UPDATE: [Identified] After investigation by BLOX Digital, the Associated Press confirmed recent changes to legacy sports agate fixtures TV SportsWatch and Sports Odds Friday, March 24, 2023.
Our dev team has discovered TV SportsWatch and Sports-Odds agate fixtures are no longer moving with an ANPA Agate category. More problematic, a different html structure is being moved that our BLOX Total CMS print translation rulesets are not set up to handle.
The Associated Press confirmed these changes are a part of its ongoing initiative to new processing systems. The AP advised BLOX Digital (formally TownNews) engineers the NITF formatting for the Sports Odds fixture is in the final state. The TV SportsWatch fixture is still in flux during this transition, which is expected to take two weeks. The fixture is being moved with paragraph formatting rather than traditional table formatting.
[Resolved] The BLOX Total CMS team has completed work and tested a solution to remedy the formatting issue for TV SportsWatch and Sports Odds.
Adding support for Sports Odds
Necessary Components for updating
Updated *BasicCleanup_AP ruleset
Addition of new Sports Odds cleaner ruleset
*If your site does not have a BasicCleanup_AP ruleset, install the one included in this advisory.
1. Download the following .zip file: “ New SPTAG new odds cleaners" which also includes a BasicCleanup_AP ruleset for sites that may not have one installed.
2. Decompress that .zip and note its location for future import.
3. Using the browser interface for the domain that you will test with, choose Desktop > Applications > Settings > InDesign > Translate Rulesets.
4. Most BLOX Total CMS sites have a single BasicCleanup and a single BasicCleanup_AP ruleset. If your site has an existing BasicCleanup_AP ruleset, select the line > Ruleset > Delete rulesets.
5. Install the updated BasicCleanup_AP ruleset by choosing New > Import Rulesets.
6. In the dialog that appears, click the Upload File button.
7. Locate the decompressed BasicCleanup_AP.json file from the .zip file above and import it.
8. Add the new Sports Odds cleaner ruleset by choosing New > Import Rulesets
9. In the dialog that appears, click the Upload File button.
10. Locate the decompressed SPTAG new odds cleaners.json file from the .zip file above and import it.
For site that DID NOT HAVE an existing BasicCleanup_AP ruleset in place, follow the next steps:
11. Locate and open the BasicCleanup ruleset.
12. Select the first line and choose New from the upper left-hand of the dialog.
13. The the Rule comment: "Send AP fixtures out to its own clean up"
17. Select the drop-down option from the Save button and choose Save and Close.
NOTE: until the AP confirms how it plans to tag agate fixture going forward, sites will need to:
1. Use Editorial / Syndication from the CMS, sear search for “odds” and look for lower case BC-sports-odds. Note that there isn’t a section assigned.
2. Add the agate BC-sports-odds fixture to site and select the section tag and flags.
a. Tags: section – ap/sports/agate
b. Flags: check both AP and Agate (although it appears agate my already be selected)
[Monitoring] The BLOX Total CMS team will continue to monitor the issue, and as anything changes, BLOX Digital will post further updates.
For immediate support, we encourage customers to create support requests by logging into the support ticketing system.
Support hours
Monday - Friday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Central
Holidays
Our support team will be unavailable on the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Critical issues, as defined by BLOX Digital's SLA, will continue to receive response through After Hours Support (see below).
After-hours support
After Hours emergencies are handled by calling our support number, 800-293-9576,and choosing auto-attendant option 1 for support. During non-business hours, this will direct your call to our answering service, who will locate a BLOX Digital staff member who can help. Please allow up to 30 minutes for a response.
Please help us provide this no-cost service by requesting After Hours help only for critical situations. BLOX Digital considers a request "critical" when a site or live stream is inaccessible, or if customers cannot update editorial or advertising content.
