Commercial TV Stations that played PBS shows OTHER than Sesame Street

[crainbebo]

Were there any ABC, NBC or CBS stations that played any PBS shows other than Sesame Street? We've talked about stations that played Sesame Street before PBS was available, but what about other PBS shows, like Electric Company and Mr. Rogers?

-crainbebo

 

[Bob1370]

This is really pre-PBS as we know it, but back in the days when its predecessor, National Educational Television, was distributing some shows nationwide, it got carriage on commercial stations (which got public service credit) in markets where no educational station had yet gone on the air, including Rochester, NY. Shows like the children's information show "What's New" would air in early evenings once or twice a week on our CBS affiliate (which was then WHEC-TV).

When Rochester got its own public station in 1966, that all ended.

 

[wbhist]

This specific situation as mentioned by 'Bob1370' applied prior to the 1962 sign-on of WNDT (now WNET) in the NYC market. In the season before WNDT first took to the air, certain NET programs aired on WNEW-TV (now WNYW), plus instructional programs airing from morning to early afternoon on WPIX. After the 1961-62 school season ended, in anticipation of such programs moving to the new WNDT, WPIX's sign-on was moved from about 2 P.M. (viz its own regular programming) to 8 A.M.

 

[onairb]

In the late '70s, and possibly early '80s, KPIX (CBS channel 5) in San Francisco used to show the PBS Spanish-language children's show 'Villa Alegre' on weekends, usually at 6:30 or 7 AM.

 

[rhead]

There were a few cases of this in Houston.

In the 80s, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK-TV (Channel 13) ran the bilingual PBS children's show Carrascolendas early on Saturday mornings. On Sunday mornings, KTRK showed Infinity Factory and Vegetable Soup, which, if I'm not mistaken, were also PBS shows. There were probably more besides these, but I can't remember the titles of the rest.

Then-independent (now Fox) KRIV (Channel 26), I think, also had Vegetable Soup on their schedule at one time as well.

Another then-independent, KTXH (Channel 20), showed Rebop early on Saturday mornings in the 80s, which I think I read in a past retro TV schedule posted on here.

To my knowledge, none of the more well-known PBS shows were seen anywhere else in Houston besides the actual PBS station (KUHT, Channel 8 ).

 

[BobbyNBC10]

Superstation WTBS ran Vegetable Soup in the early-mid 1980's on Saturdays.

 

[TexasTuner]

I seem to remember KVII-TV, the channel 7 ABC affiliate in Amarillo, Texas running Sesame Street in the mornings before their ABC daytime schedule started up. One big video tape, and they basically started it up and let it run. The engineer I met told me it was great..not much work involved, it did get some ratings, the public was happy to see it and KVII got some nice credit out of the deal. For the life of me I can't remember when this was, but if I had to guess, it would have been in the early to mid 1970s.

 

[cwf1701]

In the Detroit aera, a number of programs associated with PBS also airs over CBET-9. (Sesame Street, the various Degrassi series (Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High), the Red Green Show, and Doctor Who for example.) Some of these shows airs on CBET (over the CBC network) before they air on any PBS station (or any station in the USA).

 

[azumanga]

In the Detroit aera, a number of programs associated with PBS also airs over CBET-9.

Some border communities also get the CBC from the nearest affilate, such as Seattle (CBUT Vancouver), Buffalo (CBLT Toronto), Watertown and Utica (CKWS-TV, Kingston), Burlington (CBMT Montreal) and Presque Isle (CBAT Fredericton). These and other CBC stations generally carry the same network programming, but with a few other American series added in (due to Detroit rights, CBET replaces shows like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy with other programs).

 

[FreddyE1977]

In the late '70s, and possibly early '80s, KPIX (CBS channel 5) in San Francisco used to show the PBS Spanish-language children's show 'Villa Alegre' on weekends, usually at 6:30 or 7 AM.

KDKA-TV2 in Pittsburgh also ran this show early mornings for awhile (which I found very interesting, because
Pittsburgh has a rather small Hispanic population even now. Was far, far smaller in the 70's)

 

[BobbyNBC10]

WILX-TV Lansing had Villa Alegre on weekends in the 70's and I believe they also ran Vegetable Soup like WTBS did.

 

[mjlarochelle]

WILX-TV Lansing had Villa Alegre on weekends in the 70's and I believe they also ran Vegetable Soup like WTBS did.

Not to mention also that WILX had share-time with the local NET/PBS station until 1972.

 

[BobbyNBC10]

Yup

 

[anotherguyTN]

This may not be strictly PBS programming, but are there any commercial stations that carried any British sitcoms or The Red Green Show, that normally are shown on PBS stations?

 

[fybush]

Red Green is being carried right now on "TVW," aka WISC 3.2, the My affiliate serving Madison, Wisconsin. According to Steve Smith (the creator and star of the show), Wisconsin Public TV won't carry the rerun package currently being offered to public TV in the US, so they're giving the show to TVW to carry for free, just to keep it on the air there. (We had "Red" here in Rochester for a WXXI appearance a month ago, and he was talking about the carriage situation in a Q&A he did after his show.)

 

[bpatrick]

Ch. 34 in Athens, GA, was the first station I recall carrying Red Green.
The station was an independent at the time; it has since been bought
by Univision. BTW, Red's show originated in Hamilton, ON, not in England.

 

[anotherguyTN]

I know The Red Green Show is Canadian, but it's usually carried in the same timeslots as British sitcoms on PBS stations, which is why I mentioned it. That brings up another question of why there aren't any other Canadian comedy shows offered to PBS stations. I've thought that since Corner Gas isn't on WGN America any more that running it on PBS stations in a block with Red Green would be a good idea.

 

[azumanga]

WILX-TV Lansing had Villa Alegre on weekends in the 70's ...

I have a Northern Michigan TVG from early-1980 that had WJIM in Lansing carrying Villa Alegre on Saturday mornings -- did that series air on both commercial stations at one time?

 

[wbhist]

In the years after Firing Line became a PBS-only show in 1971, some commercial stations carried the program from time to time, even in markets where PBS stations aired it. One ironic circumstance was in 1976-77, when WOR-TV in New York - from which the show originated in its first five years on the air (1966-71, and syndicated in those early years by WOR's then-parent RKO General Productions) - ran newer episodes on Saturday as part of their "public service" obligations. In addition, in the early '80's WOR aired Agronsky & Company when it was playing on the PBS stations in the area (namely WNET). And then there was The McLaughlin Group which aired on both PBS and commercial stations in the 1980's and '90's.

 

[Tim L]

While Red Green had been carried on WVIZ-PBS in Cleveland several years ago, never saw more than a few minutes of it..Recently rediscovered Red on Montana PBS through Free-to-air KU Band Satellite..The show is absolutely hilarious..Montana PBS shows 2 episodes 11PM-Midnight Saturday nights (9-10MT)..

On the main topic, while I don't recall PBS shows airing in Cleveland
Before WVIZ signed on, WEWS-TV for many years in the 1950's and 60's carried Live College level courses from Western Reserve University (Later Case Western) weekdays from 9-9:30AM during the school year. I believe these courses were taken over by WVIZ eventually..