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October 5, 2020 6:32 pm  #1


Outage at CTV Agincourt

Try tuning into CTV (any of them on the east coast) and you'll get black. Same thing with TSN, Discovery, CTV News Channel. Can someone try TSN 1050? Maybe they're simulcasting 1010?

 

October 5, 2020 6:34 pm  #2


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

torontostan wrote:

Try tuning into CTV (any of them on the east coast) and you'll get black. Same thing with TSN, Discovery, CTV News Channel. Can someone try TSN 1050? Maybe they're simulcasting 1010?

I'd try 1050, but I'm not near an AM radio and all their radio streaming is down too.
 

 

October 5, 2020 6:38 pm  #3


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

torontostan wrote:

Try tuning into CTV (any of them on the east coast) and you'll get black. Same thing with TSN, Discovery, CTV News Channel. Can someone try TSN 1050? Maybe they're simulcasting 1010?

TSN 1050 has nothing but dead air - carrier current and that's it. All the other Bell stations - CHUM-FM, Virgin 99.9 and CFRB - remain up and running as normal.

 

October 5, 2020 6:40 pm  #4


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

I *think* 1050 still routes through Richmond St, so in theory they could patch 1010 in. Might not be the highest priority right now, though.

 

October 5, 2020 6:41 pm  #5


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

...and to clarity, it's ALL Bell Media radio stations' streaming that's down, not just 1050.

 

October 5, 2020 6:59 pm  #6


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

CTVNews.ca website is still up, but out of date. As RadioAaron notes, no streaming but also no updated stories, including the fact that Trump has left the hospital, which is the yarn stuck on their front page. CTVToronto News site remains active, but also dated, indicating Live @ 5 is on the air now. 

 

October 5, 2020 7:03 pm  #7


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

there's a good football game on that i was  planning to watch. 

 

October 5, 2020 7:15 pm  #8


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Urbacon, a construction company that apparently rebuilt part of CTV's Agincourt news studios, has info on the project on one of its webpages. The irony of the very last sentence can't be lost on anyone who reads it now. 

" Standalone HVAC system and electrical power upgrades were added to independently power the studio."

Guess that didn't work out too well. 

Urbacon CTV page
 

 

October 5, 2020 7:26 pm  #9


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Jon Pole's show, which normally is only on CJAD & CKLW, wound up back on 1010 Monday night, when the host addressed the reasons why he was there and Barb DiGiulio wasn't. 

He says they were getting inundated by texts wondering what was going on from listeners and viewers and he admitted they were having what he called "an engineer's nightmare" trying to fix "some bugs" in the system. He joked that someone was downloading porn or opened one of those "You've won a million dollars" phishing emails that knocked the place off the air. 

And he ended by reassuring that everyone was fine and there was no reason to worry. 

I wonder if the engineering crew feels the same way!  

 

October 5, 2020 7:33 pm  #10


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

TSN1050 is back.

 

October 5, 2020 7:43 pm  #11


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

RadioActive wrote:

TSN1050 is back.

Well, they WERE. Gone again as of 7:42 PM.

 

October 5, 2020 7:45 pm  #12


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

CTV channel 8 is back.....sort of.  First of all the wrong program is on according to Rogers Navigator and the screen is split in two.  Main characters in middle to lower screen.  There torsos are up above separated by a black line.  Very strange.  I guess they are working on it.......sort of.

 

October 5, 2020 7:53 pm  #13


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Has CP24 said anything about this?  I have been watching them for 20 minutes and nothing. Haven't seen anything on the Toronto Sun or Star websites yet..And are we sure they weren't hacked??

 

October 5, 2020 8:01 pm  #14


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

CP 24 is on CTV News Channel in full screen mode. They did mention a major technical issue at 6:05. They just welcomed CTV viewers across Canada ta 8:01 pm on CTV NC .

 

October 5, 2020 8:03 pm  #15


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Only Bell TV stations I am receiving right now are CTV Drama (they are into a big Chicago Fire marathon) and CP24. 

 

October 5, 2020 8:08 pm  #16


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

According to Twitter, the lights are back on in the CTV National Newsroom, but a Twitter post wonders if this was meant to be. 

 

October 5, 2020 8:21 pm  #17


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Seems the SOWNY board is in some other time zone too. Its 8:21 pm.

 

October 5, 2020 8:22 pm  #18


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

I was working in a Toronto TV newsroom in August 2003, when that huge blackout hit part of the east coast. 

It was only after everything went down that we discovered we didn't really have much of an electrical backup system. Quick phone calls were made and generator trucks sent, and even though we obviously had to completely throw out what would have been the 6 o'clock line-up, we managed to get a show on the air on time. Although to this day, I doubt anyone sitting in the dark saw it.

But what I remember most when the lights - and everything else - went out at 4:11 PM that afternoon was that eerie two or three seconds that followed. A newsroom is an insanely busy place as crews prepare for the 6 PM major. There's video and sound screeching out from editing bays, people having meetings, the clicking of computer keyboards, general talk, the noise of radio communications coming out of assignment and of course, the on air monitor sound. 

