WXYC's Simulcast
WXYC began simulcasting its off-air signal in the fall of 1994, using the Cu-SeeMe utility developed at Cornell University. We went official on November 7, 1994, becoming the first radio station in the world to offer a live Internet simulcast of an off-air signal.
In 1995 we upgraded to a Streamworks encoder/server setup with support from Xing Technologies, broadcasting a 16K signal around the globe.
In the years since then we've received correspondence from listeners in Japan, Australia, Puerto Rico, the U.K., Israel, Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Africa, Portugal, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, Italy, Germany, Brazil and many others.
Shouts out to Mike Shoffner and David McConville for providing mental feats, technical support and sweat equity in getting the original simulcast up and running. They initiated the project in a discussion with WXYC management on August 18, 1994 and testing began soon afterward, using an FM tuner at SunSite to feed the audio signal into a machine running Cu-SeeMe.
Other radio stations have also claimed to be the "first on the Internet" — however WXYC feels that research bears out our right to the title. KJHK at The University of Kansas has made the claim, but the university's own documentation indicates that KJHK began its Internet broadcast on Dec. 3, 1994, almost a month after WXYC. WREK at Georgia Tech connected to its first Internet client on Nov. 7, 1994, the same day WXYC went official with its Internet broadcast. By WREK's own admission, they did not go official until several months later.
Hobbes' Internet Timeline cites WXYC as one of the first stations to "start rockin' (rebroadcasting) round the clock on the Net" in 1994.
As Gavin reported on September 13, 1996: "On November 7, 1994, WXYC/FM-Chapel Hill, N.C. became the first radio station to simulcast 24-hour programming on the air and on the global computer network. The college station viewed it as an experiment and an indication of what the Internet could be."
WXYC even made an appearance on Jeopardy on April 20, 2004. The clue: "It's believed that in 1994 WXYC in Chapel Hill in this state became the first radio station to webcast." The answer, of course, is "What is North Carolina?"
Historical Documents
- The Golden Days of (Internet) Radio by Michael Shoffner, November 2, 1994
- Walking a Thin Line: Is There a Safety.Net for Internet Retransmitters of Off-Air Radio? by David McConville, spring semester 1995
Celebrating Three Decades of Internet Radio
What began as an experiment in 1994 has grown into more than three decades of continuous internet broadcasting. WXYC has been streaming to listeners around the world since before most people had even heard of the World Wide Web. In 2004, to mark our first ten years online, we released Bandwidth: Celebrating 10 Years of Internet Radio on WXYC-Chapel Hill, a commemorative compilation featuring artists who have graced our airwaves. We also hosted a panel discussion with some of the pioneers who helped get our webcast going back in 1994, covering topics from the early days of audio streaming to then-emerging subjects like podcasting.
Now, over thirty years later, our internet simulcast remains a vital part of how we connect with listeners far beyond the reach of our FM signal. The technology has evolved—from Cu-SeeMe to RealAudio to modern high-quality streams—but our commitment to bringing adventurous, eclectic programming to the world remains unchanged.
