Off-air

The term "off-air" describes the state of a broadcast service, such as a radio or television station, when it is not transmitting a live or pre-recorded program. This can happen for various reasons, including scheduled downtime for maintenance, technical difficulties, or a station's closure. During an off-air period, listeners or viewers typically receive no audio or visual content from the station, often just silence or a test card. The state implies the service is temporarily unavailable and not actively engaging with its audience. This term is most commonly used for broadcast services.

Off-air meaning with examples

• The radio station went off-air at midnight for its annual transmitter maintenance, leaving only silence on the airwaves. Listeners anticipated its return the following morning. The engineers ensured that the equipment was working flawlessly before broadcasting again. This yearly shutdown is a necessary event.
• Due to a severe storm that damaged the transmission tower, the local television station was unfortunately off-air for most of the afternoon. Technicians worked tirelessly, but could not re-establish the signal before the primetime evening shows were on schedule. All were ready for the next day.
• During the scheduled time, the national public radio station announced it would go off-air for five minutes as a system upgrade would be implemented. Listeners, anticipating the break, expected a flawless restart of the streaming service immediately after.
• After the recent government funding cuts the community radio station was forced to go off-air completely, leaving a void in local programming and significantly impacting local information sharing. Volunteers were dismayed.
• The live broadcast of the sporting event was unexpectedly off-air for several minutes because of a technical fault with the satellite uplink. Viewers were treated to a test card, but could later see the end of the game.