Distribution of audio or audiovisual content to dispersed audiences
"Broadcast" redirects here. For other uses, see Broadcast (disambiguation).
A broadcasting antenna in Stuttgart
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model.[1] Broadcasting began with AM radio, which came into popular use around 1920 with the spread of vacuum tube radio transmitters and receivers. Before this, most implementations of electronic communication (early radio, telephone, and telegraph) were one-to-one, with the message intended for a single recipient. The term broadcasting evolved from its use as the agricultural method of sowing seeds in a field by casting them broadly about.[2] It was later adopted for describing the widespread distribution of information by printed materials[3] or by telegraph.[4] Examples applying it to "one-to-many" radio transmissions of an individual station to multiple listeners appeared as early as 1898.[5]
Over-the-air broadcasting is usually associated with radio and television, though more recently, both radio and television transmissions have begun to be distributed by cable (cable television). The receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively small subset; the point is that anyone with the appropriate receiving technology and equipment (e.g., a radio or television set) can receive the signal. The field of broadcasting includes both government-managed services such as public radio, community radio and public television, and private commercial radio and commercial television. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, part 97 defines broadcasting as "transmissions intended for reception by the general public, either direct or relayed".[6] Private or two-way telecommunications transmissions do not qualify under this definition. For example, amateur ("ham") and citizens band (CB) radio operators are not allowed to broadcast. As defined, transmitting and broadcasting are not the same.
Transmission of radio and television programs from a radio or television station to home receivers by radio waves is referred to as over the air (OTA) or terrestrial broadcasting and in most countries requires a broadcasting license. Transmissions using a wire or cable, like cable television (which also retransmits OTA stations with their consent), are also considered broadcasts but do not necessarily require a license (though in some countries, a license is required). In the 2000s, transmissions of television and radio programs via streaming digital technology have increasingly been referred to as broadcasting as well.[7]
^Peters, John Durham (1999). Speaking into the Air. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-66276-3. OCLC 40452957. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
^Douglas, Susan J. (1987). Inventing American Broadcasting, 1899–1922. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-3832-3. OCLC 15485739.
^The Hand-book of Wyoming and Guide to the Black Hills and Big Horn Regions Archived 1 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 1877, p. 74: "in the case of the estimates sent broadcast by the Department of Agriculture, in its latest annual report, the extent has been sadly underestimated".
^"Medical Advertising" Archived 1 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Saint Louis Medical and Surgical Journal, December 1886, p. 334: "operations formerly described in the city press alone, are now sent broadcast through the country by multiple telegraph".
^"Wireless Telegraphy" Archived 27 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Electrician (London), 14 October 1898, p. 815: "there are rare cases where, as Dr. Lodge once expressed it, it might be advantageous to 'shout' the message, spreading it broadcast to receivers in all directions".
^Electronic Code of Federal Regulation. (28 September 2017). Retrieved 2 October 2017.
^Maccise, Diana Larrea; Montaser Marai (2018). "Mobile Journalism" (PDF). AlJazeera Media Training and Development Centre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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