August 8: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on August 8. Discuss or comment as you please……

1921: Producer/director/writer William Asher (I Love Lucy, Bewitched, others) is born in New York City.

1954: WKBT commences operations on channel 8 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

1976: Spokane, Washington’s KREM-TV and KXLY-TV swap network affiliations (KREM going from ABC to CBS, and vice-versa for KXLY). CBS had dropped KXLY because of their penchant for pre-empting or tape-delaying network shows.

1986: Knight Rider ends its original NBC network run.

1999: The “official” finale episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel. However, one additional unaired episode produced earlier in the season would be broadcast (promoted as a “lost episode”) 5 weeks later.

2005: Actress Barbara Bel Geddes (Dallas) dies in Northeast Harbor, Maine, aged 82.

2005: Weeds premieres on Showtime.

(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)

 

[only1moore]

Funny that you mentioned WKBT and KXLY-TV: Today both stations are owned by Morgan Murphy Media.

Speaking of KXLY, when CBS dropped the station, CBS was the number one network. After ABC signed with KXLY, ABC overtook CBS as the number one network, so you can say that KXLY really benefitted from going from one top-rated network to another. Another thing that KXLY did after joining ABC was dropping the practice of heavily pre-empting networks shows. They have done well as a ABC affiliate ever since.

As for KREM, the jump to CBS must've help them by making that station a top-rated news leader in Spokane to this day.

 

[azumanga]

Another thing that KXLY did after joining ABC was dropping the practice of heavily pre-empting networks shows.

Kind of makes you wonder if KXLY held some sort of grudge with CBS, since the station's pre-emption spree ended after switching.

 

[bpatrick]

Another CBS affiliate with a penchant for playing
fast and loose with the network schedule, WKRG/5
Mobile, AL, stopped the practice around the same time
as the Spokane switch and began airing everything in
pattern. Either CBS threatened to disaffiliate them or
management was afraid they'd be next, I don't know,
but I do know that the station is still with CBS and is
one of the Eye network's better affiliates.

 

[LKellerIII]

Another CBS affiliate with a penchant for playing
fast and loose with the network schedule, WKRG/5
Mobile, AL, stopped the practice around the same time
as the Spokane switch and began airing everything in
pattern. Either CBS threatened to disaffiliate them or
management was afraid they'd be next, I don't know,
but I do know that the station is still with CBS and is
one of the Eye network's better affiliates.

KPIX San Francisco (owned by Westinghouse) often angered the CBS network in the 1970s by playing fast and loose with the prime time schedule, and raised a big stir when they refused to air Charles Bronson's Death Wish for being too violent. Later, they even tried an early prime-time schedule (7:00 - 10:00) which got them in a lot of hot water.

Somewhat ironically, they stopped playing around with the schedule and went back to regular 8:00 - 11:00 prime-time when Westinghouse bought CBS and they became an O&O.

 

[1069_KIFR]

While working at KPIX during the early prime time and going up against KTVU's 10 O' Clock news, we got beat big time. Doing better with an 11pm newscast was the main reason for going back to regular prime time. KOVR in Sacramento an O/O still has an early prime time schedule.

I remember the station promoting the hell outta the Eyewitness News at 10, "Now the Bay Area has a Choice" "The Right Time For News" I still have my sweatshirt someplace.

 

[LKellerIII]

While working at KPIX during the early prime time and going up against KTVU's 10 O' Clock news, we got beat big time. Doing better with an 11pm newscast was the main reason for going back to regular prime time. KOVR in Sacramento an O/O still has an early prime time schedule.

I remember the station promoting the hell outta the Eyewitness News at 10, "Now the Bay Area has a Choice" "The Right Time For News" I still have my sweatshirt someplace.

KIFR - didn't they re-brand it "KPIX 5 News at 10:00?". I think that was to raise "KPIX" brand-awareness for their even more ill-fated KPIX-FM news radio station. One of the worst radio stations ever...though I guess they gained some temporary ratings success when they became "All OJ, All the Time" during the Simpson trial.

