Said YFF "can old beta tapes not be played on the specialized decks TV stations have?"

Uhhh.....nope (although when Betacam came out 18 years ago, one of the things they plugged was that news crews could pick up extra blank tapes at the local video store). However, the professional tape speed is about triple Betamax's which, though it might create some hilarity, wouldn't do you much good.

HTH