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July 24, 2026 3:22 pm  #1


Remember The Old Cable Channel That Came In Text Only? It's Back.

If you've subscribed to cable for a long time, you might remember one station - I think it was on channel 5 -  presented a text scroll-only feed from what was then Broadcast News (now The Canadian Press.)

It was low tech even then, but it served a purpose in the pre-all news cable channel days. A friend who worked at "BN" back then told me it was surprisingly popular and they used to get a lot of phone calls from viewers about it. 

Well, now that old fashioned screen is back online, thanks to the U.S. Weather Channel. Its Retrocast creates the old format, right down to the instrumental music. And even though it's an American service, you can set it for any almost major city in the world, including Toronto.

Have a look at this memory flogger here.

 

July 24, 2026 4:12 pm  #2


Re: Remember The Old Cable Channel That Came In Text Only? It's Back.

This Weather Channel retro stream is actually pretty neat, showing me my local forecast though the temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
I definitely remember that old text only feed of Broadcast News. 

 

July 24, 2026 9:32 pm  #3


Re: Remember The Old Cable Channel That Came In Text Only? It's Back.


Last edited by Hansa (July 24, 2026 9:32 pm)

 

July 24, 2026 11:52 pm  #4


Re: Remember The Old Cable Channel That Came In Text Only? It's Back.

eladb wrote:

This Weather Channel retro stream is actually pretty neat, showing me my local forecast though the temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
I definitely remember that old text only feed of Broadcast News. 

And as it turns out, you can change the settings so that it uses the metric system. So it's perfect now.

 

July 25, 2026 3:36 am  #5


Re: Remember The Old Cable Channel That Came In Text Only? It's Back.

If you turn the audio on, you'll hear late-1980s smooth jazz. The experience is now complete.

eladb wrote:

And as it turns out, you can change the settings so that it uses the metric system. So it's perfect now.

 

 

July 25, 2026 4:12 pm  #6


Re: Remember The Old Cable Channel That Came In Text Only? It's Back.


Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change.