The early prime-time experiment was an even bigger failure for KRON, when they followed KPIX's lead, pushing their prime-time to 7:00, and losing the top rated Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune to KGO-TV. ABC-7 cashed in twice because they ended up being the only Bay Area newscast at 11:00 for a year or more

 

[firepoint525]

Another CBS affiliate with a penchant for playing
fast and loose with the network schedule, WKRG/5
Mobile, AL, stopped the practice around the same time
as the Spokane switch and began airing everything in
pattern. Either CBS threatened to disaffiliate them or
management was afraid they'd be next, I don't know,
but I do know that the station is still with CBS and is
one of the Eye network's better affiliates.

KPIX San Francisco (owned by Westinghouse) often angered the CBS network in the 1970s by playing fast and loose with the prime time schedule, and raised a big stir when they refused to air Charles Bronson's Death Wish for being too violent. Later, they even tried an early prime-time schedule (7:00 - 10:00) which got them in a lot of hot water.

Somewhat ironically, they stopped playing around with the schedule and went back to regular 8:00 - 11:00 prime-time when Westinghouse bought CBS and they became an O&O.

The irony in all of this is that for those of us who live here in the central time zone, 7:00-10:00 p.m. has been "prime time" all along for as far back as any of us here can remember! And I wouldn't have it any other way! ;D

 

[landtuna]

Same for those of us in the Mountain Time Zone.

 

[LKellerIII]

Another CBS affiliate with a penchant for playing
fast and loose with the network schedule, WKRG/5
Mobile, AL, stopped the practice around the same time
as the Spokane switch and began airing everything in
pattern. Either CBS threatened to disaffiliate them or
management was afraid they'd be next, I don't know,
but I do know that the station is still with CBS and is
one of the Eye network's better affiliates.

KPIX San Francisco (owned by Westinghouse) often angered the CBS network in the 1970s by playing fast and loose with the prime time schedule, and raised a big stir when they refused to air Charles Bronson's Death Wish for being too violent. Later, they even tried an early prime-time schedule (7:00 - 10:00) which got them in a lot of hot water.

Somewhat ironically, they stopped playing around with the schedule and went back to regular 8:00 - 11:00 prime-time when Westinghouse bought CBS and they became an O&O.

The irony in all of this is that for those of us who live here in the central time zone, 7:00-10:00 p.m. has been "prime time" all along for as far back as any of us here can remember! And I wouldn't have it any other way! ;D

Yeah - I liked early prime-time in San Francisco just fine. I had to get up at 5:00 AM for work (still do, actually), so it was nice to be able to see the 10:00 PM dramas (ER, etc.) at 9:00...before my bed time. But it reportedly didn't work because West Coasters had the 8:00 - 11:00 viewing habit for close to 50 years, and couldn't make the change. Ratings dropped like a rock for the former 8:00 shows moved to 7:00. Since the ABC O&O did not go along with the early prime switch, their ratings at 10:00 went way up, as did the ratings for their 11:00 newscast, which suddenly had no competition.

 

[firepoint525]

Our local FOX affiliate here in Nashville has had "early" news at 9:00 p.m. for quite some time now. (I suppose you can "time-adjust" that for your own time zone! ;D)

I always figured that we here in the central time zone simply received the same satellite feed as our east coast friends, but that rather than simply "re-feed" the same programming to us an hour later, they just fed to us when they fed it to the east-coasters. And I'm guessing that the mountain time zoners indeed did receive a time-delayed feed, while the west coasters got their own feed a full three hours after the eastern zoners got the original feed. I hope all that made sense! :

It used to annoy the living hell out of me that WPSD channel 6 in Paducah, KY, time-delayed Saturday Night (supposedly!) Live by an hour for close to 20 years before they finally got on the "right" schedule, and started airing it immediately after the 10:00 p.m. newscast. I realized that New Yorkers were seeing it live at 11:30 in their own time zone, but it sucked for us central timers to be forced to wait for it until 11:30 in our time zone! And by the time they finally got around to airing it "live" at the "right" time, it was no longer worth watching! :'( Even on "Miss America" night when they were already an hour behind schedule, they still delayed SNL an additional hour!

