Introduction

The European Broadcasting Union has been active in the domain of broadcasting for 60 years. From its Headquarters in Geneva, the EBU has the responsibility of coordinating and supervising the Eurovision and Euroradio Network, from the programme, technical, and legal point of view.

Euroradio is defined simply as the international exchange of high quality digital sound programmes. With this in mind, the Euroradio satellite network came into being on 1 September 1989. To supervise an ever expanding radio network, the Euroradio Control Centre (ERC) commenced operation on 31 August 1994.  An upgraded control centre was built in 2004.

The Network

The Euroradio satellite network utilizes a digital transmission system to maintain the highest audio quality. Initially the network used the 1Mbit/s DS1 standard which was superseded on 1 September 1993 by the 2Mbit/s DSQ system. The 2Mbit/s system, operating in compliance with the J.57 standard. In 2008, the satellite nework was upgraded with APT WorldNetOslo audio codecs, which are designed to transport stereo and 5.1 encodec audio. 

At present there are 42 satellite earth stations in the Network. Euroradio transmissions are carried via two dedicated 2Mbit/s carriers on the Eutelsat W3A satellite at 7º east.

Transmissions

EBU Members consult and order all these concerts via the Internet by means of EBU MUS software. 

In addition, the ERC has a fibre optic link with the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, to facilitate the Europe-wide distribution of the Metropolitan Opera season.

For further information, please contact:
Head of Classical Music: 
Mr Pierre-Yves Tribolet
Tel: +41 (0)22 717 2611
Fax: +41 (0)22 717 2610
tribolet@ebu.ch

Euroradio Control Centre (for network planning/supervision): 
Mr Robert Cutliffe
Tel: +41(0)22 717 2771
cutliffe@eurovision.net