South African weather updates on MSNBC in the US. Why?

January 27, 2009 2:42 PM

Why does MSNBC broadcast South African (and no other international) weather updates when I am located in California? They frequently come on at 12:30am PT and have done so for the last few months, so it is not due to a specific weather event. MSNBC is shown in South Africa although that alone wouldn't seem to explain it. Is this a mistake, S.A. tourism ministry advertising, something else? Has anyone else seen this?
posted by briand864 to media & arts (5 comments total)

which are you on, Satellite or Cable?
posted by ArgentCorvid at 3:52 PM on January 27

Cable. Comcast in San Francisco.
posted by briand864 at 3:59 PM on January 27

I'm on DirectTV and I see them too, so I don't think carrier has anything to do with it.
posted by willnot at 5:22 PM on January 27

12:30AM PST is 8:30AM GMT, which is 10:30AM in South Africa. It probably just boils down to who's likely watching when.

Why the SA forecast isn't being replaced by a patch in of a local forecast, though, is down to MSNBC as it feeds into a kind of universal broadcast. Cable & DirectTV would both be pulling down this broadcast stream. Usually, if it's considered to be important enough to merit the cost, a local forecast or news programme might be patched in. Basically, the universal feed is suppressed for the 2mins 34 seconds of the SA forecast and a local forecast of exactly the same time is shown in its place. Given the time of day you're discussing (12:30AM PST, 3:30AM EST), it probably just isn't worth the money and hassle to insert a regional or general US forecast.

An example of this in the UK is during Breakfast on BBC, at the point where the announcers say "and now, more about the news where you are". If you watch Breakfast on BBCNews24, you see the London weather, local news, travel conditions, etc. If you watch Breakfast on any of the regional BBC1s, you see Look North or whatever your local show is. If the local show isn't being broadcast that day, for whatever reason, you see the normal London feed. Or if the production assistant in the local office doesn't make the switch over in time, and the production folks don't have a choice but to let the feed run and promise to pick it up the next time.

Back when I dealt with this sort of feed switching at a radio station, it was a physical switch and some feeds that needed to be connected. Not doing the switch in time would either give you dead air (silence on radio, not good, usually after a run of commercials), or would have the next show on the feed continue on for a few minutes, until the feed was switched to the correct one. (Your Dr Laura has been delayed because someone didn't finish their smoke in time to switch over to the ABC feed)

I'm sure some whippersnapper will come in and tell us that it's all done by computer consoles doing automatic switches these days, but the basic principle should be the same.
posted by Grrlscout at 12:18 AM on January 28

Probably a feed. However, this morning I did catch a Toronto weather report that segued into an Orlando forecast and a segment on Orlando attractions, before giving an information website. (!$@@#%! Canwest Global) So being a stealth ad isn't entirely out of the question.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 6:55 AM on January 28