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Technical issues pull Nine’s live programming off air, including Weekend Today

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This mornings edition of Weekend Today has not gone to air due to technical issues at Nine’s new state-of-the-art building in North Sydney

Nine Newsroom North Sydney (image – Buildcorp)

Channel 9 employees are in a state of chaos this morning after a massive I.T. crash brought the entire network down.

On Sunday morning the network usually broadcasts live studio based programming from 7am until 1pm with Weekend Today, Sports Sunday and The Sunday Footy Show.

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It’s unlikely any of these shows will get to air today. Sources tell TV Blackbox that “everything has shut down”.

Not only is the I.T. issue affecting the broadcast ability of these shows, but also the systems used to prep each program and the issue is network wide, not just limited to Sydney

Of major concern is the main 6pm bulletin. The technology is so integrated into the broadcast of each bulletin it is literally impossible to play clips and add supers.

TV Blackbox understands Producers and executives are eagerly waiting for an update from engineers.

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford is reporting the incident is being treated as a possible cyber attack.

The network issued a statement (9am):

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“Due to technical difficulties we are unable to broadcast our scheduled programming. We will return to normal programming ASAP.”

An updated statement gave a little more certainty they were starting to get on top of the issues (11:45am):

“Nine is responding to technical issues affecting live broadcasting. At this stage we are working through the impacts across the network and will provide an update as we resolve the systems. NRL, 6pm News Bulletins and our evening schedule will proceed as normal.”



*This post updates

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Know more about this or another Australian media story?

Contact the team anonymously at TV Blackbox

Robert McKnight
Robert McKnighthttps://tvblackbox.com.au/robert-mcknight/
"Leading TV commentator" - The Daily Telegraph | "Known for his impeccable sources in the TV industry" - The Daily Mail | "Always first with the correct info" - Beau Ryan | Robert McKnight is a highly regarded Australian Television Producer having worked at SEVEN, NINE and TEN during his 30 years in the industry. Currently Rob can be seen every fortnight on THE MORNING SHOW (7) and heard on NIGHTS WITH JOHN STANLEY (2GB/4BC). He is also a producer on 7 NEWS SPOTLIGHT.
Comments

7 COMMENTS

  1. Footy show out of GYV is live on air….
    It’s only impacting Sydney based programming in terms of broadcasting at this stage. .

  2. The Sunday Footy Show was still on, among the other alternative, pre-recorded programs. Does that mean it’s prerecorded? If so, when? The games were just played last night..

    • Hi Zee – Melbourne studios are not as automated as the new ones in North Sydney, so they are able to broadcast unaffected.

  3. It is hard to believe this was rigorously tested before going live. What can possibly have been so fatal that was not revealed during testing? Too many high profile IT projects going wrong. Has acceptance testing gone out of fashion now? People are certainly paying the price for that ‘saving’!

  4. At least put desperate housewives and the law and order series on when things happen much prefer my telly shows than disgusting sports and reality garbage

  5. The idea of interrupting a broadcast is not new. Broadcast intrusion by substituting the main program with other messages have been occurring for decades. For example in the US a person interrupted the HBO subscription service for five minutes. The perpetrator was caught and prosecuted. The Wikipedia article gives more examples of interruption to broadcasts by intrusion, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_signal_intrusion.

    The same could be said that an event resulting in the interruption of Channel Nine’s main program is an intrusion of the Nine Network’s integrated IP playout system, source, https://itwire.com/networking/cisco%E2%80%99s-digital-infrastructure-built-on-ip-fabric-to-provide-increased-efficiency,-agility-and-flexibility.html.

    In all cases, somebody must have knowledge of the technology in order to interrupt the main program channel. In this case, somebody must have knowledge of the Cisco system used at the Nine Network.

    Accordingly, the person who committed the latest intrusion must be apprehended.

    Lesson: In the physical world, broadcasters employ security guards to prevent unauthorised people from entering the broadcaster’s premises. In the electronic world, more resources need to spent on IP security of broadcasting equipment connected to the internet.

    All of us mere mortals with devices connected to the internet have anti-virus, anti-intrusion, anti-malware and anti-spyware software.

    Thank you,
    Anthony

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