 

[mleach]

Speaking of time zones...wasn't Indianapolis in central time at one time? I swear I remember seeing an ad YEARS ago where WRTV and WTHR had news at TEN and they advertised it that way.

Today some of my firends who live in Indy say their city was NEVER in cnetral time and had always been in eastern time.

 

[Stanislav]

Speaking of time zones...wasn't Indianapolis in central time at one time? I swear I remember seeing an ad YEARS ago where WRTV and WTHR had news at TEN and they advertised it that way.

Today some of my firends who live in Indy say their city was NEVER in cnetral time and had always been in eastern time.

The subject of Time in Indiana is convoluted enough to need a scholarly treatise to follow. The Wikipedia page on the subject is an excellent summary. And, yes, all of Indiana (officially) was on Central Time until 1961. Depending on the age of those naysaying friends, it's entirely possible that in their lifetimes, Indianapolis has always been on Eastern Time. But older Hoosiers would know better..... ;D

 

[1069_KIFR]

Oh yes, I remember the pain in the butt station 95.7 KPIX, The Express. Where every 20 seconds they had to say 95.7 KPIX, the express. Drove me nuts. Then yes the OJ case was their savior for awhile. Then when that gravy train was gone, soon so was the station. I keep saying that an FM news station will not work in the Bay Area. Not yet at least.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1988: On 8/8/88, forty years after the Detroit Tigers became the last American League team to institute night baseball at home, the first night game is played at Chicago's Wrigley Field between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. Heavy rains forced the cancellation of the game after three innings, so the first official night game would have to wait until a 6-4 Cubs win over the eventual NL East champion New York Mets the following evening.

WBBM-2 (and some WLS-7) news coverage of this historic night at Wrigley (featuring the likes of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson on 'BBM) is on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFm9ZuUBQnY&feature=channel_page (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfNakXMaudw&feature=related (Part 2 of 2)

I could not find any highlights of WGN coverage of the historic game (featuring Harry Caray) on YouTube (back in the "good old" pre-WB/CW and syndie exclusivity days where WGN-TV and WGN Superstation were one entity).

 

[Ultimajock]

I could not find any highlights of WGN coverage of the historic game (featuring Harry Caray) on YouTube (back in the "good old" pre-WB/CW and syndie exclusivity days where WGN-TV and WGN Superstation were one entity).

...WGN aggressively patrols and bounces any material from YouTube that is associated with its history. Same reason why you don't see WGN-TV material on http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/ but almost every other TV station in Chicago is there...

 

[mleach]

I could not find any highlights of WGN coverage of the historic game (featuring Harry Caray) on YouTube (back in the "good old" pre-WB/CW and syndie exclusivity days where WGN-TV and WGN Superstation were one entity).

...WGN aggressively patrols and bounces any material from YouTube that is associated with its history. Same reason why you don't see WGN-TV material on http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/ but almost every other TV station in Chicago is there...

For years it was the same with Denver's KWGN as well. However since KWGN is now part of KDVR, I dont think they care "as much". However about a year ago I do remember reading a piece in the Penny Parker column in the now defunct Rocky Mountain News where all of the Denver TV stations had agreed to have the power to not only pull their own clips off from You Tube but clips from their competition as well ( Example KMGH has the power to get KUSA clips taken off of You Tube it they want ).

Then again with all the being said, I have a gut feeling this "agreement" never became reality as there is still quite a bit of "Denver TV" on You Tube and many of those clips had been up for some time now such as the 1977 opening for KOA (KCNC ), KMGH and KBTV (KUSA ). Heck there is even a late 70's clip I saw the other day from KWGN !!!

Maybe the Denver stations just dont want to bother as far as You Tube and their clips are concerned.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

A moment in history that of course was seen on TV:

1974: Facing certain impeachment for his involvement in Watergate, President Richard M. Nixon announces his resignation from office, effective noon Aug. 9, in a nationally televised address from the Oval Office.