Evening Exchange; WDCA-TV Technical Issues and Hockey Game

Everybody is over there now. A.

Half hour edition of evening exchange so that we may bring you Game 6 of the National Hockey League playoffs and the talk with the general manager of WDC hl 20 of DICK WILLIAMS All up next and evening next day. You know. Good evening and welcome to evening exchange I'm called Joined by now most of you may know the channel 20 has been experiencing signal difficulties since Monday for the next half an hour we'll be talking with the DCA vice president and general manager Dick Williams about what this means for his station. Then at 7:30 channel 32 will air game six of the Stanley Cup playoffs featuring Of course the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins with the capsule is now up three to one everybody is hoping here that the series will end tonight. But first we have more important business to discuss Mr. Williams welcome. Thank you very much it's very nice to be here. Very nice to be here. Exactly what happened to knock you

not off the air but to reduce the capacity of your signal. Monday morning I guess would be about 3:00 o'clock. Basically what happened we suffered a break in the transmission line and a layman's way of explaining it is there's a horizontal piece of transmission line that goes from our transom transmitter building to the base of the antenna. Yes. And I can tell it's fairly close to the building yes right we are very fortunate that we have the antenna the transmitting tower all on site. Right. So we have about 150 feet of horizontal transmitting. Why are there. And then it goes vertical up about a hundred feet to the top of the tower into the actual antenna. What what happened was that we experienced a surge. And Monday morning found out about it called the chief engineer who came in along with somebody else. We

took a look at it. The transmitter went down we try to bring it back up again. It would not come up to full power we wound up being at about 30 percent video power about 55 percent audio power. By 7:00 o'clock in the morning 7:30 a.m. when we knew we had problems so we shut it down at 11 o'clock in the morning to do some work on it to make sure that we were OK on the inside of the station. We determined somewhere around 11:30 quarter to 12 that the problem was not inside the station. It was in the transmitting line. So we began the process of trying to pinpoint where that was. We found out that we initially found out that it was in the horizontal part from the transmitting building to the antenna. Called in a specialist crew that's located by coincidence here in Silver Spring Maryland. They say they found where the breakage occurred. I took it apart. By coincidence or by luck whatever you want to call it we happen to have a spare part in storage in our building that's really even like our

great preplanning on somebody's Sapporo it's Pedro's great plane planning it's my extremely good luck page of course being a pedo being the chief engineer pager press. So we brought that down took it apart took a look and saw what the problem was. Took a look at one end the other end to see if in fact the problem had you know gone all the way through the horizontal part. Figured that that was it that we were just we had isolate the problems like you know isolating the the the sickness in somebody. We all got excited about 7 o'clock last night thinking that we had solved it. We're all going to do it just is fix this part of it. Put it back together again. Test it fired up put the transmitter on and we would be up and running. We decided what we would do is check the vertical side of the transmitter and the transmission line. We start to do that and what we found out is that inside this huge round nine inch diameter pipe is a smaller two inch the actual line itself which is copper it came crashing down. It

almost it almost killed Pedro. I mean literally but it came down we estimate about 400 feet of it came crashing down the cylinder. Whoa. And I know that we have some footage here so let's take a look at it and tell our viewers for those of you two non engineers in the viewing audience. Let Dick explain to you what is it we're looking at there. OK that's the horizontal line that you see right there. You you can see the break where we've taken the pipe out when it's down on the ground. That unfortunately is the actual two inch cable or in this case it's two inch copper piping. That's what came down out of the cylinder like a rocket literally I mean you can imagine from 400 to 500 feet up. These things were just burnt they came down so fast that's actually the end result that's still some of the copper tubing that you see at the base of the tower. What at this point is the prognosis for recovery. Worst literally. We still have people there trying to figure that out. We we don't know.

We're trying as best we can to figure and figure out how this kind of honesty with the viewing public is is different in several ways first and foremost. You are sitting here the only thing people know is that they see something on television saying we are having technical difficulties right now we'll be back with you. The viewing audience never has a clue we simply imagine that somebody accidentally hit a switch someplace right and we never imagine the kind of detail being explained to us that you were explaining right now so that in another itself is unique the fact that you're doing it on another noncommercial station in town is also. Fairly unique and for those of you who want to know well how come Sal 32 will be carrying this game tonight. We're going to get to that in a second because we want you to tell us how we came to this point because we know the Capitals have a good chance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs of the series and everybody was expecting channel 20 to be carrying the games. You were down and you had a little problem here. What was the problem.

