Introduction to webcasting

INTRODUCTION TO WEBCASTING INTRODUCTION TO WEBCASTING By Reginald Dennis Miles B A , Columbia College, 1997 Radio’s ability to survive as a broadcast medium will be the result of radio’s embrace of we[.]

INTRODUCTION TO WEBCASTING By Reginald Dennis Miles B.A., Columbia College, 1997 Radio’s ability to survive as a broadcast medium will be the result of radio’s embrace of webcasting technology Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, With a Major in Media Communications Governors State University University Park, IL 60466 2000 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: History Of The Internet .6 The Emergence Of The Internet Mass Communication: The Three Ages The Internet's Universal Language 12 The Internet And Webcasting Opportunity .14 Beyond Local Reach; New Revenues For Broadcasters 20 Webcasting Advantage For Broadcasters And Advertisers 22 What Is Webcasting Technology? 23 Streaming Technology .23 On-Demand Technology 25 Push Technology 26 Commercial Radio Webcasting .27 The Webcaster Manager 30 The Reemerging Role Of The Announcer 32 The Webcasting Process 33 Noncommercial Radio 35 Webcasting Project For Wkkc Fm 89.3 36 Discovering The Webcasting Process 38 The Wkkc Fm Webcasting Project 40 Putting The Pieces Together 43 On To The Website 47 Some Final Thoughts .48 Glossary 49 Bibliography 53 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE ARBITRON GRAPH ……………………………………………………… …………… 15 FIGURE ARBITRON GRAPH .15 FIGURE ARBITRON GRAPH .15 FIGURE BASIC AUDIO CHAIN 33 Figure Streaming Audio-Signal Configuration 44 INTRODUCTION: We are in an era of digital broadcasting and change The whole notion of broadcasting is likely to be turned upside down as different media (satellites, microwave, cable, and broadcasting) aggressively compete while the Internet steadily moves into worldwide dominance Broadcasting as we now know it will be changed Today radio is a simple, ubiquitous part of daily life, bringing news, information, and entertainment to millions Yet early radio was frustrating and cumbersome, characterized by poor fidelity and unreliable reception Nevertheless, no one could get enough In many ways, webcasting is following in the footsteps of its precursor Given enough perseverance and enthusiasm its balky, low fidelity, non-portable attributes should improve over time making webcasting as universal and commonplace as radio is today but with the significant addition of interactivity The aspect of broadcasting a radio signal over the Internet is the primary focus of this paper Academic research on the subject of Webcasting is limited Studies are in progress at the writing of the paper However, in this paper we will describe webcasting as it relates to radio and discuss the technology, business and management issues associated with broadcasting an audio signal via the Internet We will also explore the impact of webcasting technology on radio’s ability to survive as a broadcast medium and the effect of webcasting on non-commercial radio Radio’s ability to survive as a broadcast medium will be the result of radio’s embrace of webcasting technology This paper will also document the process of placing an educational non-commercial station WKKC FM 89.3 Kennedy-King College, Chicago on the Internet Broadcasting via the transmission of radio waves in the air will not be replaced This is a vital element of man’s existence For example, in the event of a natural disaster the battery-powered mobile transistor radio will readily link man to the world of communications when cable and telephone lines are destroyed through a natural disaster The following perspective from Clea Simon of the New York Times speaks to the emergence of web radio Radio at 105 years of age is our oldest electronic medium Radio is audio transmitted over airwaves Web radio is not; it's a changeling, a powerful new means of broadcasting audio Radio, by its nature, has been limited by space, or distance from a tower or transmitter, and by time, since traditional stations present shows in sequence Web radio is limited by neither Because of its medium -telephone or cable lines it does away with the geographic restrictions of radio And because of the computer's virtually unlimited storage capacity, Web radio can archive nearly any number of programs indefinitely and offer them for access at any time Moreover, because the world, not to mention our government, has been unable to agree on how to regulate the Internet, Web radio is exempt from FCC licensing and restrictions Any hacker is free to set up a guerrilla site, and listeners will be able to tune in from around the world “Is Webcasting a threat to radio? Not likely yet Despite recent Wall Street hoopla over Internet-related stock offerings many industry observers see no threat to over-the-air radio from webcasting ventures Other analysts, however, say Webcasting might establish a real foothold with the at-work listening audience Still others are concerned that technological advances could allow portable handheld pagers to stream audio, effectively creating a 21st