Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...

 operation common among most over-the-air television station

Television station

A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...

s and television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

s. It is distinct from a production control room (PCR) in television studio

Television studio

A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...

s where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated. A transmission control room

Transmission control room

Transmission control room or 'transmission suite', or 'Tx room', or "presentation" is a room at broadcast facilities and television stations around the world. Compared to a Master Control Room, it's usually smaller in size and is a scaled down version of centralcasting...

 (TCR) is usually smaller in size and is a scaled down version of centralcasting

Centralcasting

In terrestrial radio and television broadcasting, centralcasting refers to the use of systems automation by which customised signals for broadcast by multiple individual stations may be created at one central facility.- :...

.

Master control is the final point before a signal is transmitted over-the-air for terrestrial television

Terrestrial television

Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

 or cablecast, satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 provider for broadcast, of sent on to a cable television

Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

 operator. Television master control rooms include banks of video monitor

Video monitor

A video monitor also called a broadcast monitor, broadcast reference monitor or just reference monitor, is a display device similar to a television set, used to monitor the output of a video-generating device, such as playout from a video server, IRD, video camera, VCR, or DVD player. It may or...

s, satellite receivers

Receiver (radio)

A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...

, videotape

Videotape

A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...

 machines, video server

Video server

A video server is a computer based device dedicated to delivering video.Unlike personal computers, being multi-application devices, a video server is designed for one purpose; provisioning video, often for broadcasters. A professional grade video server records, stores, and playout of multiple...

s, transmission equipment, and, more recently, computer broadcast automation

Broadcast automation

Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...

 equipment for recording and playback of television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

ming.

Master control is generally staffed with one or two operators

Operator (profession)

An operator is a professional designation used in various industries, including broadcasting , computing, customer service, physics, and construction. Operators are day-to-day end users of systems, that may or may not be mission-critical, but are typically managed and maintained by technicians or...

 around-the-clock, every day to ensure continuous operation. Master control operators are responsible for monitoring the quality and accuracy of the on-air product, ensuring the transmission meets government regulations, troubleshooting equipment malfunctions, and preparing programming for playout

Playout

In broadcasting, playout is a term for the transmission of radio or TV channels from the broadcaster into broadcast networks that delivers the content to the audience...

. Regulations include both technical ones (such as those against over-modulation and dead air

Dead air

Dead air is an unintended interruption in a radio broadcast during which no sound is transmitted.The term is most often used in cases where program material comes to an unexpected halt, either through operator error or for technical reasons, although it is also used in cases where a broadcaster...

), as well as content ones (such as indecency and station ID).

Many television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

s and radio network

Radio network

There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...

s or station groups have consolidated facilities and now operate multiple stations from one regional master control or centralcasting

Centralcasting

In terrestrial radio and television broadcasting, centralcasting refers to the use of systems automation by which customised signals for broadcast by multiple individual stations may be created at one central facility.- :...

 center. As an example of this centralized broadcast programming system on a large scale is NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's "hub-spoke project" that enables "hub" cities such as New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, and Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 to originate television commercial, breaks and programming for many of its smaller individual stations, thus reducing or eliminating some responsibilities and employees of the local master control at NBC owned & operated (O&O) stations.

Outside of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 (CBC) manages four radio networks, two broadcast television networks, and several more cable/satellite radio and television services out of just two master control points (English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 services at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre

Canadian Broadcasting Centre

The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, located in Toronto, Ontario, is the broadcast headquarters and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English-language television and radio services...

 and French language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 at Maison Radio-Canada

Maison Radio-Canada

Maison Radio-Canada is a skyscraper in Montreal, constructed in 1973 as a home for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's operations in Montreal....

). Many other national broadcasters have taken a similar approach (although the CBC's operation is arguably more complicated than most, with local breakaways on radio and local advertisements on television).

Gallery

• Network Operations Center
  Network Operations Center
  A network operations center is one or more locations from which control is exercised over a computer, television broadcast, or telecommunications network....
  
  
• Central Apparatus Room
  Central Apparatus Room
  In broadcast facilities, a central apparatus room , central machine room, or central equipment room , or central technical area , or rack room is where shared equipment common to all technical areas is located. Some broadcast facilities have several of these rooms...
  
  
• Transmission Control Room
  Transmission control room
  Transmission control room or 'transmission suite', or 'Tx room', or "presentation" is a room at broadcast facilities and television stations around the world. Compared to a Master Control Room, it's usually smaller in size and is a scaled down version of centralcasting...
  
  
• Analog Master Control