We needed a venue for the game. And literally this all came together since 10:30 this morning. And when you consider that we were able to to get a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to go in partnership with this television station for a commercial television station advertiser supported to get together with a public television station and do something like this in the timeframe that we're talking about. Kojo is is unbelievable I mean this is more than moving mountains as far as we're concerned. Everybody that was involved from. You know Ed Jones was I mean everybody the general manager of your television station the president university got involved Paramount who owns Paramount wanted paramount a senior vice president from Paramount flew in and advised me and helped me in the situation. I've been in contact I can't tell you how many times today with with my boss Jim Boaz who used to be here in Washington who has some Washington roots here so he knows the station

he knows the market he knows the people. He knows how difficult it is at times to get things done here. So he's sitting there scratching his head in Los Angeles saying I can't believe you guys pulled this off. And I don't mean just us I mean you know channel 32 and channel 20s I can't say with those of you who are unfamiliar with the bureaucracy of the Federal Communications Commission you should understand that what you are experiencing here is not only unique and historic but represents the kind of initiative that you don't and cooperation that you don't often find in this industry what is occurring here is that this commercial television station which wanted its 45000 homes in the Washington area to see this game went out to try to do it obviously couldn't do it with other commercial stations they have commercial commitments that they can't break on such short notice came to a public television station because because the Washington Capitals which are part owner of this broadcast. Decided that that's the way they wanted to go and came to this public

television station and said OK you've got to do it with their commercial commitments in here that also have to be carried out. We were a noncommercial station. Now we have to go to the Federal Communications Commission and get using a clause that exists within the commission's regulation a temporary suspension of our noncommercial status for four hours this evening from 7:30 to 11:30 and maybe four hours on Sunday evening if there's a Game 6 from Summit 30 to 11:30. That to me is a gargantuan task. And you guys have to be congratulated for we both have to be congratulate because how why did the FCC cooperate so well and so quickly. And you know how the fans of the FCC I don't know. I think that that's. Yeah I don't really know I didn't I wasn't able to speak to the people directly at the Federal Communications Commission. I think what we what they saw here was an opportunity for two entities to get together and try and help for a common

situation I know that sounds puffy but I really do mean that I mean it's in a town where politics the wheels of politics can move so slowly and where you don't have any kind of cooperation in a lot of instances between factions. I think what this this sent out a little message that hey you can you can get people to sit down and work together and. You know do something that's going to benefit the viewer. The bottom line to both of us is that what we're able to do through you through the kindness of channel 32 is we're able to bring hockey the sixth game of the Stanley Cup round one series to viewers that wouldn't get it. They have just over the air television capabilities. That's what brings us together in very many ways and in the way we're talking about the future of television here is that even though this DCA is commercial and we are noncommercial we are both what is known as Free TV. That is if you have a television set in your

home these are two stations that you can get without paying for because frankly on a commercial station such as WTC the advertising dollars pay for the programs that you see it is my understanding that did we not come up with this kind of arrangement. This game might have been on pay TV and people might have had to pay to see it. Well yeah you would had a really limited audience because it would have been on h ts right you've got to have cable and you have to have cable. And in in two of the major systems which is cable TV Montgomery and media general and those are big systems. It is a pay service in the district and in some of the other parts of our viewing area it is part of basic service but it reduces the potential audience to a very very diminishing level. And what we wanted to do is we felt it was necessary for people you know for free television to have this particular program. And that's not to say that the people of us weren't you know above board and professional I mean I take

my hat off to them they stood by we kept them waiting and waiting and waiting. And I have to give every bit of credit to belabor and Jody Shapiro and the people at h ts for for being nothing but class professionals in this respect. Now it's my understanding I think that the next year Super Bowl is going to be on pay TV or very soon the Super Bowl is going to be on pay TV and a lot of other big sporting events will be on pay TV in the future. Is the future of free TV in any way threatened by this. Why this particular incident not this particular incident but by the fact that in the future a lot of major sporting events are going to be on pay television. There's a distinct possibility of that at the Super Bowl aspect. There have been rumblings by some people. I don't think and I may be incorrect in this but there are there have been rumblings by some people inside of the NFL who I don't think can speak with full authority. I don't think Commissioner Taghreed who has said that he expects you know the Super Bowl to be on a pay system

very soon. I think he actually said the opposite it least of this decade. He thinks that the Super Bowl will remain on advertiser supported television. But you run the risk in other sports. Yeah definitely and of course one of you alert sports fans out there is probably going to call us during our next segment to tell us every detail and point of what's happening with the NFL. I read in the television column that because of this you your station is losing about one hundred seventy five thousand dollars per day because of your of the situation with your signal is that correct. Yeah it's yes it's it's a lot of money. Is that the kind of eventuality that you have to expect at some point or another in this business you've been in this business for 23 years. Has this kind of thing ever happened to you before. The only place it happened is Washington D.C.. I mean three years ago I got here and we went off the air because there was a storm in May three years ago where we were off the air for forty three hours difference different scenario. We just took a real bad electrical hit then and we were off the air because we had no backup generator.