century version of the transistor radio”, states Tony Sanders (1999) of Gavin.com Lawrence Magne (1998) in “Passport to Web Radio” explains that the technological evolution of radio shows us that consumers gravitate to mobile audio and resist tethered audio To hear a simple radio station on the Internet calls not only for being tethered to a phone line and a power cord, but also a desk full of technological gear designed for on- screen and print video So while Web radio makes engineering sense and has a certain novel appeal, it does not yet fit into the established pattern of human behavior (p 136) However, the development of new wireless technologies with capabilities of receiving Internet signals and limitless options for listeners on the Internet, will increase the potential of Webcasting to become a significant threat to over the air broadcasting according to Harry Martin (2000) in Broadcast Educational Radio magazine (p 24) Lawrence Magne (1998) concludes while it may be tempting to write off traditional radio, chances are that it will continue to coexist comfortably with global Web radio precisely because FM and AM excel with local audiences and advertisers (p 137) Internet broadcasting or webcasting is a new method of sending data (audio, video, or text) over the Internet Webcasting extends the computer’s usefulness into the area of mass communication and distribution of information Webcasting allows the computer to become a broadcast technology, a mass medium enabling communication from one source or broadcasters to many receivers at the same time Webcasting simply is the latest product of the evolution of computer technology This new age of communication did not exist four years ago and now thousands of Web sites and hundreds of broadcasters are webcasting to online audiences The challenge to radio’s survival is the integration of the Internet into the present broadcast operations to find new audiences and mainly as a source of new revenues Radio broadcasting has a new life and powerful ally in competing with media which historically minimized radio’s ability to support itself The Internet is the single most prolific communication entity with the power to integrate all eight mass media into a single communication element HISTORY OF THE INTERNET The Internet had its roots during the 1960s as a project of the United States government's Department of Defense, to create a non-centralized network designed to survive partial outages (i.e nuclear war) and still function when parts of the network were down or destroyed This project was called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), created by the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency established in 1969 to provide a secure and survivable communications network for organizations engaged in defense-related research In order to make the network more global a new sophisticated and standard protocol was needed They developed IP (Internet Protocol) technology, which defined how electronic messages were packaged, addressed, and sent over the network The standard protocol was invented in 1977 and was called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) TCP/IP allowed users to link various branches of other complex networks directly to the ARPANet, which soon came to be called the Internet Researchers and academics in other fields began to make use of the network, and eventually the National Science Foundation (NSF), which had created a similar and parallel network called NSFNet, took over much of the TCP/IP technology from ARPANET NSFNet established a distributed network of networks capable of handling far greater traffic ARPANet grew during the 1970s, and was upgraded to a high-speed network by linking several powerful supercomputer stations called nodes In 1985, the National Science Foundation (NSF) began a program to establish Internet access across the United States They created a backbone called the NSFNET and opened their doors to all educational facilities, academic researchers, government agencies, and international research organizations The Defense Communications Agency shut down ARPANet in 1989 due to limited funding and support from the military By the 1990s the Internet experienced explosive growth It is estimated that the number of computers connected to the Internet was doubling every year By mid-1994 the Internet connected an estimated two million computers in more than 100 countries, serving some 23 million users Many commercial computer network and data services also provided at least indirect connection to the Internet THE EMERGENCE OF THE INTERNET The evolution of the Internet has had an impact on traditional media Broadcasters have found that the web is attracting large numbers of people and they are searching for ways to capitalize on it Radio, which has seen enormous changes in the last few years, sits at a unique moment in its history While ownership consolidation has led to an entirely new way of constructing radio entities, for the first time radio as a medium is being targeted with audio alternatives “With Internet