ABSTRACT
Now, the quantity that is lost in the case of failure could simply be time, but in the commercial reality of broadcasting the consumer’s service will be interrupted immediately. The consequences might just then be the consumer’s view of the organisation or their messages. For commercial channels though, those messages are worth money and it would probably be income that is lost from the transmission of a valuable advertisement. Commercial channels will value the advertising of course
and perhaps the sponsorship of programming as well, but also now an increasing number of ancillary ways of deriving income such as real-time coordinated web events. The way noncommercial channels derive their value will be more dependent on their function and will vary between organisations. Subscription channels will place the premium on the programmes. State-sponsored channels or special interest broadcasting such as religious channels, however, might not makemonetary judgements of value but instead be driven by pride and connection with the viewership. The one common link is that all stations will value some, and quite probably all, of their schedule. For the broadcaster there is a second side to the equation
though. Not only can the loss happen instantly, it can continue at a rate that reaches the unbelievable. It is this speed with which immense value can be lost that also plays a part in the design of transmission systems. This is of most direct value in commercial channels of course, but the principles apply across all channel types. In commercial terms, absolute value varies enormously between channels, by material type and by times of day. At its extreme though, millions of dollars can be lost per minute of failure for the most popular services in the highest value positions. It is important to reflect that broadcasting is driven by two monopolies: the monopoly on air time and the monopoly of rights to broadcast material. This keeps general values high in general proportion to the cost of purchasing or
operating the production line equipment. Taking the highest values in the world then, a brief commercial that pays millions of dollars can pay for the entire transmission centre in minutes or even seconds. Very few industrial process chains amortise themselves at anything like this speed. This places particular stresses on those who design and operate broadcast transmission, and defines the nature of the products and systems that are used in the process.
