smaller, cheaper cable boxes by eliminating the analog tuner and some analog circuitry. On DVRs, it eliminates the need for an MPEG encoder to convert the analog signal to digital for recording. The primary advantage is the elimination of interference, and as analog channels are dropped, the ability to put 10 or more SDTV or two HDTV, or various other combinations channels in its place. The primary drawback is the common problem of over compression resulting in fuzzy pictures and pixelation. Multiplexing, also sometimes called multicasting, is something of a reversal of this situation, where multiple program streams are combined into a single broadcast. The two terms are sometimes confused. In universities with multiple campuses, simulcasting may be used for a single teacher to teach class to students in two or more locations at the same time, using videoconferencing equipment. In many public safety agencies, simulcast refers to the broadcasting of the same transmission on the same frequency from multiple towers either simultaneously, or offset by a fixed number of microseconds. This allows for a larger coverage area without the need for a large number of channels, resulting in increased spectral efficiency. This comes at the cost of overall poorer voice quality, as multiple sources increase multipath interference significantly, resulting in what is called simulcast distortion. Most stereo capable video recorders made through the 1980s and early 1990s had a simulcast recording mode where they recorded video signals from the built in TV tuner and audio signals from the VCR's audio line in connectors. This was to allow one to connect a stereo FM tuner that is tuned to the simulcast frequency to the VCR's audio input in order to record the stereo sound of a TV program that would otherwise be recorded in mono. The function was primarily necessary with stereo VCRs that didn't have a stereo TV tuner or were operated in areas where stereo TV broadcasting wasn't in place. This was typically selected through the user setting the input selector to Simulcast or Radio mode or, in the case of some JVC units, the user setting another audio input switch from TV or Tuner to Line. In the mid to late 1990s, video game developer Nintendo utilized simulcasting to provide enhanced orchestral scoring and voice acting for the first ever integrated radio games, its Satellaview video games. Whereas digital game data was broadcast to the Satellaview unit to provide the basic game and game sounds, Nintendo's partner, satellite radio company St.GIGA, simultaneously broadcast the musical and vocal portion of the game via radio. These two streams were combined at the Satellaview to provide a unified audiotrack analogous to stereo. The technical evolution of simulcasting from simple audio duplication to complex multi platform integration reflects the rapid advancements in broadcasting technology and the increasing demand for high quality, accessible content across various devices and environments.