radio, digital satellite radio, and other delivery systems, radio is on the verge of facing the kinds of challenges that print and television have been facing for years”, according to Arbitron and Edison Research (1998) Additionally, the Number of radio webcasters on the Internet continues to grow New statistics released by BRS Media’s Web Radio portal site (2000) show that a record number of radio stations are now broadcasting over the Internet According to the report over 3,500 radio stations are currently 'broadcasting' their signal on the Internet, up from 2,261 stations a year ago and a mere 56 in 1996 While half of the radio webcasters are US- or Canadian-based stations the healthiest growth continues to come from Internet-only and international broadcasters Many companies that own radio and television stations have responded to the introduction of this new technology by jumping aboard the web site bandwagon Stations have attempted to stay competitive in their respective markets by incorporating the web into their broadcast operations In an article entitled “Webcasting Now,” author Harry Martin (2000) adds to the impact of webcasting this way “Web Radio has the potential to permanently change the way we listen Web radio will soon deliver better than FM audio with thousands of listening choices” It is the choices, which will allow consumers the best advantage Internet stations will make the visits to other parts of the world as simple as a point and click” (p 24) MASS COMMUNICATION: THE THREE AGES Rick Ducey (1998) of the National Association of Broadcasters states in “Internet Age Broadcaster” that mass communications has gone through three different ages These ages are similar in some ways and different in others The ages are the Newspaper Age, Broadcast Age and the age we have just entered, the Internet Age (p 7) Modern mass media began 150 years ago with the launch of the penny press This was the beginning of the Newspaper Age Using Industrial Revolution technologies and the mass production economies of the factory, huge numbers of newspapers could be printed and distributed inexpensively The cost was generally a penny to consumers hence the name “Penny Press.” The next age of broadcasting began about 75 years ago when the first commercial radio station signed on in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The enabling technology behind the move to the Broadcast Age was the invention of the radio set Ducey (1998) elaborates, “In a sense, what radio and television broadcasting does is to provide electronic copies of programs in consumers homes in real-time Instead of printing only one newspaper a day in the Broadcast Age, we can turn on our radio or television and experience real-time, constantly updated content It’s like a living newspaper (p 8) People rely on radio as a personal companion with the ability to have a round the clock, constantly updated newspaper The Broadcast Age plays a major role in the average person’s life Altogether advertisers, consumers, and institutions will spend 353 billion on newspapers, broadcasting, cable, home video, magazines, books, video games, and online services Also, the average U.S household can receive nearly 45 television channels and nearly as many radio stations The average person will spend 40 percent of their time listening to radio and watching television in a typical week That’s 3,500 hours per year according to the Ducey (1998) and the National Association of Broadcasters (p 8) The Broadcast Age created a huge demand for real-time information However, with the advance of technology in the Broadcast Age the emergence of digital technology and computers has created a new shift towards information on demand The ability to control what, when, and how many times information is received and viewed is an advantage of digital age technology Mass media, according to Negroponte (1998), will be redefined by systems for transmitting and receiving personalized information and entertainment (pp.168-170) Enter the Internet Age In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee with a background of system design in real-time communications and text processing software development invented the World Wide Web, an internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory Tim-Berners-Lee wrote the first web client (browser-editor) and server in 1990 Today the coding is the heart of the Internet The World Wide Web according to Vivian (1996) has emerged as the eighth major mass medium The Web is an interface for computers that allow people anywhere to connect to any information anywhere else on the system This enables the Web to be more flexible than other media The Web operates on a global internet that links many far-flung computer networks The system of connected internets or local networks of computers forms the Internet (pp.221) In the Broadcast Age, the distribution process of media information was moved directly into the home In the Internet Age, every aspect of the information process, the editorial office, graphic design, layout, composition, and the mailroom will move into the