What was there temporary setup like? The teaser made it look like it was in its own studio but the construction area showed its the open newsroom.

Yes, ABC and CBS. I saw CBS and they used a KCBS reporter.

It’s been mentioned here and I believe in the chats that Hoda prefers to work in the studio than at home. Well from what I understand Hoda lives in the city so places might be cramped. But also having a person in studio would keep all the camera operators, lighting technicians and other employees around. I am not sure of the contract but I’d imagine if they hosts were all remote they studio crew maybe temporarily put on leave.

He whole high speed internet thing slightly worries me. A good deal of the country has Comcast. Before they reportedly set a cap for 250GB a month and supposedly it’s been raised to 1TB. I don’t think they’ve ever cut off a user because of it but I’ve heard of throttling from them and other providers. So if an anchor has a camera that’s live an is splitting the load via LiveU with two or three cell modems and wired internet and the internet starts throttling quality breaks up. Another instance I heard was via Fios a few years back. A man setup a decent sized cloud for himself and family using the gigabit plan. People were not sending files 24/7 but it was enough for Verizon to make the man get a business connection. It was at the time maybe 10 TB, family wasn’t accessing it daily but it was enough to make Verizon threaten their account. Creative Services would be another thing I think would be risky. Say you have them at home to cut a few spots for the evening and late News? You have the, record it as normally and send the files to them. Now with my experience with Comcast and other people’s FiOS is that they almost never get the advertised speeds consistently (maybe if the house is wired) but WiFi maybe not. So you’ll be sending the CSD maybe a few minutes of 50Mbps content to cut to a promo but you need it back in the hour. Will their speed allow you to download a gig of more of video quickly, turn it around, and upload at an almost slower rate on something critical? If they’re doing this daily I could see internet throttled unless the company hooks them up with a business connection. Spann has a gigabit connection and his whole home is new and wired for gigabit Ethernet and has a mesh WiFi network. So he has no issue but others may afford it.

It also worth mentioning that the studio that Norah uses and Face the Nation uses manual pedestal cameras. It would be one thing if they had say a manual pedestal but a PTZ/Height Drive head where several lock off shots could be used. The show is produced out at All Mobile Video in NYC across from the CBS Broadcast Center. Dealing with one locked off camera is easier that can be PTZ is easier (and worth noting that’s what Jose Diaz-Balart has done since COVID-19, this week said it was in NYC but before all came from Telemundo Center). I mentioned this in the chat that perhaps renaming the weekend show the CBS Weekend News was a way for CBS to get out of a union contract (where perhaps existing shows required more staffing - such as CBS This Morning from the studio required camera operators on robotic cameras*). I hypothesized that by cancelling a show and starting a new would void a contract and allow them to automate it. But I asked @Weeters who said he thinks the rename was just so people would expect something different. When Weekend News launched it was all put together before hand, you could see the time at which the show open was recorded on the screens behind them along with interviews. At the time it was just repurposed CBSN content. * Worth mentioning that Meet The Press on Sunday’s use manual cameras operating CamBots (not sure about Saturday Today) but the CamBots were installed for MTP Daily where MSNBC wouldn’t need to hire multiple operators.

Here’s a side by side video :

I imagine work has been delayed and perhaps they are rethinking the streetside studio idea. With the frequent protests turning violent I could see them either replacing what they have with a stronger type of glass * or additional security measures such as more fencing around the studio or additional layers of glass. * Perhaps hurricane proof - I’ve seen residential glass get battered by tree limbs and other projectiles at 70+ MPH without issue. I don’t think any person could generate enough force that strong. But I’d also keep bullet proof as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if they no incorporate rolling shutters like you see on storefronts rather than having to board up each time there’s a protest or unrest. I could see them somehow retrofitted to Studio 1A as well. I know they have two layers of glass and the outermost layer you may not be able to put shutters but maybe on the inside you could between the panels.

Wow thank you, I’ll take a look at the deleted helicopters. Is this a new helicopter or second for WSB? I’ve seen N2QU recently.

Supposedly from my Helicopter list, FOX 11 and KCBS/KCAL share the same helicopter. FOX11 has a reporter up in the morning and KCBS/KCAL reporter in the PM. KCBS/KCAL just take images in mornings and KTTV gets images in the PM.

