This was often the case on overnight and weekend shifts when there was no broadcast engineer present, and all of the time for small stations with only a contract engineer on call. Originally, in the US, many (if not most) broadcast licensing authorities required a licensed board operator to run every station at all times, meaning that every DJ had to pass an exam to obtain a license to be on-air, if their duties also required them to ensure proper operation of the transmitter. The radio transmitter end of the airchain is handled by a separate automatic transmission system (ATS). They can also run in a live assist mode when there are on-air personnel present at the master control, television studio or control room. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator. Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations.
