Welcome to rayogram.

When ABC asked rayogram to build its very first website, the network wanted more than a digital brochure. They wanted to explore how the energy of live radio and network news could carry over into the new, experimental world of the web. The result was ABC RadioNet, a pioneering project that blended real-time audio, branded design, and interactive features years before streaming media became mainstream.

In the mid-1990s, the web was not yet built for broadcast. Bandwidth was limited, graphics were primitive, and “multimedia” often meant a handful of static images. ABC wanted to make radio and television feel present online — with familiar anchors, instantly recognizable branding, and actual streaming audio. The challenge was to make it all work in browsers of the era, using tools like RealAudio .ram streams, GIF-based navigation, and carefully optimized HTML.

rayogram designed the main menu around a bold ABC RadioNet banner and interactive image maps, allowing users to click on a U.S. map to access local news feeds. Dedicated sections offered:

• News on the Hour — short audio segments that mimicked radio bulletins.
• World News Tonight — anchored by Peter Jennings, with full-length newscasts and clickable clips for individual stories, published nightly by 9pm ET.
• Soundbox (Live) — a testbed for live audio streaming, one of the earliest uses of internet “broadcasts.”
• Buzz — a quirky, personality-driven page where “our man on the street” reacted to the day’s headlines, complete with downloadable RealAudio quips.

The design language leaned on the ABC look: yellow text against dark backdrops, banners and navigation GIFs, and program-specific graphics (Jennings’ photo, microphones, logos). While rudimentary by today’s standards, it was visually engaging compared to most mid-’90s websites and kept ABC’s broadcast identity front and center.

For audiences, ABC RadioNet offered something genuinely new: the chance to hear live or near-live ABC programming through a web browser. For ABC, it was a public demonstration of innovation, showing that a traditional broadcaster could adapt to digital platforms. The site introduced audiences to on-demand audio and companion content, planting the seeds for what would later become streaming media and network apps.

For rayogram, the project underscored a guiding principle that has carried through decades of work: making technology serve storytelling. By blending design, engineering, and editorial thinking, ABC RadioNet became not just a website, but a first step in reimagining broadcasting online.