Radio France Networks Its Renovated Broadcast Facility with Clear-Com

Clear-Com® today announces that Radio France, a French public service radio broadcaster, has selected its Eclipse HX and FreeSpeak intercom systems for production communication in the newly-renovated Maison de la Radio broadcast building in Paris. Audiopole, Clear-Com’s French distributor, facilitated the sale to Radio France and will also install the intercom systems.

Maison de la Radio houses over 1,000 offices and 60 studios, supporting the production of seven national radio networks. Radio France plans to implement 10 networked matrices into numerous studios within the next four years. By the end of 2013, new communication systems will already be installed in four different broadcast areas at the facility: Studio 104, France Info, France Inter and the CDM (master control room).

“The size of the building and the fact that each station wanted to work independently from the other posed major communication challenges for Radio France,” explains Jean-Philippe Blanchard, Director of Broadcast Division, Audiopole. “After a thorough assessment of potential intercom systems, Radio France selected Clear-Com for its ability to deliver the functional requirements, especially 64 channels of MADI connectivity, TCP/IP-enabled V-Series control keypanels, an optical fibre redundant ring between intercom matrices and its powerful, seamlessly-integrated wireless system.”

Studio 104 is a large recording studio equipped with an Eclipse HX-Median matrix system as the communications backbone. Connected to the matrix over TCP/IP will be a total of 22 V-Series control keypanels, positioned in all main production areas. Another four V-Series control keypanels will be connected in stereo over AES to both the speaker room and stage room for program monitoring and talkback. Thirteen FreeSpeak integrated wireless beltpacks will be used by the director’s assistants, moderators, sound technicians and lighting technicians around the studio.

Furthermore, France Info and France Inter are dedicated production studios for specific radio channels. Each station, including the CDM, will be equipped with a new Eclipse HX-Delta matrix system and several V-Series control keypanels.