Ban problematic IP addresses or block entire countries from accessing your radio station. You can also set a maximum duration that people can connect to your stream through the pop-out player to regulate your TLH.
First, make sure you are editing the station where you want to make these changes. Highlight and click the station name to select it. If you are unfamiliar with how to navigate this part of Live365, please see this help article which describes dashboard navigation.
Once you have selected the appropriate station, you will be taken to that station's menu page. From this page, you will be able to navigate and make changes and adjustments to your station.
As a Live365 Broadcaster, you have some control over the location of your listener audience and their stream access. You will find geo-blocking, IP bans, and maximum session duration settings on your Station Menu under Station Settings -> Restrictions
Once on the "Restrictions" page, you will see 3 options from which to choose: Geo-Blocking, IP Bans, and Session Duration.
Geo-Blocking
Geo-Blocking allows you to blanket-ban listeners from certain countries. You can see a list of countries that have connected to your stream in the past month by selecting the "Analytics" option on your Station Menu. On the "Station Analytics" page, select the "Countries" option.
Step 1) From the “I want to” drop-down menu, you can choose “allow” or “block.” If you choose the “block” option, you will be able to exclude countries from accessing your stream. If you choose the “allow” option, you will provide a short-list of countries that can access your stream. You must enter at least one country in the “Countries” textbox. Note that you cannot turn off your stream by not selecting any countries to “allow.”
NOTE: If you want to turn off your stream entirely, you can do so by selecting Sources -> AutoDJ -> Global. Uncheck the "Enable" option. Click the orange "Save Settings" button to update your change.
Step 2) In the “Countries” textbox, type a country name, or scroll through the alphabetical drop-down menu to select a country name. If, for example, you would only like your stream to be accessible to listeners in the United States, then select “allow” from the drop-down menu, then type in “United States” in the Countries textbox.
NOTE: By default, your custom pop-out player and listening from your station profile page are only available to listeners from the United States, Canada, and the U.K. due to the music licensing that we provide.)
Step 3) Click the orange “Save” button to record your changes.
IP bans
In the IP bans tab, you can ban individual listeners by banning their IP addresses. You can view a list of IP addresses that are connected to your stream by selecting Analytics -> Station Analytics -> Listeners from the station menu.
The IP ban will last forever unless you remove it. Note that by banning a listener, it will not automatically remove them from the stream. The removal and ban will take place when their session expires, typically within a few hours depending on your configuration. (See Session Duration section below).
Enter the IP address that you would like to ban, then click the orange “Add to Ban List” button.
NOTE: IP bans can be reversed at a later time by clicking on the "X" on the right next to the IP ban textbox.
Session Durations
You can control the maximum length of the listener sessions. Session Durations allow you to limit how long a listener can stay connected to your stream. For example, if you have a session duration of 4 hours selected, then after 4 hours, the user will be disconnected. If your listener wants to continue listening after the limit, they simply need to reconnect to the stream. This helps to ensure that the listener is actively listening and not just leaving your stream open.
Note: The duration for each user session is determined when that session starts. Any changes made to session length will only affect sessions started after the change went into effect. Preexisting sessions will retain the duration they were originally given.
Live365 broadcasters with lower TLH packages might want to set a shorter session duration to ensure that they don’t go over their monthly TLH limit. Having a lower value may help to decrease your monthly TLH usage. The default value is 6 hours. The maximum is 24 hours.
(1) Choose a session duration from the drop-down menu. You can choose a session duration between 2 hours and 24 hours.
(2) Click the “Save” button to record your changes.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding Stream Restrictions, please contact the Solutions team here.