Sunday, August 21, 2005
CBC Lockout XII:Breaking news: Newsnet to go live, take on Newsworld
The network wars have begun
I am told by reliable sources that Monday at 1800 Eastern time, CTV Newsnet, which normally broadcasts its newscasts from an LMS server (Lineup Management System) which picks news items and their intros off a computer disk, will go live in the prime time early evening hours from 6 p.m. Eastern until 10 p.m. Eastern when the CTV National that goes on the main network to Atlantic Canada is broadcast on Newsnet. Once the kinks have been worked out CTV will expand the live newscasts into the afternoon, clearly poaching on the territory once held by CBC Newsworld. CTV had planned to do this sometime in the fall but the CBC lockout advanced plans and, apparently, the budget, for this move.
CTV actually made its opening gambit in the network wars shortly after midnight Sunday. The picket captains said all was quiet on John St. when suddenly there was the roar of trucks and a lot of flashing amber lights as a couple of cherry pickers parked across from the picket headquarters RV.
By morning, the crew had pasted huge billboards of CTV personalities all along the hydro substation wall on John Street across from the Toronto Broadcast Centre. When I left the picket line at 3 p.m. this afternoon the crew was installing more posters on the Wellington side of the hydro property. Must have cost CTV a bundle in night overtime for the billboard company to give the CBC a bit of a finger.
And can you confirm?
I also heard but cannot independently confirm that Global bought promo time from the field announcer at Saturday's CFL game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argos. The CBC had planned to take the field announcement as an audio feed but for those who watched part of the game in the picket HQ the audio feed was terrible, inaudible one point and not bad for a few seconds before fading out again. Can anyone confirm that Global also gave a finger to the corp on Saturday??
Update Sunday 22:30
Vanessa Vandervalk, locked out in Saint John, N.B. writes:
Technorati tags
writing, journalism, CBC, news, CTV, television,
Canada, CFL
7:35 PM posted by Robin Rowland
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The network wars have begun
I am told by reliable sources that Monday at 1800 Eastern time, CTV Newsnet, which normally broadcasts its newscasts from an LMS server (Lineup Management System) which picks news items and their intros off a computer disk, will go live in the prime time early evening hours from 6 p.m. Eastern until 10 p.m. Eastern when the CTV National that goes on the main network to Atlantic Canada is broadcast on Newsnet. Once the kinks have been worked out CTV will expand the live newscasts into the afternoon, clearly poaching on the territory once held by CBC Newsworld. CTV had planned to do this sometime in the fall but the CBC lockout advanced plans and, apparently, the budget, for this move.
CTV actually made its opening gambit in the network wars shortly after midnight Sunday. The picket captains said all was quiet on John St. when suddenly there was the roar of trucks and a lot of flashing amber lights as a couple of cherry pickers parked across from the picket headquarters RV.
By morning, the crew had pasted huge billboards of CTV personalities all along the hydro substation wall on John Street across from the Toronto Broadcast Centre. When I left the picket line at 3 p.m. this afternoon the crew was installing more posters on the Wellington side of the hydro property. Must have cost CTV a bundle in night overtime for the billboard company to give the CBC a bit of a finger.
And can you confirm?
I also heard but cannot independently confirm that Global bought promo time from the field announcer at Saturday's CFL game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argos. The CBC had planned to take the field announcement as an audio feed but for those who watched part of the game in the picket HQ the audio feed was terrible, inaudible one point and not bad for a few seconds before fading out again. Can anyone confirm that Global also gave a finger to the corp on Saturday??
Update Sunday 22:30
Vanessa Vandervalk, locked out in Saint John, N.B. writes:
In answer to your question, I tuned in to part of the game last night just to see what it looked like. I did in fact hear the announcer do a Global commercial over the PA system while CBC carried the feed. He talked about the new fall line up etc. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. However, the management sound people did drop his sound and switch to music over some graphics, but by then he'd said "Global" at least three times.
Technorati tags
writing, journalism, CBC, news, CTV, television,
Canada, CFL
7:35 PM posted by Robin Rowland
Permanent Link