One things missing from the video... the new Comcast Technology Center.

It’s actually relatively large. According to NBC’s studio listing page it’s 4,170 sq FT. The largest studio I’d have to guess belongs to KABC where they have two 7,000 square foot sound stages and KABC’s set actually is circular and sits in the center leaving a good bit unoccupied.

WRC started a weekend broadcast called News 4 Kids a few weeks ago.

How depressing. And they moved those old Radamec pedestals right into the new building.

They seem to have just parked at a receive site during weather events in lieu of having a fixed radar. I believe there’s a permit for them to install a new radar controlled from KNTV/KSTS.

So essentially most CBC local stations are produced as an outside broadcast where the cameras and everything are sent to a control room in Toronto?

I don’t get the issue that caused this. Reportedly what they’re saying is that the staff at the main broadcast centers couldn’t handle the volume of additional video feeds. Some blogs made it sound like all incoming video from each individual station was being handled by the regional HQ. I don’t recall hearing anything of this sort of infrastructure before. If they’re overloaded it could be stations sending the network live video.

I’m surprised they’re stopping. I’m thinking it must be a staffing issue.

Or they could have the English language stations speak the phrase in Spanish.

Keeps it pointed at a receive site and keeps the receive site tracking it. The receive site is typically a remotely steerable parabolic antenna in a dome. It constantly moves automatically with the helicopter. Where with a typical news truck the receive site is positioned and static.

Most if not all US and Canadian helicopters have belly based gyroscopic helicopters where they are pointed to a stationary receiver. They fit between the skids and it leaves enough clearance to land. Sometimes it’s a clear cylinder other times it’s painted the hull color. In the UK there are omnidirectional antennas like the ones above usually placed on the body that send a signal to a receive satellite truck where it’s sent pack via satellite or some other means. Reportedly London is the only area with a fixed receive site. Oh so since the beginning of February WJZ has been flying a back up R66 (N616HD) after their existing helicopter (N713TV) was being pushed back into the hangar by airport personnel when it’s rotors struck the hangar door causing damage - this was confirmed by the airport itself. According to sources it was seriously damaged the upper half of the helicopter costing hundreds of thousands of repairs, it’s unknown when or if it will return of course it’s something the airport and station would downplay. Do you have any more info?

Today was an interesting case with helicopter sharing in San Francisco. There are two helicopters that are shared N7QY which is controlled by KGO and images are taken by KRON (which is essentially along for the ride and is based at the KGO studios despite separate ownership) and N62TV which is used by the KTVU/KICU duopoly, the KNTV/KSTS duopoly and the KPIX/KBCW duopoly. For most of the day there was a helicopter flying around the Grand Princess providing constant images to affiliates and the networks. KGO was uplinking video to CNN NewSource whole N62TV was flying and then when their own helicopter was in the air. As KGO’s helicopter was flying they showed the tail rotor cam once or twice which went out everywhere and was seen on CBSN Bay Area. And even for a short period of time KTRK Houston’s helicopter was in rotation N42SL providing images. It seemed like every two or three hours the switched helicopters. I imagine it was done to save money and resources as they’d all be getting the same images even if they flew themselves, but this way they got constant coverage. It like was also a safety measure as instead of two or three helicopters flying around the cruise ship there was only one. Additionally the ship was eventually docked within two miles of Oakland International Airport, so they would also have to be dealing with the take offs and departures from the airport. Telemundo offered a live stream and they got the tail cam as well:

Some stations Miami list at end of the show where the anchors got their hair done or clothes. As far as I can think of Miami is currently the only station that does it. But Miami has always been a special market where a lot of things they do wouldn’t fly else where such as outfits, story telling and wardrobe both on air and social media. I know one or two that post beach photos in speedos and or constant cross fit posts.

Thanks, my bad.

I did so and added their replacement. N90CL formerly of their sister station WCPO. The hull of the aircraft (particularly the second row) looks to be strong and undamaged, perhaps some equipment could be salvaged?

They flew in a helicopter from (formerly of WCPO N90CL) from St. Louis within 14 hours of the tornadoes.