I was watching cable this afternoon and a monthly EAS test came up. Gave it little thought but after 6 times in two hours I begin to wonder what was going on. It was the same channel (History) and I am in the state of Georgia.
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Cable system EAS
- Thread starter ricksegers
- Start date
If it was merely a test, I believe it was probably a problem with your cable company, as the test was supposed to occur only once. If this repetition happened on other cable systems unrelated to yours, as well as on local stations, the fault could be with the station originating the monthly test.
Here in Springfield, IL, Comcast just ran their required weekly EAS test--DURING THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 on ABC (at least it's early into the race). I wonder if there's going to be some upset Comcast customers locally. (and the funny thing was, the video that came up prior to the test involved women doing aerobics--for a minute I thought we were getting something along the lines of what happened in Phoenix during the 2009 Super Bowl).
Comcast probably randomly schedules EAS tests - there is no "safe time" when they can do an EAS test and upset no one. 4pm you'll upset Oprah viewers, whatever.
How does EAS work on cable? Does the system just put it on at random times on random stations regardless of what is on, or do they pick a time and channel? The reason I ask is that it looks like it would make sense to have a way that it could be triggered by the networks or cable system to where it would happen during ad time instead of in the middle of shows, like is done with local ads. It also looks like they could do it so that it wouldn't happen during live events like sports.
If it has to interrupt anything I'd love to see The EAS be timed to interrupt infomercials. "Don't forget that toll free number is "BUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZ!" ;D
If it has to interrupt anything I'd love to see The EAS be timed to interrupt infomercials. "Don't forget that toll free number is "BUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZ!" ;D
Under FCC regulations, EAS weekly tests must be scheduled at different dayparts (morning, afternoon, evening, overnight) and different days of the week. However, tests during high profile events are discouraged. AFAIK, the rules are the same for cable and broadcast television and radio stations. However...most cable systems do try to do all of their tests during the overnight hours.
However...Comcast (especially in Atlanta/Northwest Cobb County) is known for having malfunctioning equipment, whereas the test occurs several times.
However...Comcast (especially in Atlanta/Northwest Cobb County) is known for having malfunctioning equipment, whereas the test occurs several times.
I remember one time when the EAS kicked in in the middle of the Fiesta Bowl - for the first time I could remember on Cox boxes, too. It's a red top scroll with EAS audio. I have never seen it used outside of testing.
We once got a test from Tucson (KNST was the originator) that used a Charlie Van Dyke tape - in Arizona, if you hear Charlie Van Dyke, it's invariably KPNX-12 (or, as the rare case may be, KVOA-4 Tucson from the 1990s). But "Cox EV" (East Valley) originates most tests.
We once got a test from Tucson (KNST was the originator) that used a Charlie Van Dyke tape - in Arizona, if you hear Charlie Van Dyke, it's invariably KPNX-12 (or, as the rare case may be, KVOA-4 Tucson from the 1990s). But "Cox EV" (East Valley) originates most tests.
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