But no and the and the other stations I've worked at the other markets I worked at. I've never had a situation like this here. But of course you didn't have the Congress of the United States in those cities either so I don't know that not everything works perfectly in the city but you don't go away we'll be right back to take your telephone calls when we come back so stay with us. Yes I can hear you. Here. OK let's take all of the phone calls having to do with what we're discussing now and the game tonight. And if we still have time. Then tell all of the

angry Rodney King people that during the last five minutes or so I'll allow a few of their phone calls and their anger to be expressed because I'd rather be expressed here. Then later tonight on 14th Street. OK. Very very. They freed all the guys. They found them all not guilty for Guidant had with the one guy Powell and that up with a hung jury on the second charge which in his case was the use of excessive force. But he too was freed on all the other charges. I'm glad I'm not in L.A. tonight. That is going to be a hot city tonight. It's as if would be Santa. Welcome back we're talking with the vice president and general manager of the DCA channel

20 Dick Williams about the unique arrangement that led to that station cooperating with this station to bring those of you who are hockey fans and I'm hoping a lot of you who until now have not been hockey fans. The sixth game of the Stanley Cup playoff tonight between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins we were talking about the technical difficulties that led to the problems and the kind of work that had to be done today to get the Federal Communications Commission to make a special exception. So the channel 32 can carry this game tonight now. I know there are loads of you who have questions about technical aspects of this so let's go to the telephones and hear what you have to say color it's your turn you're on the air go ahead please. Yes. I pretty much just had a comment. Yes I was. I just think it's great that a couple of local stations are working hard together to please all the hockey fans out here and I want to take time to thank both people killed 20 people you know to bring in the bring and bring us the cape and I'm sure I speak for a lot of hockey fans around the area.

Thanks a lot. Well I want to ask Dick about this because it's my opinion that a lot of the so-called competitiveness in this industry in this town is really superficial by people who really don't understand the nature of the business itself the notion that you should never have anything that's on your ear and anybody else's because you lose your entire viewing audience. You obviously don't feel that way. You know I never have. I I I think that's a mystique that we created. You know we create these things and then for some reason we feel as though we have to live up to that and there's nothing wrong with with with doing what we're doing I mean just to be able to form this type of an association nothing wrong with that because in the final analysis we're serving the same broader community back to the telephone calling you on the air go ahead please. Hello caller. Caller are you there. I can't hear you on the telephone. I know there are a lot of you who are outraged at this point about the verdict that was rendered at the Rodney King trial or the trial of the four officers accused of beating Rodney King in Los Angeles California. And for those of you

who are unaware of the verdict it is my understanding that all of the officers were found not guilty with the one exception of Officer Powell who had a hung jury on one of his charges involving the use of force. But I know that people have been calling in at some point we'll be taking your telephone calls because we only have a abbreviated show tonight. But let me get back to the phones on what's happening tonight here on Channel 30 to caller. Are you there. Caller. Are you there. Tell us what's likely to happen on Sunday Dick. Well The Tonight is game six. If there's a seventh game if for some reason the Capitals don't win tonight we have to play a seven game seven games played here. So there's no obvious you know problem right. It'll be televised at that particular case by us. If we win. If it goes to the seventh game and we wind up winning the seventh game which I fully expect would happen we hope it ends tonight obviously. All right

then. Round two would begin on Sunday. OK and the game would be on Sunday and Tuesday and probably in New York and I mean that speculation probably in New York in which case you know we would carry those games or make every attempt to carry those games we have we have the baseball fans out there it's my understanding that no Oreo games are scheduled until I May 9th May 9th and you should be more than back up by then. Now I understood that there were some people and maybe still are. We're still receiving your signal very clearly is that right. Not to my knowledge. OK. That was maybe just on Monday. Yes that could have been a Monday in certain pockets there were probably certain areas where you were able to get the signal that had fairly good strength to it but there were an awful lot of pockets where you were you could not get the signal and the audio was very distorted audio was very raspy back to the telephone caller it's their turn you're on the air go ahead please. Yes I want to thank both of you as a rapper. Then is God bless you both on behalf of

all the hockey fans in this area because it's a great service that you all your efforts have gone toward. We're all looking forward to this. Also I tuned in just a little bit late to your show and I saw your footage with the conduit pipe and was wondering did was the signal being carried to that Piper technically exactly what was what was happening with that. I told you we haven't a viewing audience apparently full of engineers that I should have given a Kavi at that I don't know what I'm talking about. That it the copper pipe is actually the transmission line it is that's what it's conducted through and there's things but there's elements called bullets that are fastened in there and then there's this. Those Teflon kind of like security rings and those are. That's what happened is that there was we suspect there was a break in that piping and that's the that's the best explanation I can currently give. We've got a gentleman that we flew in from New Jersey who was eminently more qualified than I am

