WOLF-TV Scranton-Wilkes Barre Final NewsWatch 16

[BigJohnnyV 1]

Not my video but I thought you guy would enjoy this classic news gem. On December 31, 2009 WNEP Channel 16 was preparing to broadcast their last contracted newscast for WOLF-TV Channel 56 (WBRE was suppose to over on January 1st), the problem nobody at WOLF bothered to call the news director at WNEP to let them know that they decided to start with WBRE a day early, so at 11 o'clock when Newswatch 16 anchor Julie Sidoni started the broadcast with a report about the 11th hour budget agreement in Luzerne County the news report abruptly ended and SMPTE bars and tones appeared, it was at that point that engineers at WNEP cut the microwave feed because they noticed that the signal they were suppose to get back from Channel 56 was dead air and the WOLF OTA signal was WBRE's newscast.

 

Thanks to a friend of mine (Who shall remain nameless at his request) who is now retired but for the past 30+ years worked in television in Northeast Pennsylvania including at all of the major stations in Scranton-Wilkes Barre (WBRE, WOLF, WNEP and WVIA) for filling me in on the details, he was there the night all of this happened.

[TheRolyPoly 2416]

 

Not my video but I thought you guy would enjoy this classic news gem. On December 31, 2009 WNEP Channel 16 was preparing to broadcast their last contracted newscast for WOLF-TV Channel 56 (WBRE was suppose to over on January 1st), the problem nobody at WOLF bothered to call the news director at WNEP to let them know that they decided to start with WBRE a day early, so at 10 o'clock when Newswatch 16 anchor Julie Sidoni started the broadcast with a report about the 11th hour budget agreement in Luzerne County the news report abruptly ended and SMPTE bars and tones appeared, it was at that point that engineers at WNEP cut the microwave feed because they noticed that the signal they were suppose to get back from Channel 56 was dead air and the WOLF OTA signal was WBRE's newscast.

 

Thanks to a friend of mine (Who shall remain nameless at his request) who is now retired but for the past 30+ years worked in television in Northeast Pennsylvania including at all of the major stations in Scranton-Wilkes Barre (WBRE, WOLF, WNEP and WVIA) for filling me in on the details, he was there the night all of this happened.

 

I've never seen a newscast or a contract for a newscast end like that.

 

And congrats to him and hope he's having a wonderful retirement.