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Becoming a Feed Provider

From The RadioReference Wiki

How to Provide a Feed to RadioReference


Getting Started

If you are interested in providing an audio feed to RadioReference.com you need 5 things:

  • A radio pre-programmed that is dedicated to a broadcast feed.
  • A computer with a sound card dedicated to providing an audio feed that can remain online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, preferably on an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
  • A stable broadband internet connection that is online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • An audio cable to connect your radio to your sound card.
  • A software package that we provide that broadcasts your scanner to RadioReference.com.
  • An approved audio feed application (see below)

Applying to Broadcast a Feed

All feeds on RadioReference.com must be approved by our audio administration team. Our feed provider application can be found on your "My Live Audio Feeds" tab on your RadioReference account details page:

If you do not currently have an account on RadioReference.com, you will need to register for one before you can apply for a feed broadcast. You can register for an account here: RadioReference Registration.

When you apply, you will be prompted to accept RadioReference's audio feed broadcaster Terms of Service which covers what you are only allowed to broadcast. If a feed provider violates those Terms of Service, RadioReference reserves the right to immediately terminate the broadcast feed.

Additionally, as part of the feed broadcast application process, It is extremely important that you provide as much detail as possible about your feed in your audio feed application in the applicable entry fields. Otherwise, you risk having your application rejected and deleted.

Technical Details

Please take a moment to review our Broadcasting Feeds article which reviews much of the technical details, policies and procedures that govern broadcasting live audio on RadioReference.com.


Providing a live audio feed does not require a dedicated computer - you can use the computer you normally use as long as you leave it running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to broadcast your feed.

Additionally, providing a scanner feed will not slow down your Internet connection - the digitized audio that is sent to our servers uses only a fraction of the upload portion of your connection... the part of your connection which you use very little of anyways. Providing a scanner feed will use approximately 5GB of bandwidth per month.

Our standard broadcast consists of a sample rate of 22050 Hz, a bitrate of 16 or 32 Bps, and either 1 or 2 channels depending on whether the feed is mono or stereo. Almost always a feed is broadcasted in mono format.

The software that we provide to each RadioReference feed broadcaster is ScannerCast. You can view the setup instructions and download links for ScannerCast here:

RadioReference ScannerCast

Benefits of Being a Feed Provider

There is a significant set of benefits available to you when you provide an approved audio feed to RadioReference.com. When you provide a feed to RadioReference you receive:

  • A solid, scalable broadcast platform designed to support tens of thousands of listeners per feed.
  • An audience of over 500,000 registered RadioReference members and tens of millions of smartphone users.
  • A RadioReference.com Premium Subscription worth $30 a year when your feed is online.
  • Access to detailed charts and statistics about your feed, including listeners per hour, uptime, and max listeners.
  • A full 30 day archive of all of your feed's content split into 30 minute mp3 file segments and readily available for download.
  • A feed provider badge on your RadioReference forums profile.
  • Active promotion of your feed to the RadioReference and social media community when something newsworthy occurs on your feed.
  • A lot of grateful listeners and a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart.

Official Feeds Broadcasted by Public Safety Agencies

If you are representing a public safety agency that is interested in providing your communications as a feed on RadioReference.com, please see follow the process on this page to get started broadcasting.

Those agencies that want their feeds marked as being officially broadcast by the agency should follow the instructions on our official feeds information page:

Official_Feeds

Feed Provider Terms of Service

We've reviewed this before but want to make this clear: there are restrictions on broadcast content that all feed providers must adhere to. They are listed on the feed provider terms of service page:

Feed Provider Terms of Service


Go to Broadcasting Feeds
Return to Live Audio