EXTRA STATIONS RECEIVED WITH EARLY 70'S BASIC CABLE

[RyanHoward]

Every summer in the late 70's and early 80's, My parents and I went down to Wildwood Crest, NJ for a little vacation. This was the cable lineup in our hotel room, circa 1979:

Ch. 2-Local message board channel with some shore programs
Ch. 3-KYW-TV,Philadelphia(NBC, now CBS)
Ch. 4-WCMC-TV(now WMGM-TV),Wildwood, NJ(Ch. 40/NBC)
Ch. 5-WNEW-TV(now WNYW), New York(Ind., now Fox)
Ch. 6-WPVI-TV, Philadelphia(ABC)
Ch. 7-WPHL-TV, Philadelphia(Ch. 17/Ind., later WB, now MyTV)
Ch. 8-WKBS-TV, Philadelphia(Ch. 48/Ind., signed off in 1983)
Ch. 9-WOR-TV(now WWOR-TV), New York(Ind., later UPN, now MyTV)
Ch. 10-WCAU-TV, Philadelphia(CBS, now NBC)
Ch. 11-WPIX, New York(Ind., later WB, now the CW)
Ch. 12-WNJS, Camden, NJ(Ch. 23/PBS, part of NJN)
Ch. 13-WTAF-TV(now WTXF-TV), Philadelphia(Ch. 29/Ind., now Fox)

I was surprised that WHYY, Ch. 12(PBS) wasn't on the system.

 

[Toledo Eleven]

From a January 1980 channel guide from Toledo's CableSystem:
2: WJBK-2 Detroit CBS
3: WGTE-30 Toledo PBS
4: WDIV-4 Detroit NBC
5: CableSystem 5 (local) and Nickelodeon
6: WDHO-24 Toledo ABC
7: WXYZ-7 Detroit ABC
8: WKBD-50 Detroit Ind.
9: CBET-9 Windsor, Ont. CBC
10: WTOL-11 Toledo CBS
11: 24-Hour weather/time/temp./classified ads
12: WTVG-13 Toledo NBC
13: Reuters News from NY
Subscribers would later get an A-B switch which doubled the channels.

 

[ngriffin]

Ottumwa, IA circa 1979-1980

2 WMT/KGAN (CBS) Cedar Rapids (can't remember what replaced it)
3 KTVO (ABC) Ottumwa
4 Movie Channel
5 WOI (ABC) Ames (replaced by Satellite Programming Network for a year or so)
6 WGN Chicago
7 KHQA (CBS) Hannibal, MO (later CBN)
8 KCCI (CBS) Des Moines
9 KCRG (ABC) Cedar Rapids (later KOIA/KYOU)
10 WGEM (NBC) Quincy, IL (later Nickelodeon)
11 Courier Cable (classified ads, weather, and KLYF 100.3 audio)
12 KIIN (PBS) Iowa City
13 WHO (NBC) Des Moines

 

[Charles1]

Birmingham Cable, 1979...when cable finally came to our neighborhood. I can't remember all the channel positions, but here's what we got:

WAPI-13 (NBC)
WBIQ-10 (PBS)
WBMG-42 (CBS)
WBRC-6 (ABC)
WTCG-17 (Atlanta)
WANX-46 (Atlanta)
HBO
Satellite Programming Network
Reuters News Teletype (with audio from NPR station WBHM)
Reuters Sports Teletype (with audio from "Your "Q" to "EZ" listening: Stereo 96, WQEZ [now WMJJ, Magic 96.5])

 

[Bob1370]

Scott Fybush ran down the basic cable lineup in suburban Rochester in the late 70s. Earlier in the 70s, though, Channel 5 was occupied, not by WTVH in Syracuse, but by WNEW-TV, the NYC indie which later became WNYW/Fox 5.

In Ithaca, NY in the early 70s, Cerrache Cable (a locally owned firm run by the biggest TV sales and service shop in the city) the lineup was like this;
2-local news and weather (some live programming, some feed of an AP teletype in front of a camera
3-WSYR, Syracuse (NBC, now WSTM)
4-WICZ, Binghamton (OTA ch. 40, NBC, now Fox)
5-WNEW-TV, New York (Ind, now WNYW-Fox)
6-WENY-TV, Elmira (OTA ch. 36, ABC)
7-WNYS-TV, Syracuse (OTA ch. 9, ABC, now WSYR-TV)
8-WROC-TV, Rochester (NBC, now CBS)
9-WOR-TV New York (Ind, now WWOR, MYNetwork)
10-WHEC-TV, Rochester (CBS, now NBC)
11-WPIX, New York (Ind, now CW)
12-WNBF-TV, Binghamton (CBS, now WBNG-TV)
13-WOKR, Rochester (ABC, now WHAM-TV)

 

[MattParker]

As I look at the list, I don't see much I'd call "extra." The teletype channel. The weather billboard channel. Nobody's mentioned it, but most systems had a community announcements channel (another billboard). Real cable channels didn't start until the late 70s (with HBO).

