Network Switching Equipement

[JGP1954]

I have never worked in TV, but I have worked in radio. I usually watch the CBS Evening News, but lately I've been watching the NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, who's quite good. But, I've noticed at :50 on Nightly News, there's a network-to-local switch. However, it's not been a clean switch on WDIV-Local 4, Detroit, lately. The first few symphonic notes of the NBC chimes have made it on the WDIV air. But that's cool, I remember missing the CBS drop-cue, when I worked in radio, years ago. And, many of us old-timers remember the Mutual Radio drop-cue of "Ba-doop"!

[Lester The Nightfly]

I have never worked in TV, but I have worked in radio. I usually watch the CBS Evening News, but lately I've been watching the NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, who's quite good. But, I've noticed at :50 on Nightly News, there's a network-to-local switch. However, it's not been a clean switch on WDIV-Local 4, Detroit, lately. The first few symphonic notes of the NBC chimes have made it on the WDIV air. But that's cool, I remember missing the CBS drop-cue, when I worked in radio, years ago. And, many of us old-timers remember the Mutual Radio drop-cue of "Ba-doop"!

Welcome to broadcasting in the 2000's. Overworked MC ops, sloppy automation programming, generally not giving a crap about the product. I see the "screensaver" Peacock quite often when they switch to network early. Sometime during an entire break. If there are any MC ops out there, it looks like the Peacock color cycles blues and greens with the chime every 10 seconds until the last one before return to programing which is a full color bird without the chimes. In any event, it happens all over the country, not only at DIV.

[HD74]

MCops? Like McDonalds security?

[SolarMax]

Welcome to broadcasting in the 2000's. Overworked MC ops, sloppy automation programming, generally not giving a crap about the product. I see the "screensaver" Peacock quite often when they switch to network early. Sometime during an entire break. If there are any MC ops out there, it looks like the Peacock color cycles blues and greens with the chime every 10 seconds until the last one before return to programing which is a full color bird without the chimes. In any event, it happens all over the country, not only at DIV.

This is the result of MCR operations being moved to regional "hubs," away from local control, where local management and engineers cared about the on-air look of their station.
The MCR TD's at our local stations were, for the most part, meticulous about making correctly timed breaks with clean ins and outs, whether during local, syndicated or network shows. For example, Encompass in Atlanta or the Scripps hub in Indiana handle switching for dozens of stations, with a single operator in charge of 3 or 4 or more simultaneously. Automated playlists and switching work to a great degree, but an alert TD will know how to adjust the automation to not downcut or upcut segments in a break. It's not that they personally don't give a crap, it's that they do not have a chance or time to clean up a break or do a quick manual override even if they see something amiss. Yup, corporate broadcasting in the Twenty-first Century! Yay.

[Lester The Nightfly]

Welcome to broadcasting in the 2000's. Overworked MC ops, sloppy automation programming, generally not giving a crap about the product. I see the "screensaver" Peacock quite often when they switch to network early. Sometime during an entire break. If there are any MC ops out there, it looks like the Peacock color cycles blues and greens with the chime every 10 seconds until the last one before return to programing which is a full color bird without the chimes. In any event, it happens all over the country, not only at DIV.

This is the result of MCR operations being moved to regional "hubs," away from local control, where local management and engineers cared about the on-air look of their station.
The MCR TD's at our local stations were, for the most part, meticulous about making correctly timed breaks with clean ins and outs, whether during local, syndicated or network shows. For example, Encompass in Atlanta or the Scripps hub in Indiana handle switching for dozens of stations, with a single operator in charge of 3 or 4 or more simultaneously. Automated playlists and switching work to a great degree, but an alert TD will know how to adjust the automation to not downcut or upcut segments in a break. It's not that they personally don't give a crap, it's that they do not have a chance or time to clean up a break or do a quick manual override even if they see something amiss. Yup, corporate broadcasting in the Twenty-first Century! Yay.

Yeah, sorry. I certainly didn't mean to imply the ops were anything less than professional and hard working. It's a intense gig (I pulled a few shifts myself during my career back in the stone age) not made any easier by broadcast companies forcing far too much workload on an already high stress position. It was everything I could do to handle the switching for a couple of feeds, I can't imaging how the folks keep the balls in the air with 3 or 4 at a time. They have my respect and admiration. Their employers squeezing every penny resulting in a sub-standard on air product, not so much...

[radioandtventhusiast]

WNWO in Toledo is the worst with this. Their equipment is now in South Bend. It's not uncommon for them to miss the local break by 5 to 10 seconds. They usually get the break in, but when It's back to NBC programming, a good 5 seconds is missed.

During NBC's Winter Olympic coverage in 2018, the chimes were on screen for a good 30 seconds to a minute. They ran the local break as scheduled, but when the coverage came back on, at least 30 seconds were cut off. I just have to wonder how NBC would feel about faulty technology causing their shows to return late. It's been nearly 5 years since they moved to South Bend and it hasn't really improved.