"Emergency" Backup Program?

[Stanislav]

The TV station had a voiceover with its logo, saying due to the NYC blackout they were unable to receive programming ... and "we hope you enjoy the following special program." .... they filled with a rebroadcast of the syndie game show "Break the Bank", one of my favorites at the time.

This response in another thread reminded me of something.....Remember Dan Rather's infamous "hissy fit?" When he stormed off the set because he was told his newscast would again be delayed by tennis coverage? (And the tennis match unexpectedly finished on time, leaving no anchor in the chair and several minutes of dead air on CBS...)A friend who used to be an intern at WJXT (the Jacksonville CBS affiliate) once told me that he was in the control room the night that happened. I laughed at his description of the many obscene oaths that were uttered when the clock counted down to 6:30:00 Eastern time and there was just a blue screen on the CBS monitor.Anyway, he told me that after a few minutes of waiting and many WTFs, they were about to start a syndicated episode of "Dallas" as filler when Dangerous Dan finally took his seat and the newscast began. He said that "Dallas" was sort of their deignated "pinch hit" programming -- that they kept a random episode cued up pretty much 24/7 so that no matter what happened, in the event of a network outage or other major technical malfunction, they could avoid last-minute rushing around and avoid lengthy dead air or trouble slides by quickly punching up J.R. and the gang.So, those of you who have worked at TV stations -- did your station have a similar policy and, if so, was there a standardized "emergency" program kept ready?

 

[notalkallstatic]

Our emergency backup is the trouble slate. If it doesn't seem like net is coming back up, we have to call our program director for further direction. For local programming: If there is a tape problem, or something goes wrong with a tape on the air, we stay with slate and an announcement stating "Please Stand By," until we fix the problem.This winter, we lost our network due to heavy snow in the area, I had no backup to go too, and it was about 10 minutes until the 11PM news started. Everyone was ready on the set and the crew was ready in production, so I asked if they wanted to go in early, they said "No." So we sit in slate for about 10 minutes. Management found out the next day, and the next week there were heaters on our satellite dishes so this wouldn’t happen again. I didn’t get into trouble either, which is always a good thing.

 

[gr8oldies]

We had some old sports films (on 3/4 inch) to go to if there was a long outage, program missing and no one could be contacted, etc.

 

[FreddyE1977]

I think the all-time champion backup show was "This Week in Baseball" with Mel Allen

 

[Stanislav]

Or, in fall and winter, any of that seemeingly endless supply of NFL Films packages with the pompous announcer and everything in slow-motion.

 

[davect]

When I worked in broadcast TV we had no "backup programming". Just the emergency slide. Now I work at a place that originates a couple of sports networks on cable & satellite. During live programming we have a program in the server ready to go in case something happens at site. It's usually one of their "filler" programs that can air any time. I can assure you...it's been needed. Power outage at the stadium and the remote truck has no generator.... :