Back then, people went to cable for better reception. Cable came first to smaller towns without (or without much) local TV, so you got all the broadcast stations that could be picked up from antennas on a tower, tall building or hilltop. Back then there was a lot more local programming, even on network affiliates, and even more diversity in syndicated shows on affiliates of the same network. It was a lot more common for affiliates to preempt weaker network shows to do something local or syndicated (sell spots themselves and make more money). So you could see different shows (besides local news) on two different NBC, CBS or ABC affiliates. I guess in away, that would be "extra." Now cable systems have a lot more restrictions on what terrestrial stations they can carry but it doesn't matter so much because stations in different markets have mostly the same schedules (especially if they are owned by the same company).

 

[fortmill]

Community Cable of SC, Sumter SC in 70s:

2 WBTW/13 CBS/ABC Florence SC
3 WIS/10 NBC Columbia
4 WCBD/2 ABC Charleston
5 WCIV/4 NBC Charleston
6 WOLO/25 ABC Columbia
7 WNOK/19 (now WLTX) CBS Columbia
8 WRET/36 IND. CHarlotte NC (Switched to WTCG/WTBS after WRET went with NBC)
9 WCSC/5 CBS Charleston
10 blank
11 WRLK/35 PBS Columbia
12 local info weather
13 blank

Wometco Cable of Columbia SC:

2 WJBF/6 ABC/NBC Augusta Ga
3 WIS/10 NBC Columbia
4 WOLO/25 ABC Columbia
5 WTTG/5 IND Washington
6 WCCT/57 "religious" Columbia
7 WTCG/WTBS Atlanta
8 WNOK/19 CBS (now WLTX) Columbia
9 local access
10 blank
11 WRLK/35 PBS Columbia
12 WRDW/12 CBS/NBC Augusta GA
13 local info weather
**Wometco, being a new system, also featured some channels above 13. When WATU/26 NBC in AUgusta came on, it was added to Wometco's line-up. TCI Cable, which served some suburban areas of Columbia had an almost identical line-up to Wometco except they carried WCCB/18 IND Charlotte in lieu of WTCG/WTBS.

Community Cable TV of Florence SC in 70s:

2 WCBD/2 ABC Charleston
3 local info/weather
4 WNOK/19 CBS (now WLTX) Columbia
5 WOLO/25 ABC Columbia
6 WECT/6 NBC Wilmington NC
7 WRET/36 IND Charlotte
8 WBTW/13 CBS/ABC Florence
9 WSOC/9 NBC (later ABC) Charlotte NC
10 WIS/10 NBC Columbia
11 WJPM/33 PBS Florence
12 WCSC/5 CBS Charleston
13 blank

All of these systems are now Time Warner.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Akron Cablevision used to have the CBS and NBC affiliates from Youngstown (WKBN/27, WFMJ/21) but never had ABC affiliate WYTV/33...the weakest station there.

I also recall carriage of WTRF/7 (then NBC) Wheeling WV and WTOV/9 (then CBS) Steubenville OH, but I think that was part-time.

Akron Cablevision became Warner Cable (and then Warner-Amex), and of course, is in today's massive Time Warner Northeast Ohio system.

 

[kevinc1965]

In Cape Girardeau Mo our first cable tv was
channel 2 HBO
3 WSIL ABC
4 CBN
5 USA
6 WPSD NBC
7 KFVS CBS
8 WSIU PBS
9 KETC PBS OUT OF ST LOUIS
10 AP NEWS
11 KPLR IND ST LOUIS
12 WEATHER
13 WTBS IND ATLANTA
the best thing about it WSIL ABC was now clear for monday night football before cable all games looked like they were played in a snow storm even in domes!

