KHOU Building Flooded

[GoldenShine9 1509]

It appears that, although they have two studio facilities, there's only one manned control room. They did cut away from the control room feed to the newsroom camera at one point during the news simulcast, so they -might- be able to split the stream from TV, but you lose graphics.

 

 

Still coordinating through WFAA however.

 

Most likely the graphics, especially weather, will have to be done at WFAA, unless they managed to keep all their computers. I'm not sure if WFAA can change the logo to the KHOU logo, surely that would have to be done manually.

 

I guess that is one benefit of having a large station group, although in emergencies the small guys often form alliances anyway with same-network affiliates or other stations.

 

They might want to send someone to WFAA if possible, although the road conditions may not allow such.

[KevCor 344]

Most likely the graphics, especially weather, will have to be done at WFAA, unless they managed to keep all their computers. I'm not sure if WFAA can change the logo to the KHOU logo, surely that would have to be done manually.

 

I guess that is one benefit of having a large station group, although in emergencies the small guys often form alliances anyway with same-network affiliates or other stations.

 

They might want to send someone to WFAA if possible, although the road conditions may not allow such.

 

They did: Meteorologist Colleen Coyle and reporter Todd Unger just drove the three hours down from DFW to help report for them.

[Weeters 1811]

TVSpy reports the station is back on the air as of about 15 minutes ago, presumably using the same content that's on the stream right now.

[KevCor 344]

Just as an aside -- that's a brand new studio that was built less than a year ago. Construction started on it around September of last year, and was completed in November...

 

http://www.khou.com/features/watch-construction-of-new-khou-studio-set/350810908

[Weeters 1811]

Just as an aside -- that's a brand new studio that was built less than a year ago. Construction started on it around September of last year, and was completed in November...

 

http://www.khou.com/features/watch-construction-of-new-khou-studio-set/350810908

 

Some of the behind the scenes photos show there was also renovations going on in the newsroom when the storm hit as well.

 

I'm pretty sure they're going to get a new building. The insurance payout is going to be massive. Millions and millions of dollars, and the insurance company isn't going to want to risk this happening again. I am fairly confident KHOU has broadcast their last show from that building.

[nickp 296]

Great thing about journalism networks: Everyone is a big team

[TSSZNews 1046]

I'm pretty sure they're going to get a new building. The insurance payout is going to be massive. Millions and millions of dollars, and the insurance company isn't going to want to risk this happening again. I am fairly confident KHOU has broadcast their last show from that building.

 

So where do they broadcast from in the many months that will be needed to get that new building + infrastructure together? PBS?

[alex979 118]

Fun fact:

[MEDIA=twitter]901976696714399746[/MEDIA]

[bhratbrat 423]

So where do they broadcast from in the many months that will be needed to get that new building + infrastructure together? PBS?

 

At the moment, more than likely. I would not be surprised if Tegna once this is over starts looking. After an initial survey, I would not be surprised if they declare the building a loss. I wonder if the old KPRC studios are already torn down. The only other spot that I could image would be KIAHs studios alongside Westpark

[Weeters 1811]

So where do they broadcast from in the many months that will be needed to get that new building + infrastructure together? PBS?

Probably. It's kinda the same situation KREX found themselves in when their building burned down in 2008. I recall they had a new Master Control built out in a trailer out back and had to do news from the Grand Junction PBS affiliate until the new building was finished.

 

It took KREX almost two years for them to get back on their feet in their new building. The fire broke out January 20th 2008 and they weren't in the new building until August 20th 2009.

 

EDIT: What happens next? An article about the KREX fire might have some hints:

After the fire was over' date=' the trailer and garden sheds became master control/technical operations and transmitter/equipment sheds respectively. Studio space was provided by local PBS affiliate KRMJ, while "a local community college lent us a classroom as a newsroom," Mowbray said. "Harris really pitched in: they brought down their full complement of demo equipment, and let us pick what we needed while leaving the paperwork for later." This included Harris HD/SDI signal analyzers and multiformat monitors.[/quote']

 

I wouldn't be surprised if TEGNA's preferred vendors are already en route.

[johnintx 14]

We have a simulcast of the 10:00 news on both WFAA and KHOU. The broadcast is being anchored from WFAA. The same show is being broadcast in both markets.

 

KHOU now has a makeshift studio at KUHT, but was unable to broadcast from there due to "rain fade" in their transmission.

[KevCor 344]

So another update on their operation:

 

WFAA is again broadcasting for KHOU as the temp signal from KHUT is being “rain faded” out from reaching WFAA who is handling their master control, and if I heard correctly, WFAA is now simulcasting over the KHOU signal (Channel 11) in Houston.

[Weeters 1811]

So another update on their operation:

 

WFAA is again broadcasting for KHOU as the temp signal from KHUT is being “rain faded” out from reaching WFAA who is handling their master control, and if I heard correctly, WFAA is now simulcasting over the KHOU signal (Channel 11) in Houston.

