TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Printable Version

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Bluecortina - 21-09-2023

(19-09-2023, 10:23 AM)Stooky Bill Wrote:  Usually they weren't that simple, they were probably sometimes the most complex junction of the day. Some stations has a routine of multiple slides, captions, live reads, music etc.

However as you say if something doesn't work they could just busk it or skip over it. And of course most closedowns weren't time sensitive, if  Channel 4 closed down at 1:37 rather than 1:36 then that wasn't a problem.

To give some historical input I add the following. In my days involving ITV transmission we were very much concerned with the actual off air time because it involved - money. 

Due to Union/Management agreements in force at the time the actual off-air time was very important, the later it became the more the hourly rates increased - from memory in quarter hour increments. It was a long time ago and without checking I think it started at midnight. So, if you went off air at 00.00 there was no extra pay, if you went off-air at 00.01 staff were paid an additional 15minutes pay at an enhanced rate and so on. I think it went up to a maximum of five times the hourly rate of pay.

Additionally, Union staff were rostered a minimum of 10 hours between the end of one shift and the start of another. If that was ‘broken’ then the second shift started at the same hourly rate as the first shift ended. Union staff could not be re-rostered at a very late stage to avoid this. So, the actual off-air time was very important with some members of staff looking very very closely at the clock at the appropriate time. Not me of course.

Of course as time went by these types of arrangements fell by the wayside.

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Steve in Pudsey - 21-09-2023

I think my suggestion that they were simple was from the BBC perspective, everything originated in Con, no outside sources unless there was a PIF.

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Technologist - 21-09-2023

(21-09-2023, 12:42 PM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote:  I think my suggestion that they were simple was from the BBC perspective, everything originated in Con, no outside sources unless there was a PIF.

But the engineers in Presentation also had late night payments ..
And it took at least half an hour to put the network to bed from CAR
….. and until Ceefax was regionalised network had to be going out
To sustain the nations …. Wales in particular…..

And in the early days of BBC 2 there was a tendency for the last programme to overrun
Sometimes for an hour ! (It was often produced by Pres like OGWT)

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Steve in Pudsey - 21-09-2023

The comment was from the point of view that there wasn't a lot to go wrong that couldn't be glossed over, hence few examples of cockups for this thread, rather than getting into late night payments.

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Bluecortina - 21-09-2023

(21-09-2023, 07:02 PM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote:  The comment was from the point of view that there wasn't a lot to go wrong that couldn't be glossed over, hence few examples of cockups for this thread, rather than getting into late night payments.

Yes of course. Technologist and myself are just providing some additional background information concerning the potential additional consequences of close downs not going to Plan A for whatever reason.

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Steve in Pudsey - 21-09-2023

This closedown makes reference to those consequences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrD3ZREoCWY 

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Stooky Bill - 22-09-2023

That's great. He and his director presumably would have got at least half an hour overtime for 3am-3:30am plus night payment, which is hourly.

Then like now, it's 4am where the bigger night time payments kick in.

Shifts like that were very variable depending on how late the channel lasted for. Less so now because I think they have directors 24/7 no matter what the schedules are. But in the nations the channel directors can still finish anytime between midnight and 3am depending on how late network and their own time-shifting goes on for. I am pretty sure engineering cover also works to those times, so the director has someone should it all go Pete Tong

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - dvboy - 22-09-2023

(20-09-2023, 09:39 AM)robertclark125 Wrote:  Not quite the same, but here's one from Granada, from early hours of 30th October 1987 (depending what you term early hours!), with Charles Foster closing down, at 04:55, after some boxing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeN1TW2g9qE&t=189s 

I’m amazed at how many adverts went out for 4.55am, given most people probably turned it off before Jim Rosenthal finished speaking.

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - lookoutwales - 22-09-2023

(22-09-2023, 10:10 PM)dvboy Wrote:  I’m amazed at how many adverts went out for 4.55am, given most people probably turned it off before Jim Rosenthal finished speaking.

Did wonder when it was uploaded if Granada would have ended up bridging the gap to TV-am had the fight gone the distance (an unlikely prospect given the circumstances)

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RE: TV Mistakes/Breakdowns - Bennyboy84 - 24-09-2023

Watching a recent recording of Snakes in the City from Nat Geo Wild and before an ad break the picture froze, then after a couple of minutes went black few more minutes passed until an ad break kicked in then the programme resumed missing out what should have been shown during the frozen/black screen section.

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