 

[bpatrick]

I've known a couple of people from the Cape Girardeau area,
and they snickered at the mere mention of WSIL. I don't know,
having never watched the station, whether it was the reception,
the programming, or both, but they tended to stick with either
KFVS or WPSD. And that's even after the arrival of cable.

 

[radiorob2.0]

I've known a couple of people from the Cape Girardeau area,
and they snickered at the mere mention of WSIL. I don't know,
having never watched the station, whether it was the reception,
the programming, or both, but they tended to stick with either
KFVS or WPSD. And that's even after the arrival of cable.

I live near the market so others might have a better explanation, but there was more money and signal behind WPSD and KFVS. Both station built immensely tall mast to cover the large market. WSIL was shoehorned with Memphis, Louisville and other Channel 3's so even if funds were available a similar signal wasn't possible. The owners of WSIL utilized KPOB as a satellite station for the western edge of the market.

 

[Markxxx]

In 1975 my grandmother in Hibbing, MN got

2 Clock
3 KDAL - CBS (Duluth)
4 Clock
5 Clock
6 KBJR - NBC (Duluth)
7 Clock
8 WDSE - PBS (Duluth)
9 CKND - Winnepeg
10 WDIO - ABC (Duluth)
11 WTCN - Ind (Minneapolis)
12 Clock
13 - WIRT - ABC (Hibbing)

I vividly remember that dumb clock being on every other channel. And it would vary with some programs at varied times coming and going. It was very simplistic

LOL

 

[pkffrom724]

Here is how our then Centre-Video lineup was in the Ambridge-Aliquippa area (Beaver County (Pittsburgh market)) was in 1973:

2 - KDKA/2 (CBS) Pittsburgh
3 - WKBN/27 (CBS) Youngstown, OH
4 - WTAE/4 (ABC) Pittsburgh
5 - Bulletin Board (?)
6 - WJAC/6 (NBC) Johnstown, PA
7 - WTRF/7 (NBC/ABC) Wheeling, WV (now CBS)
8 - WYTV/33 (ABC) Youngstown, OH
9 - WSTV/9 (CBS/ABC) Steubenville, OH (now WTOV, NBC)
10 - WFMJ/21 (NBC) Youngstown, OH
11 - WIIC/11 (NBC) Pittsburgh (now WPXI)
12 - Local Programming (?)
13 - WQED/13 (PBS) Pittsburgh

WQEX/16 only broadcasted in b/w and often repeated some shows on WQED/13, but only broadcasts about no more than 8, 9 or 10 hours daily. It was nowhere on the lineup.

WPGH/53 returned to the air in 1974 as an independent. In 1975, we used to have a pay-tv channel called Hollywood Home Theatre, which starts about 6pm each night.

Here is the 1975-76 lineup with some new offerings:

2 - KDKA/2 (CBS)
3 - HOLLYWOOD HOME THEATRE (pay-tv, 6PM - ???)
4 - WTAE/4 (ABC)
5 - WUAB/43 (Ind.; Lorain/Cleveland, OH) (now MyTV)
6 - WOR/9 (Ind.; New York/New Jersey) (now WWOR, MyTV)
7 - WJAC/6 (NBC)/WTRF/7 (NBC/ABC)/WFMJ/21 (NBC) (shared channel)
8 - WYTV/33 (ABC)
9 - WSTV/9 (CBS/ABC)
10 - WPGH/53 (Ind.)
11 - WIIC/11 (NBC)
12 - WKBN/27 (CBS)
13 - WQED/13 (PBS)

By September 1978, WPTT/22 signed on, and then, in 1979, religious outlet WPCB/40 came on the air, and for the first time in our area we received Home Box Office (HBO). It was then that our cable company decided to minimize duplication due to limited channel space (chs. 2-13).

Here is our lineup by the early 1980s:

2 - WQEX/16 (PBS; Pittsburgh) (b/w; later broadcast in color in 1986) (then-sister of WQED, soon to be WINP/ION Pittsburgh)
3 - HBO (Home Box Office) (5pm - ???)
4 - WTAE/4 (ABC; Pittsburgh)
5 - WUAB/43 (Ind.)/
Network pre-empts (Chs. 6, 7, 21, 27, 33) (depending on program)
6 - WOR/9 (Ind.) (now WWOR, MyTV)
7 - WQED/13 (PBS; Pittsburgh)
8 - KDKA/2 (CBS; Pittsburgh)
9 - WTOV/9 (NBC; Steubenville/Wheeling)
10 - WPGH/53 (Ind.; Pittsburgh)
11 - WPCB/40 (Ind./Religious; Pittsburgh)
12 - WIIC/11 (NBC; Pittsburgh) (now WPXI)
13 - WPTT/22 (Ind.; Pittsburgh)

Our cable company became TCI Cable by the mid-80's. In the spring of 1983, WUAB/43 was dropped from the lineup, and later replaced by WTBS/Atlanta. The out-of-market channels were reduced to 3 (Chs. 7, 9 and 33) by September of 1985, and in January 1987, in order to add more new channel offerings, eliminated the aforementioned channels altogether.