 

Also looks like someone at Tegna's graphics hub finally got in and gave WFAA the option to use KHOU's bug.

[Rusty Muck 4167]

Probably. It's kinda the same situation KREX found themselves in when their building burned down in 2008. I recall they had a new Master Control built out in a trailer out back and had to do news from the Grand Junction PBS affiliate until the new building was finished.

 

It took KREX almost two years for them to get back on their feet in their new building. The fire broke out January 20th 2008 and they weren't in the new building until August 20th 2009.

And don't forget the 1983 fire that just about destroyed WAFF 48.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t89ky5_yWyY

[PelicanGuy 117]

You'd probably get alliances formed - though for comparison, only WWL (from same-network WAFB, which is no longer an option) and WDSU (from sister station WAPT) stayed on through Katrina. WVUE basically went down (which shouldn't happen if Katrina happened now; WAFB could fill in) and WBRZ largely covered WGNO with their own operations.

 

WWL has a deal with Louisiana Public Broadcasting...and they have recently partnered with WBRZ now that WAFB and WVUE are sister stations.

[Samantha 2878]

The WAFF fire is also instructive in that the station relocated because of unique risks involving the recurrence of that incident, namely a lack of fire hydrants.

 

While it is known as Buffalo Bayou, it's basically a creek (not a swamp as I had thought) and there seem to be some valuable land users in that area. Service Corporation International, which owns 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries, has a midrise office building next door and a smaller building next to that.

 

No television station in 2017 would be built in a site with a flood risk, since TV stations are emergency infrastructure in ways that a midrise office building would not be.

 

In terms of scouting for land, KHOU is the only TV station in the general downtown area of Houston. There appears to be quite a lot of development happening downtown and I wonder if buying land for a new facility is pricey. They could attempt to build a streetside studio much like KPNX, but there were other considerations at play and the era of streetside studios seems to be at an end.

 

The benefit of a new facility is that it would be designed for a modern TV station instead of one from the late 50s, but it would likely be 18 months to two years. Not including the unique lack of zoning in Houston, Tegna would have to:

 

Find a piece of land. This is easier said than done. They will also have to consider whether they want to remain in the downtown area or relocate somewhere else in the sprawling metro. Someone more familiar with Houston could offer guidance here.

 

Draft plans. Most of the newly built facilities in Tegna's portfolio have been part of downtown developments (KING, WFAA, KPNX) and not self-contained facilities. This means that there will be a need to design something from scratch.

 

Start building. Not only do you need building permits, but an architect, a general contractor, and other parties will need to be selected.

 

And this will take time. WMTV needed 17 months from building to operation from its new site. The general contractor on KPRC's new build said 19 months. KXAS took 16. KFOR took more than two years. And that's just the construction phase.

 

What do you do in the long run? KUHT isn't sustainable, and it's likely that no interim operations can use the current facility. There is no affordance for temporary buildings at the KHOU site other than on existing parking spaces, and not having parking for the station could be a bone of contention with residents (unless they reach a deal to share the SCI parking garage).

[rkolsen 1678]

The initial WFAA from the newsroom over looked like a webstream newscast with simple graphics. The graphics looked like some of the ones that KING uses for their webstream.

[TheRolyPoly 1847]

In one day... 8 pages from this thread.

 

I don't think I've ever seen a thread go this fast and post so much in just one day.

 

I think KUHT has been simulcasting KHOU for a long time today but it did simulcast KTRK for a while. Remember, I do @PubMediaFans so I've been keeping an eye on Houston Public Media's twitter feed mainly all day.

[mrschimpf 2059]

What do you do in the long run? KUHT isn't sustainable, and it's likely that no interim operations can use the current facility. There is no affordance for temporary buildings at the KHOU site other than on existing parking spaces, and not having parking for the station could be a bone of contention with residents (unless they reach a deal to share the SCI parking garage).

 

Could we see what was done with the old Clear Channel facilities in Tulsa and Little Rock (along with WAGT/WJBF's old arrangement at an ex-B&N) and see them just purchase/lease an empty big-box store like a Sam's Club on higher ground and set up operations there until they get that back running?

 

Though the closest analogy I could see for this was Sinclair's stations in Milwaukee, WVTV/WCGV. They basically lost their first floor in August 2010 during a flash flood (the studio is a half-mile from a creek) and had to rebuild their entire setup except for STL from scratch on the second floor within a month. They had a few of the same issues; another SBG station had to take over their master control and program the station remotely (for a couple weeks, local advertisers were out of luck as DR ads had the run of the station, along with what seemed like limitless episodes of Coach and Gimme a Break because the Program Exchange series cost nothing to air and why bother sourcing some shows that were cancelled in May anyways), equipment had to be replaced and they had to put off several things, including launching HD syndicated programming. There was no local programming outside of the usual broom closet public affairs show so that wasn't an issue, unlike KHOU, but the setup bought them some time while they got a building on the northwest side far from any water source.

