telecast
TEL-ih-kast
/ˈtelɪkɑːst/
A television broadcast, or to transmit a program by television.
Specifically restricted to television medium, distinguishing it from radio, podcasts, or online streams.
The story behind the word. Coined in the 1930s by combining Greek prefix 'tele-' (far off, distant) with radio term '-cast'. Early television engineers created the term to distinguish visual broadcasts over airwaves from audio-only radio broadcasts.
Word relationships
- television broadcast: Television broadcast is the explicit compound phrase, while telecast is the concise technical noun.
- radiocast: Radiocast is restricted strictly to audio radio transmission.
Commonly confused with
- webcast: Telecast uses television networks and TV signals, whereas webcast uses internet servers and web connections.
Word family
- telecasting (noun): The activity or industry of broadcasting television programs.
Collocations
- live telecast
- national telecast
- prime-time telecast
- telecast rights
Example sentences
- "Millions of viewers tuned in to watch the live telecast of the film awards." Entertainment awards
- "The network plans to telecast the football final in high definition nationwide." Sports broadcasting
Memory hook
TELEvision + broadCAST = TELECAST. A distant television signal. Far-off television broadcast.
When not to use
Do not use for radio broadcasts, podcasts, or internet-only video streams.
Fun facts
- The first televised coronation telecast was for Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, drawing 27 million television viewers in the UK alone.
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