AUCKLAND, New Zealand — MediaWorks has 2.4 million weekly listeners across 10 network brands within 22 broadcast markets in New Zealand, with 175 unique content streams broadcast on FM, as well as multiple digital-only services on the digital app, Rova.
We have two primary on-air platforms, with Auckland and Christchurch being primarily Lawo (Ravenna) sites, and the other sites featuring Wheatstone (WheatNet IP) installs. When it was time to retire our aging interstudio (non-Tieline) codecs, the Tieline Gateways were the obvious choice as they can seamlessly handle and translate between Ravenna and WheatNet IP.
We have a magic mix of Tieline Gateway, ViA, Report-IT, Merlin and Commander G3 codecs across our network and have installed WheatNet IP cards in the Merlins and Gateways. We also use TieServer and the Cloud Codec Controller.
In our WheatNet IP markets, it’s easy to plug, play and route. Plus, our Gateways natively support Ravenna, Ember+, AES67, ST2110-30 and ST2022-7, so it’s easy to translate from our Ravenna and Ember+ markets into WheatNet IP and associated logic I/Os (LIOs) for seamless connectivity across the network.
Seamless AoIP solutions
What works well for us is the translation from WheatNet to Ravenna. Sending WheatNet IP streams from a regional Wheatstone site and transforming this into a Ravenna stream in Auckland is priceless. Not having to tie up physical I/O at either end saves significantly on infrastructure costs for I/O devices.
Where Gateways are installed in our Ravenna and WheatNet markets, they are available in the management application of either platform, which facilitates routing to any studio or destination. This means we have true intermarket connectivity, with access to any studio, anywhere, at any time.
Gateways can be configured to support between 8 and 16 channels in pairs. This allows MediaWorks to operate as efficiently as possible, with smaller markets having fewer channels, and the major hubs having more.
Bigger earthquakes can also dislodge entire transmitter sites, including the mountains they are situated on.
Local challenges
The Tieline solution enables the recording of anyone in any studio, anywhere, and at any time, resulting in significant efficiencies for the group. From people in regional markets not needing to wait to record a client, to having people contribute to network shows from any studio within the group. We can also receive audio from remote hosts into a national show from an in-house studio facility. It also allows on-air teams to move around the markets to attend promotional and client events.
Outside broadcast contribution feeds are mostly received from ViA codecs or Report-IT Enterprise app users. We face a range of broadcasting challenges, including extreme weather conditions, patchy 4/5G coverage away from major roads and centers, as well as large hills that are challenging to broadcast through. Not to mention earthquakes that can result in air gaps in fiber networks, sometimes in multiple parts of the country at any time. Bigger earthquakes can also dislodge entire transmitter sites, including the mountains they are situated on.
We don’t have world-class speed or connectivity, so we always face challenges. We primarily use fiber links between market bases, using both One NZ (formerly Vodafone) and 2 Degrees. We use Tieline’s SmartStream Plus redundant streaming with one link on one provider and the other on the other provider. It delivers solid audio.
For 4G/5G links, we dual stream with OneNZ and Spark NZ, plus a third Wi-Fi hotspot on 2 Degrees when we venture into notoriously difficult areas. Very few transmitter sites have fiber connectivity due to their isolated locations, with many sites accessible only by helicopter during the winter months. Where bandwidth allows, we send PCM linear. Where we need to compress, we use Opus at 256 kbps.
Saving the show
I love the Cloud Codec Controller (CCC). With so many ViAs in the market, being able to configure these codecs remotely is essential. A recent trip for one of the regional breakfast shows to New York was saved from not airing thanks to the CCC. It went online, and we handled the rest from Auckland.
I’ve used Tieline for a long time, since back in my Southern Cross Austereo days, and have migrated from other IP audio codecs to Tieline. This is primarily due to the ease of setup, reliability and top support. When other codecs were past their use-by date, my team and I quickly settled on Tieline. The reputation of being a solid and reliable piece of equipment meant there wasn’t much debate. We are now almost totally Tieline for studio-to-studio contribution and distribution.
We always try to squeeze every bit of value out of everything we purchase. Tieline delivers what we need, reliably, for a reasonable price compared to other hardware. Tieline helps ensure reliable, world-class connections, even when using substandard infrastructure. A long relationship with Tieline and fantastic support mean I will continue to be a repeat customer for years to come.
The author is the radio engineering manager at MediaWorks NZ, overseeing studio operations for all MediaWorks sites in New Zealand, as well as ensuring the continuity of programming and local commercial injection. He has been at Mediaworks since 2016, following 10 years at Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) in Perth, Western Australia.
This story originally appeared in the September/October 2025 edition of RedTech Magazine.
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