SP
So having two services coming out of one building makes things more resiliant than when they came from different locations?
So when a nice man in a JCB cuts the lines that link Newcastle to Leeds, or there's a fire alarm or a bomb scare, both services are off air rather than just one.
So when a nice man in a JCB cuts the lines that link Newcastle to Leeds, or there's a fire alarm or a bomb scare, both services are off air rather than just one.
IT
itsrobert
Founding member
Does anyone know what happened to the late bulletin tonight? I was watching a DVD and when I switched it off, up popped ITV Calendar rather than Granada News. It seemed strange seeing another region, especially the weather map! Was it a case of failing to opt or something more serious?
AN
I believe it started off as Granada News, and then something happened to the picture and it switched to Calendar.
TV
UTV do not tend to resort to another ITV region in the event of problems. During 'The Troubles', UTV was forced off air on a number of occasions due to bomb scares. On such occasions, I recall a number of different scenarios:
(a) a UTV programme menu caption, with no sound;
(b) a standby programme, complete with VT clock where the ad break would normally have been inserted;
(c) black screen, with no sound.
I also recall an occasion in the 1990s where a contractor severed the main power line supplying Havelock House. On that occasion, the analogue signal went black, with no sound *. Note, no blue caption from the transmitter site.
[* not the usual 'black' screen; this was the type of screen that we used to see in the days of closedown, when the picture feed was withdrawn, minutes before the 'snow' appeared].
I do recall one occasion where STV appeared one Saturday morning. This was early-1990s I think. We got STV's ads too. I assumed this was some sort of switching fault; I'm almost certain we got STV's Oracle service too.
Steve in Pudsey posted:
Or the blue "I T V" apology caption - if UTV had a technical problem in the main studio they can use pres, as they have done relatively recently. If the whole building is down then the transmitters will go to the apology caption in the absence of any incoming signal.
UTV do not tend to resort to another ITV region in the event of problems. During 'The Troubles', UTV was forced off air on a number of occasions due to bomb scares. On such occasions, I recall a number of different scenarios:
(a) a UTV programme menu caption, with no sound;
(b) a standby programme, complete with VT clock where the ad break would normally have been inserted;
(c) black screen, with no sound.
I also recall an occasion in the 1990s where a contractor severed the main power line supplying Havelock House. On that occasion, the analogue signal went black, with no sound *. Note, no blue caption from the transmitter site.
[* not the usual 'black' screen; this was the type of screen that we used to see in the days of closedown, when the picture feed was withdrawn, minutes before the 'snow' appeared].
I do recall one occasion where STV appeared one Saturday morning. This was early-1990s I think. We got STV's ads too. I assumed this was some sort of switching fault; I'm almost certain we got STV's Oracle service too.
:-(
A former member
Has any other station (other than UTV that is) been forced off-air due to a bomb scare or similar?
I recall one occasion in 1991 when a live Tyne Tees debate programme was taken off air rather abruptly by Eric Robson announcing that there had been a bomb alert at the studio. The station cut to a hastily-written (and badly centered) fault caption, which persisted for about 25 minutes, followed by an in-vision announcement referring only to "technical difficulties". I'm really not sure what happened that night as there were no reports on it the next day.
I'd imagine this sort of thing would have been fairly common during the troubles in NI -- I remember on trips to Belfast a couple of times when the station cut to the blue caption for half an hour or more.
I recall one occasion in 1991 when a live Tyne Tees debate programme was taken off air rather abruptly by Eric Robson announcing that there had been a bomb alert at the studio. The station cut to a hastily-written (and badly centered) fault caption, which persisted for about 25 minutes, followed by an in-vision announcement referring only to "technical difficulties". I'm really not sure what happened that night as there were no reports on it the next day.
I'd imagine this sort of thing would have been fairly common during the troubles in NI -- I remember on trips to Belfast a couple of times when the station cut to the blue caption for half an hour or more.
SP
*Programmes* have been forced off air, such as Noel's House Party (on the occasion when Noel popped up in the Broomcupboard after a filler programme).
That's Life used to record earlier in the evening before TX. They were evacuated halfway through the recording (which was being taped in the VT area in the basement of TV Centre) so pres ran the tape and had to hope that TV Theatre had had the all clear in time for them to pick up live before the tape ran out.
News 24 had to go to pre-recorded fillers when there was a threat and subsequent explosion outside the news centre at TVC, then came back live from Millbank.
That's Life used to record earlier in the evening before TX. They were evacuated halfway through the recording (which was being taped in the VT area in the basement of TV Centre) so pres ran the tape and had to hope that TV Theatre had had the all clear in time for them to pick up live before the tape ran out.
News 24 had to go to pre-recorded fillers when there was a threat and subsequent explosion outside the news centre at TVC, then came back live from Millbank.
RB
I remember a real dog's dinner of an occasion when Look North West had problems during the 60 Minutes era. They switched, at various times, to BBC Leeds, London and even, for a few seconds to BBC2!
After the Lockerbie disaster (which was during the time that Cumbria got BBC North West) the Cumbria News (there were separate lunchtime bulletins then) was ditched in favour of bulletins from Manchester.. They explicitly said it was because facilities needed to be used to cover Lockerbie.
After the Lockerbie disaster (which was during the time that Cumbria got BBC North West) the Cumbria News (there were separate lunchtime bulletins then) was ditched in favour of bulletins from Manchester.. They explicitly said it was because facilities needed to be used to cover Lockerbie.