The error caused a signal from WTOP to be broadcast on several radio and TV stations Monday night between 9:30 and 10 PM. WTOP’s Technical Operations Manager Brian Oliger addressed what happened on Twitter, after several TV viewers caught the snafu and went on social media to complain about the interruption.
Oliger said WTOP was testing its internal EAS system and that test was never supposed to go on the air. Instead of the usual “This is a test” message, you heard our regular programming.
WTOP did not respond to our request for a comment late last night.
WAMU Senior Director of Technology told The Washingtonian that the Emergency Alert System is a chain, and that WTOP is a local primary station. “If a test is transmitted from a primary station, it will propagate throughout all stations on the chain until a signal to resume normal programming is transmitted. That didn’t appear to happen, but the system includes a failsafe that kicks in after two minutes and returns stations to their regular programming. Bertrand added that he sympathizes with WTOP: “It has happened, unfortunately, to most of us at some point.”
