TWC Wipes Out End Of MU Broadcast

[bschlafer]

Oops....

If I we're a MU fan, I'd be upset too.  Wonder what would happen if they tried this at a critcal moment of a Packer game?

*Bill in Milwaukee



Test wipes out end of MU telecast
By Bob Wolfley of the Journal Sentinel
Mar. 12, 2009 4:58 p.m.  


Many Time Warner Cable viewers from around the state of Wisconsin missed seeing the end of the Marquette men's basketball game against Villanova Thursday afternoon on ESPN because an emergency broadcast test was initiated, wiping out the last 40 seconds of game action.

Marquette, playing in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Conference tournament, was clinging to a 75-74 lead and had the ball when the test began. By the time the test was over, Villanova had won the game, 76-75. Viewers missed MU's last possession and Villanova's game-winning shot.

"This was a federally required and randomly executed weekly test that ran on 80 analog channels," said Stacy Zaja, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable of Wisconsin.

Bev Greenberg, a vice president for Time Warner of Wisconsin, said the cable system does not select the times the tests run.

"They have to be random," Greenberg said. "It's required by law."

For viewers of the basketball game, the timing could not have been worse.

"As someone around here said, it was an unfortunate perfect storm," Greenberg said.

Greenberg said about two-thirds of the Time Warner subscribers in the state of Wisconsin were affected. Viewers in Racine and Kenosha, as well as portions of northern Wisconsin, were not affected by the test. Viewers who were watching the game on ESPN HD also were not affected.

[MLTobin]

I usually just read this site and never post, but this drives even me to make a comment.  I was working in my basement today so I was watching the game on an old analog TV.  There was about 30 seconds left on the clock and MU is up.  This test comes on and lasts for exactly 30 seconds and the game comes back on and the Villanova fans are going crazy and the announcers are saying the Refs are checking the monitors to ensure that the shot counted.  If someone wanted to do this on purpose they could not have timed it better.

You have to think that somewhere someone with half an ounce of brain matter could stop this from happening.  I am sure their switchboard lit up after this happened.

[bschlafer]

>If someone wanted to do this on purpose they could not have timed it better.

Hummm...

A quick check on Wikipedia reveals that Time Warner is based in Connecticut.  Just down the road from Villanova University.

Coincidence?  :huh?:


*Bill

[Bluto]

I'm pretty sure Villanova is near Philadelphia, PA.

Regardless, that was a crappy time for a random test.

[techguy1975]

I usually just read this site and never post, but this drives even me to make a comment.  I was working in my basement today so I was watching the game on an old analog TV.  There was about 30 seconds left on the clock and MU is up.  This test comes on and lasts for exactly 30 seconds and the game comes back on and the Villanova fans are going crazy and the announcers are saying the Refs are checking the monitors to ensure that the shot counted.  If someone wanted to do this on purpose they could not have timed it better.

You have to think that somewhere someone with half an ounce of brain matter could stop this from happening.  I am sure their switchboard lit up after this happened.

Actually, no...there is no human intervention with this.  There is a box at the cable headend that spits out the test, it then injects that on almost all the analog channels (except local stations and a few other exception).  They cannot abort it on one channel and display it on others.   The statement by Mrs. Greenburg is correct.   For more information, check out http://www.sbe24.org/eas/wi-dex.asp for the state of Wisconsin EAS plan.

While it is unfortunate, it was unavoidable.

[mrschimpf]

"They have to be random," Greenberg said. "It's required by law."

Really? I find that hard to believe, since from my experience, Charter usually always does their EAS tests either in the hour before primetime at a time where most networks are likely to be in commercial, or around 11:50pm on Wednesday nights, which I can depend on like clockwork (and are usually only victimizing sketch time on the late, late talk shows).

There are still a few times that the interupptions haven't been at the best time, but it's become more controlled in the last couple years.

[techguy1975]

Really? I find that hard to believe, since from my experience, Charter usually always does their EAS tests either in the hour before primetime at a time where most networks are likely to be in commercial, or around 11:50pm on Wednesday nights, which I can depend on like clockwork (and are usually only victimizing sketch time on the late, late talk shows).