and he could give it to you and actually speaks English to us which is highly unusual and strange here. Yes and engineers who speaks English so wonderful Let's get back to the telephone call you're on the air go ahead please. Yeah my question. It was it was whether that one came crashing down through the tower was was actually cable which I guess addressed in your last answer or whether was actually waived died or exactly what it was ticking person down. What you saw we refer to it as the cable but as you saw obviously it's really two quarter inch copper pipe. But that's that's in essence what the cable is it's not a cable as you and I would know about it where it could you know be something that would be flexible. This is this the actual cable is the two and a quarter inch or two and a half inch copper pipe. And we're very glad that it did not come down on Mr. Perez as yeah it has been the case there have been there's been a lot of lucky things happened yesterday. Caller you're up next to on the air go ahead please.

No color and no color that color is not there. Let's see if we can take another telephone call in this segment called Are You There. Go ahead please. OK no callers there either. Tell us about what it will take if this repair of this damage is to be permanent. Is this when you get over it going to be the end of it. Oh yes. You know we will do everything. One of the nice things that Paramount are our parent company has assured us and has told us to go ahead and do is that the wheels of big business here have been absolutely put into high gear. So whatever is needed to be done to fix the problem as quickly as possible. We have been given the OK to to just go out and do it to cut through all the red tape. If there are parts that need to be ordered if they have to be shipped from the Lord knows where. Just to go ahead and do it and get back on that we're in a rating period as you well know or assess. This is the

worst time possible happen. And so being in a rating period you want to get it get it done as quickly as I mean take one more phone call on this issue as you call it on the air go ahead please. OK Joe Pike thanks a lot for your efforts on this. I'm up watching hockey and I really appreciate you going to the greatest effort possible. Well thank you. And on behalf of Dick and all of the people who helped put this together we thank you and go for it have a great time tonight watching the game hope the Caps win now I understand that there are other phone calls on the line who want to talk about the verdict in the case of the officer as a parent to being acquitted in the beating of Rodney King so we only have about two or three minutes left but let's go to the telephone and hear your comments on their call or go ahead please. Yes just like they really did in light of what happened I think is really beautiful. W.H. in you know you didn't bring it as well. It shows it in light of what's going on and still able to get put out differences with the community and what we wanted I think is really beautiful.

Thank you some of our callers can be very inspiring that wasn't asked. That I had not thought of at all because you're right that is likely to divide the races what we're trying to do it represents a coming together and I thank you for the expression of that sentiment. Back to the telephone caller it's your turn you're on the air go ahead please. Hello. I did not hear the previous question so I might be repeating but basically I am both very grateful like some of the previous callers because I am a hockey fan. I'm very grateful to what you've done. But on the other hand I find I'm wondering whether you have you find any any irony in the fact that the station that's that serves the black community in Washington is showing a sport that really very few black people in the city follow on on the night of the Rodney King verdict you know less about an hour after the Rodney King verdict. But of course you know that we do not have a news broadcast here on channel 32 so you don't expect to see the news of that trial here. And we think that despite the fact that a lot of

blacks are not participating in hockey even though I know a few a friend of mine came in to practice a friend my son came to the trial for the Washington Capitals. It's a sport that a lot of people obviously like and we feel that if a viewing audience isn't to do with who knows we might get more fans we might get more young players. I will tell you that going to the games I've been going for three years now and going to the games I'm I'm seeing a lot more African-Americans at the game and it's it. You know it's a wonderful wonderful sport and I think this may be a good opportunity for people who are on the fence or whether they like hockey or not. There's nothing like seeing it at home. I mean I mean you know in the stadium in the Cap Center nothing can beat that. But this is the next best thing and maybe we'll get more more black people to come out and be lazy like professional basketball the post-season is a whole new ball game so even if you may not have liked it that much during the season. Check out the playoffs and unfortunately that's our show for tonight our thanks to channel 20 is vice president and general manager Dick

Williams tomorrow an evening exchange. We will examine the relations between Africans and African-Americans. Is there an automatic kinship that exists between those from the motherland and those from the other land America. We will talk with film Mr. filmmaker all-India Ricky about his film disillusion but also find out about American relief efforts for war torn drought stricken African nations. That and much more tomorrow night at 7:00 on the evening exchange. Stay tuned you hockey fans and soon to be hockey fans for the showdown between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins from all of us to all of you. Good night. Evening exchange depends on your contributions. Please send your donation to MTV. Twenty two twenty two fourth Street Northwest Washington D.C. 2 0 0 5 9.