 

KHOU could probably do the same thing, though the issues of running a news station where you're eventually going to have employees with equipment sick of climbing stairs, a much smaller studio setup, and much less office space complicates things.

[rkolsen 1678]

[quote name='mrschimpf']KHOU could probably do the same thing, though the issues of running a news station where you're eventually going to have employees with equipment sick of climbing stairs, a much smaller studio setup, and much less office space complicates things.[/QUOTE] How much studio space and control rooms does KUHT have? If it's not rented out they could set up there and the fact it's associated with U of H could give them near by office space. (Assuming here) Also maybe next time they should put the rack rooms somewhere other than the first floor or basement. I know often they don't want to waste space for equipment on upper floors when nobody wants to be in the basement - but why not say turn it into production space (creative services) or what little scenic area that's needed ? Like @Weeters said in an earlier post with some ingenuity they could have switched sources remotely and had a very crude newscast sans graphics.

[bhratbrat 423]

The WAFF fire is also instructive in that the station relocated because of unique risks involving the recurrence of that incident, namely a lack of fire hydrants.

 

While it is known as Buffalo Bayou, it's basically a creek (not a swamp as I had thought) and there seem to be some valuable land users in that area. Service Corporation International, which owns 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries, has a midrise office building next door and a smaller building next to that.

 

No television station in 2017 would be built in a site with a flood risk, since TV stations are emergency infrastructure in ways that a midrise office building would not be.

 

In terms of scouting for land, KHOU is the only TV station in the general downtown area of Houston. There appears to be quite a lot of development happening downtown and I wonder if buying land for a new facility is pricey. They could attempt to build a streetside studio much like KPNX, but there were other considerations at play and the era of streetside studios seems to be at an end.

 

The benefit of a new facility is that it would be designed for a modern TV station instead of one from the late 50s, but it would likely be 18 months to two years. Not including the unique lack of zoning in Houston, Tegna would have to:

 

Find a piece of land. This is easier said than done. They will also have to consider whether they want to remain in the downtown area or relocate somewhere else in the sprawling metro. Someone more familiar with Houston could offer guidance here.

 

Draft plans. Most of the newly built facilities in Tegna's portfolio have been part of downtown developments (KING, WFAA, KPNX) and not self-contained facilities. This means that there will be a need to design something from scratch.

 

Start building. Not only do you need building permits, but an architect, a general contractor, and other parties will need to be selected.

 

And this will take time. WMTV needed 17 months from building to operation from its new site. The general contractor on KPRC's new build said 19 months. KXAS took 16. KFOR took more than two years. And that's just the construction phase.

 

What do you do in the long run? KUHT isn't sustainable, and it's likely that no interim operations can use the current facility. There is no affordance for temporary buildings at the KHOU site other than on existing parking spaces, and not having parking for the station could be a bone of contention with residents (unless they reach a deal to share the SCI parking garage).

In the interim the only other studio facility I could envision is kiah's off of West point and 59. They still have the studios that aren't being used since newsfix is in the control room.

 

New studio could be downtown or on 59 and no Street side due to down town being dead after 6 pm. Houston is easy to find the place or build since there is no formal zoning ordinances. It's more a question of how much tegna is willing to spend. I bet kuht will let khou have the space until they at least get an idea.

 

In reference to a flood area.. Buffalo bayou where the station is now is already deep. This is record levels of flooding in Buffalo bayou.. Like a 500 year flood. So at this point it's how the insurance describes it.. Either a loss or here's xxx dollars and then up to tegna to move or rebuild. All English stations own there property as well. So we will see.

[rkolsen 1678]

How's the WFAA signal and the WUHT signal is arriving at the KHOU tower? Is it uplinked via satellite, fiber or possibly a STL at KUHT?

[bhratbrat 423]

[quote name='rkolsen']How much studio space and control rooms does KUHT have? If it's not rented out they could set up there and the fact it's associated with U of H could give them near by office space. (Assuming here) Also maybe next time they should put the rack rooms somewhere other than the first floor or basement. I know often they don't want to waste space for equipment on upper floors when nobody wants to be in the basement - but why not say turn it into production space (creative services) or what little scenic area that's needed ? Like @Weeters said in an earlier post with some ingenuity they could have switched sources remotely and had a very crude newscast sans graphics.[/QUOTE] They have a couple studios there.. And maybe u of h does have some office space.. Best bet for them now.. What happened to the building that housed news24 Houston?

[rkolsen 1678]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1499728746787929

 

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1499725893454881

[rkolsen 1678]

I'm watching the live stream and they seem to have a handle on controlling the WFAA weather computers. Are they controlling them locally via iPad (WSI has a feature) or is someone listening at WFAA?

 

Also, will TEGNA offer their employees the option to transfer to other stations rather than rebuild? I seem to remember a few companies in New Orleans allowed employees to move to other stations.