Commercial Breaks & Traffic

For stations that run commercial advertising, AutoCast integrates with your traffic system to automate commercial break playback. Your traffic department builds the commercial schedule, exports it to a traffic log file, you import it into AutoCast, and from that point on the # Break command in your program log handles everything — pulling the right spots for the right hour and playing them in order.

How It Works — the Big Picture

A traffic log is a file generated by your traffic and billing software that lists which commercials are scheduled to air in each hour of the broadcast day. AutoCast reads this file and, when it reaches a # Break command in the program log, pulls the spots scheduled for that hour and plays them.

The program log tells AutoCast when to run a break and how long it should be. The traffic log tells AutoCast what to put in the break. The audio files for the commercials live in the Commercials folder of your Station Folder.

The # Break Command

# Break :02:00

When AutoCast encounters this command, it looks at the traffic log for the current hour and assembles a commercial break using spots scheduled for this position, filling up to the specified duration (in this case, two minutes). The spots play in order, back to back. When the break duration is filled (or the available spots run out), AutoCast returns to the program log and continues with the next item.

The time parameter uses the format :MM:SS — minutes and seconds. A three-minute break would be # Break :03:00.

Importing a Traffic Log

Before the # Break command can pull spots, you need to import a traffic log. Go to Settings → Traffic Log Import (the exact location in the Settings window is labeled clearly). The import window lets you:

• Navigate to your traffic log file (generated by your traffic software and typically exported as a text or CSV file)
• Review the mapped spots before confirming the import
• Import the schedule into AutoCast's working copy of the traffic log

Once imported, the traffic log data is used by every # Break command for that day's broadcast. You'll repeat the import process each day as your traffic department produces a new daily log, or whenever the schedule changes.

The Output Log — Your Proof of Performance

Every item AutoCast plays — including every commercial spot — is logged in the Output Log. This file lives at Logs/Output Logs/ in your Station Folder and is named by date. It's a CSV file recording the time each item played, the file path, artist, and title.

For commercial stations, the Output Log is your proof of performance — documentation that each spot aired as scheduled. You can open it directly from AutoCast by pressing O on the keyboard or right-clicking the Message Pad and choosing View Output Log.

The output log is also useful for audits, affidavits, and resolving any "did that spot air?" questions from clients. Keep your output logs archived — they're the station's official record of what went to air.

Commercial Audio File Organization

Spot audio files belong in the Commercials/ folder inside your Station Folder. Keeping them there serves two purposes: first, it keeps your content organized; second, AutoCast color-codes commercial items distinctively in the program log, so you can identify breaks at a glance.

When your traffic system exports a log, the file paths it lists for each spot should point to this Commercials folder (or wherever your station stores commercial audio). Make sure the traffic software and AutoCast agree on where files live — a path mismatch is the most common cause of missing spots.

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