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BBC One Golf Breakdown, 23/05/09

Breakdown in golf coverage; News Channel simulcast (May 2009)

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JU
jumpinjack
[quote="deejay" pid="618925"]
jumpinjack posted:
Inspector Sands posted:
Brekkie posted:
I'm going to disagree with a lot of posts here.

Firstly, I think opting into BBC News was the obvious thing to do, although they should have had some caption on screen to explain why. Standby programmes are only really suitable if you know you won't be returning to the broadcast at all.


Not really. I don't know what the case is now but for something like live sports coverage they would schedule lots of standbys of varying lengths as well as a full length replacement (in case the event was pulled in advance) and they'd also have some short generic standbys (mostly generic run-anywhere stuff like nature ducumentaries) ready to go. With some standbys they're either short enough to run to a full length even if you might be going back in a few minutes or are suitable for dropping out of.

But going to the news channel is a quite good solution though, as it's easy to get into and out of. For those interested in the golf nothing is a suitable replacement, except perhaps radio commentary if there is some


BBC1 no longer has filler programmes avaliable as channel management don't like them. In this case Pres have nothing to fill with, as was the case when Strictly Come Dancing came off early last year and were forced to fill with trails. There are standby programmes but these would be in blocks of 1/2 an hour or so not 5 minutes so you wouldn't commit to running one of these from a breakdown. You would only run a standby if coverage was going to finish early with some warning. However more often than not a live sporting event on BBC1 are requested to meet their off air time. Also a lot of OB'S these days don't carry a reserve feed due to cost mainly.


Shows just how much Red Bee has become dictated to by channel management and just offering to the client what the client pays for. In years gone by, BBC Presentation would not so much tell the BBC how to run channels, but just do it - no-one argued with them. It was one of the most highly respected departments in the corporation amongst those who knew of its existance and precisely what it (a lot of people in the BBC still don't know what 'pres' is). Not being allowed to run filler programmes and yet no doubt being required to fill is madness. That said, I suppose breakdowns are not that common any more and the audience isn't actually used to seeing filler programmes any more. Unannounced Tom and Jerrys were always a bit of a bonus for me as a kid![/quote

Red Bee actually got knuckles rapped for filling when Strictly came off air 10 minutes early. The BBC said they should have run the next programme billed at 9.30 early. This is madness to me and makes a mockery of having any sort of director if they are not required to keep channels running to time!
DE
deejay
That absolute nonsense from the BBC. Going to the next programme 10 minutes early is bonkers. It used to be the case that it simply was not allowed to go to a programme more than one minute early (and I think 4 minutes late). I get the impression Red Bee is damned no matter what it does as far as the BBC channels are concerned. With channel playout almost completely outsourced in the UK now, it seems that no-one in channel management has any idea how (or why) it's done anymore and so they come up with madness like that!
JU
jumpinjack
deejay posted:
That absolute nonsense from the BBC. Going to the next programme 10 minutes early is bonkers. It used to be the case that it simply was not allowed to go to a programme more than one minute early (and I think 4 minutes late). I get the impression Red Bee is damned no matter what it does as far as the BBC channels are concerned. With channel playout almost completely outsourced in the UK now, it seems that no-one in channel management has any idea how (or why) it's done anymore and so they come up with madness like that!


Exactly it is a real scape goat situation if something goes wrong blame Red Bee. If like on many occasion Red Bee save the day the BBC can take the glory. Damed if you do Damned if you don't. Plus you are right it always was 1 minute early or 4 late to a billed time for a prgramme to start.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
jumpinjack posted:
Plus you are right it always was 1 minute early or 4 late to a billed time for a prgramme to start.


Was that the kind of rule that was there to be broken if the brown stuff hits the fan? I seem to recall the regional news starting early during the June 2000 power cut that took the six off air. Although I guess that could have been the regional centres taking the initiative themselves.
DE
deejay
I think in the case of the 2000 power failure, pres had very little choice. There was very little power at TVC and as far as I recall there wasn't even enough to reliably run any programmes (fillers or otherwise) as by then most tx material was held on servers rather than played out from tapes. ISTR the servers became very unstable following the glitches. Throwing to the regions was probably one of the few things pres could do in those circumstances.
IS
Inspector Sands
deejay posted:
I think in the case of the 2000 power failure, pres had very little choice. There was very little power at TVC and as far as I recall there wasn't even enough to reliably run any programmes (fillers or otherwise) as by then most tx material was held on servers rather than played out from tapes. ISTR the servers became very unstable following the glitches. Throwing to the regions was probably one of the few things pres could do in those circumstances.


No, what I remember from that day, presentation actually stayed powered throughout. The regions were due to opt out anyway and some did early and the analogue networks were switched to the standby programmes in Birmingham although they didn't need to be (I never found out whether it was precautionary or a cock up). IIRC, the digital channels (1, 2 Choice and Knowledge), UKTV and World/Prime all stayed on air throughout, the big problem was powering a studio for news... and of course they didn't know when the remaining power they had was going to go.

At the time the tape was still king and except for a few cases on Choice/Knowledge) everything was still run from tape, although a lot of the time the tape was either run as a backing copy and the server went to air or the copies were split between analogue and digital
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 3 June 2009 10:33pm

10 days later

AS
Asa Admin
Can't believe that there's a no filler policy. What happens if a programme falls off the air with 10/15mins to go and they quickly find out that they won't be able to return? Where a quick filler would suffice, the policy is now to irritate viewers by running the rest of the schedule early? Madness!

Last time I remember it happening was a power failure during This Week when we got a short Alistair McGowan programme. Surely it wouldn't be difficult to have short versions of Outtake TV or Planet Earth or something?

The tennis has finished early on BBC One so we've got a wonderful lineup of programmes including "Homes Under the Hammer" Rolling Eyes

29 days later

JO
Johnnie
Another BBC/golf breakdown, this time on BBC2
NS
nostalgiaguy
Johnnie posted:
Another BBC/golf breakdown, this time on BBC2




Just seen !
TV
The TV Room
Johnnie posted:
Another BBC/golf breakdown, this time on BBC2


For those that didn't witness this, you missed out on a well put together apology caption:

- The font used for the apology text didn't look right;
- The loop of the Seascape visual was an abomination. Unlike the original version, where the loop wasn't very obvious at all, this one is shockingly bad.
JO
Jonny
The TV Room posted:
- The loop of the Seascape visual was an abomination. Unlike the original version, where the loop wasn't very obvious at all, this one is shockingly bad.

Worse than the so badly looped it's funny Zoetrope next pointer?

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w191/2007TopGearDog/BBC2Zoenext.flv
GE
Gareth E
Johnnie posted:
Another BBC/golf breakdown, this time on BBC2


Was it down for long?

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