There are still a few times that the interupptions haven't been at the best time, but it's become more controlled in the last couple years.

There are two different tests, the Required Monthly Test (RMT) and the Required Weekly Test (RWT).  RMT's are initiated by either NOAA weather radio, or WPR's HQ in Madison.  The RMT's alternate mornings/evenings on the first Wednesday of the month, and are at 8:50am and 11:50pm.  Stations need to relay the test within...I believe 30 minutes after recieving them.  RWT's are initiated by the local broadcaster and need to be random through the week.  They do not need to do a RWT if a RMT is scheduled for that week.

Read the EAS rules on the FCC's site, //www.fcc.gov/eas

[Stanley Kritzik]

Is anyone besides me old enough to remember when NBC dropped Namath and the Jets (at a critical end-of-game poinbt) in favor of Heidi?  That was on purpose, of course, and I don't think the network has ever lived it down.

Stan

[Jack 1000]

Is anyone besides me old enough to remember when NBC dropped Namath and the Jets (at a critical end-of-game point) in favor of Heidi?  That was on purpose, of course, and I don't think the network has ever lived it down.

Stan

LOL!  I never saw it live, but remember the incident from reading about it.  Here is the reference from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game

Jack

[MLTobin]

Actually, no...there is no human intervention with this.  There is a box at the cable headend that spits out the test, it then injects that on almost all the analog channels (except local stations and a few other exception).  They cannot abort it on one channel and display it on others.   The statement by Mrs. Greenburg is correct.   For more information, check out http://www.sbe24.org/eas/wi-dex.asp for the state of Wisconsin EAS plan.

While it is unfortunate, it was unavoidable.

All this means is that the lack of brain matter is further up the food chain.

These things never seem to happen during a presidential address do they?

It is interesting that if I was watching in ESPN HD I would have seen the whole game.  So when nuclear war breaks out all of us who watch HD programs will be left in the dark.  How will we know when to duck and cover?

[WITI6fan]

They can be told when NOT to go off, for things like Super Bowl games and the like.

http://www.broadcast.harris.com/product_portfolio/product_details.asp?sku=wwwsageendec

The manual there explains how these things work. It looks like they can even kill a incoming alert as well.

[techguy1975]

yes, it is true that they can reject a alert when it is received, but they still need to broadcast it at some point.  It is very unlikely TWC has one of these boxes for each channel.  Again, I refer you to the links I posted for the WI EAS plan, and the FCC's website on the rules.   Having a understanding of these will go to show that this was not a deliberate move by TWC to **** off MU fans

[bschlafer]

yes, it is true that they can reject a alert when it is received, but they still need to broadcast it at some point.  It is very unlikely TWC has one of these boxes for each channel.  Again, I refer you to the links I posted for the WI EAS plan, and the FCC's website on the rules.   Having a understanding of these will go to show that this was not a deliberate move by TWC to **** off MU fans

It would seem that something this important would be better executed, between both the FCC, networks and local broadcasters.  It shouldn't be that difficult to schedule these short tests at times of the day when the likelyhood of interupting a live broadcast (such as the MU game) is nil.

I would also question the frequency of the tests.  A gut reaction is that something that requires such frequent tests, must not be that realiable.  Or have ongoing problems that mandate such constant testing.  I hope that's not the case.  But it seems like something as important as the EAS, which has been around awhile, should have the kinks worked out by now.  

But, I also have no doubt that this is a highly complex system and the general public (myself included) doesn't fully comprehend or appreciate the challenges of providing this service.  It just feels like system testing is something that should occur more in the background, instead of busting into normal broadcasting, just to announce another test.  

Interupting a critcal moment of a widely watched sporting event is the type of thing causes more ill feelings toward the FCC and broadcasters and fosters ever increasing cynical feelings towards them.  Not the thing you want when your job is to warn the public of impending danger.

As a child of the cold war, my heart still skips a beat every time that dual tone blares on my TV or radio - thinking that perhaps something really bad is about to happen.   And it's that interupting of a regular broadcast that unecessarily puts extra jolt of fear into it.

They could do this better.  It's all about the execution.


*Bill