Simulcast
A press agent at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia coined the word simulcast in 1948. This portmanteau of simultaneous and broadcast described a new practice where radio and television networks aired identical programs at the exact same time. NBC and CBS had begun broadcasting some shows to their established nationwide radio audiences while simultaneously sending them to a much smaller but growing television audience. 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 the first true simulcast may well be NBC's We the People. Toscanini's NBC Symphony performance of the 15th of March 1952 stands as perhaps the first instance of radio and television simulcasting of a concert.
Before stereo TV sound transmission was possible, broadcasters used simulcasting to effectively transmit stereo sound to music TV broadcasts. An FM frequency in the broadcast area would be displayed on the screen so viewers could tune their stereo systems to it. The band Grateful Dead and their concert Great Canadian Train Ride in 1970 became the first TV broadcast of a live concert with FM simulcast. In the 1970s WPXI in Pittsburgh broadcast a live Boz Scaggs performance which had audio simultaneously broadcast on two FM radio stations to create quadrophonic sound. The first such transmission in the United Kingdom occurred 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 on the 27th of May 1974 with Van Morrison's London Rainbow Concert. Most stereo capable video recorders made through the 1980s and early 1990s featured 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.
In the mid to late 1990s video game developer Nintendo utilized simulcasting to provide enhanced orchestral scoring for its Satellaview video games. Digital game data was broadcast to the Satellaview unit while partner satellite radio company St.GIGA simultaneously broadcast the musical portion via radio. These two streams combined at the Satellaview to provide a unified audiotrack analogous to stereo. Presently in the United States simulcast most often refers to offering the same programming on an FM and AM station owned by the same entity to cut costs. With solid state AM transmitters and computers it has become very easy for AM stations to broadcast different formats without additional cost. Simulcasts between FM and AM combinations are rarely heard today outside of rural areas. Popular programs will be aired simultaneously on different services in adjacent countries such as The Simpsons airing Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m. on both Fox in the United States and Global in Canada. Entertainment show Ant Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway airs Saturday nights 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 occur when a single announcer broadcasts play-by-play coverage over television and radio. The practice was common in the early years of television but since the 1980s most teams have used separate teams for television and radio. In the National Hockey League three teams currently use a simulcast including the Buffalo Sabres with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray via MSG Western New York. Al McCoy, Chick Hearn, Kevin Calabro and Rod Hundley were the last National Basketball Association team broadcasters to be simulcast. Until his retirement in 2016 Vin Scully's commentary for Los Angeles Dodgers home games was simulcast on radio and television for the first three innings. In greyhound racing and horse racing a simulcast is a broadcast which allows wagering at two or more sites. A regional sports network MASN previously used simulcasts for MLB games played between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals until 2014. A more recent trend by sports broadcasts has been alternate feeds offering different viewing options including specialty camera angles and alternative commentary. In 2021 ESPN introduced a simulcast of selected Monday Night Football games featuring Eli and Peyton Manning joined by celebrity guests.
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. The primary advantage is the elimination of interference while the primary drawback is over-compression resulting in fuzzy pictures. Multiplexing combines multiple program streams into a single broadcast. In many public safety agencies simulcast refers to broadcasting the same transmission on the same frequency from multiple towers either simultaneously or offset by microseconds. This allows for larger coverage areas without needing a large number of channels. It comes at the cost of overall poorer voice quality due to multipath interference known as simulcast distortion. Universities with multiple campuses may use simulcasting for a single teacher to teach class to students in two or more locations using videoconferencing equipment.
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Common questions
Who coined the word simulcast and when did it happen?
A press agent at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia coined the word simulcast in 1948. This portmanteau of simultaneous and broadcast described a new practice where radio and television networks aired identical programs at the exact same time.
What was the first true simulcast of a concert by Toscanini's NBC Symphony performance?
Toscanini's NBC Symphony performance of the 15th of March 1952 stands as perhaps the first instance of radio and television simulcasting of a concert. Actual TV-AM radio simulcasts of the very same Voice of Firestone program began only on the 5th of September 1949.
When did the BBC broadcast its first live classical concert from the Royal Albert Hall on both BBC2 and Radio 3?
The first such transmission in the United Kingdom occurred 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 on the 27th of May 1974 with Van Morrison's London Rainbow Concert.
How does Nintendo utilize simulcasting to provide enhanced orchestral scoring for its Satellaview video games?
In the mid to late 1990s video game developer Nintendo utilized simulcasting to provide enhanced orchestral scoring for its Satellaview video games. Digital game data was broadcast to the Satellaview unit while partner satellite radio company St.GIGA simultaneously broadcast the musical portion via radio.
Which National Basketball Association team broadcasters were the last to be simulcast before retirement or changes in practice?
Al McCoy, Chick Hearn, Kevin Calabro and Rod Hundley were the last National Basketball Association team broadcasters to be simulcast. Until his retirement in 2016 Vin Scully's commentary for Los Angeles Dodgers home games was simulcast on radio and television for the first three innings.