But at 4:11 that day, everything very unexpectedly died. What stands out in my memory is the sudden silence as every electronic device powered down and all employees were stunned into hushed quiet, trying to process what had just happened. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was all encompassing 

Seconds later, the noise from people yelling out instructions and wondering what the hell just happened came back, filling the void. 

But that silence was absolutely deafening. And I can still "hear" it to this day. I wonder if the crew at CTV experienced the same thing.

 

October 5, 2020 9:15 pm  #19


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

I like CP24 on full screen.  They should really say something to viewers across the country why they are now receiving the channel though.  And it would be nice for a brief explanation for the rest of us what happened.  Just a few lines would be nice, easy to do...remember Bell you are in the communication business...so far you ain't communicating very well...

I remember Aug 2003 as well RA.  I was on the phone talking to a rep from an ad agency in NYC.  It was after 4pm and we had finished business and were chatting a bit.  All of a sudden she said, "wow that's weird. the power just went out."  About 3 or 4 seconds later I let her know that our power just went out too.

Right after speaking to her. I needed to call another agency in Montreal and by this time I knew the power outage was major over much of the east.  But Montreal still had the lights on...

 

October 5, 2020 9:40 pm  #20


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

tri-cities wrote:

Seems the SOWNY board is in some other time zone too. Its 8:21 pm.

This again! Don't worry, you're not the only one who has had this issue. It's just that most see it during the time change - which, incidentally, is coming up on November 1st.

If you're seeing the wrong time on SOWNY, the thread below will tell you how to fix it without much hassle - although you may have to go through it again next month. Not sure why some people see this and others don't. It's just one of those weird Boardhost things for which I've never been able to get a satisfactory explanation.

How To Fix The Wrong Time On SOWNY 

 

October 5, 2020 10:04 pm  #21


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Oh no, so far CTV National news off to a rocky start.  And putting Lisa by the 401 outside of CTV Toronto...please too noisy.  At least get her out to the back where it is quieter, where Tom does the outside weather...

 

October 5, 2020 10:07 pm  #22


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

CTV News Channel is back with the National News Lisa Laflamme outside cold open, no lower thirds and rather rough throw to Paul Workmans report. Better to second report with Joy Malbon with the orange story from Washington. 

 

October 5, 2020 11:32 pm  #23


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

11pm opening of the CTV National News much better than the 10pm (dress rehearsal).  Too bad they still have Lisa outside by the noisy 401. She soldiered on pretty good last hour.

 

October 5, 2020 11:39 pm  #24


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

CTV Toronto News at 11 being done out of 299 Queen, from the CP24 H.Q. with limited supers and that station's graphics - including the weather. Obviously, they rushed their anchor downtown in order to get the show on the air.

At the end of her National News, Lisa LaFlamme noted she wasn't sure where she would be coming from on Tuesday night. Which makes me wonder - WTF happened in Agincourt that could not be repaired overnight or by the morning? And what happens to Canada AM?

I suspect whatever took place is far worse than it seems.

 

October 5, 2020 11:58 pm  #25


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

The Canadian Press has a very brief story on the outage, but it doesn't tell very much. It does reveal that the power failure took out every major Bell station - including CTV2 - from Winnipeg eastwards.

https://www.baytoday.ca/business/outage-at-bell-facility-in-ontario-knocks-channels-off-air-from-winnipeg-east-2769410

This update indicates many sports fans were upset about missing the NFL game, although the signal was back for most of that broadcast.

https://awfulannouncing.com/international/tsn-ctv-channels-off-air-monday.html

I can only imagine the meetings that will be taking place on Tuesday as the powers-that-be demand an explanation for the power-that-wouldn't-be.

 

October 6, 2020 12:12 am  #26


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

these broadcasting hiccups are so very 2020

and "tri-cities", when the clocks fall back in a few weeks, the big yellow board will be on time again, it's almost a tradition around here

on the ball re the glitches was Bryan Hayes the leader on OverDrive from TSN1050 who tweeted out a video to listeners to keep them in the loop and let them know that the interrupted show would go on tomorrow.

Last edited by betaylored (October 6, 2020 12:49 am)

 

October 6, 2020 1:11 am  #27


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

RadioActive wrote:

CTV Toronto News at 11 being done out of 299 Queen, from the CP24 H.Q. with limited supers and that station's graphics - including the weather. Obviously, they rushed their anchor downtown in order to get the show on the air.

At the end of her National News, Lisa LaFlamme noted she wasn't sure where she would be coming from on Tuesday night. Which makes me wonder - WTF happened in Agincourt that could not be repaired overnight or by the morning? And what happens to Canada AM?

I suspect whatever took place is far worse than it seems.

Your Morning (Canada AM's replacement) is done out of 299 Queen.  They probably won't be affected.

 

October 6, 2020 7:49 am  #28


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Somehow, I sense another over reaching rate increase will soon be in the works for all Bell customers/subscribers...

Glad I am no longer tethered to Ma Bell....


 

 

October 6, 2020 10:16 am  #29


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Can you imagine if this outage had happened during the Super Bowl?? The cynic in me would say YES!! No more simsub!

 

October 6, 2020 10:53 am  #30


Re: Outage at CTV Agincourt

Except the simsub probably would have lasted at least half an hour with a blank screen being seen over the American feed.  Phone lines and social media would have been inundated with outrage.