 

[rwells2265]

I've known a couple of people from the Cape Girardeau area,
and they snickered at the mere mention of WSIL. I don't know,
having never watched the station, whether it was the reception,
the programming, or both, but they tended to stick with either
KFVS or WPSD. And that's even after the arrival of cable.

I live near the market so others might have a better explanation, but there was more money and signal behind WPSD and KFVS. Both station built immensely tall mast to cover the large market. WSIL was shoehorned with Memphis, Louisville and other Channel 3's so even if funds were available a similar signal wasn't possible. The owners of WSIL utilized KPOB as a satellite station for the western edge of the market.

And KPOB channel 15 had little more than the coverage of an LPTV station -- can't speak for the present-day, but the analog signal did well to reach the Arkansas line, barely 15 miles south of Poplar Bluff. (BTW, Poplar Bluff was also able to pull in a halfway decent OTA signal from ABC station KAIT-8 in Jonesboro, Ark. KAIT was also carried on PB's cable)

WSIL was a VHF network affiliate in a city barely large enough to support ANY kind of TV station. Harrisburg was 15,000-ish when I was living in Cape Girardeau (1978-82). Signal from WSIL was indeed snowy, even using an outdoor antenna. WPSD in Paducah, Ky. had no problem putting a good city-grade into Cape.

When I think back on watching WSIL, I always crack a huge grin .... it was that bad. VERY low-budget. I mean, CABLE ACCESS budget. But here's the thing: while they played it straight on their newscasts, and took that aspect seriously, the rest of the time, the staff clearly knew they were not KFVS or WPSD. They seemed like a bunch of happy young turks "playing television." Only on WSIL Channel 3 could you hear Pink Floyd as a music bed for the station ID!

WPSD channel 6, by far, had the best production values in the market prior to 1979. That year, KFVS-12 in Cape was sold by its founding owner (Oscar Hirsch) to AFLAC. KFVS prior to 1979 was a different story ..... they had the money, but by all accounts Mr. Hirsch was one who hated to part with a dollar. KFVS was professional and solid, but VERY bare-bones. Stodgy comes to mind. One anchor doing all segments, even to the end of the Hirsch era. Character generator font resembling a close-up of a dot-matrix printer. Don McNeely's distinctive voice was heard everywhere -- to my mind, it WAS KFVS.

But under AFLAC, 12 rapidly caught up to 6, and both looked strong and good. And it was AFLAC who brought 12 kicking and screaming into the "news team" age. Don McNeely, who under Hirsch wore many hats, was allowed to choose one job - weather became his sole domain, and the rest is history.

I only wish we had the luxury of a VCR back in that day. I'd give anything to watch an episode of "Uncle Briggs" on WSIL -- that late afternoon 'kiddie show' pretty much defined that station in the '70s!

--Russell

 

[Sammi Brie]

From a January 1980 channel guide from Toledo's CableSystem:
2: WJBK-2 Detroit CBS
3: WGTE-30 Toledo PBS
4: WDIV-4 Detroit NBC
5: CableSystem 5 (local) and Nickelodeon
6: WDHO-24 Toledo ABC
7: WXYZ-7 Detroit ABC
8: WKBD-50 Detroit Ind.
9: CBET-9 Windsor, Ont. CBC
10: WTOL-11 Toledo CBS
11: 24-Hour weather/time/temp./classified ads
12: WTVG-13 Toledo NBC
13: Reuters News from NY
Subscribers would later get an A-B switch which doubled the channels.

Toledo still had its very awkward A-B system right up through the late 1990s, when they began to upgrade:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn4zr0I47zg

At this point (January 1997, oddly enough) they still had WJBK, WXYZ, WDIV, and WKBD. All the Toledo locals had apparently been put in the A-system and the Detroit ones in the B-system. Can't see the whole system there, sadly, only 27-30 and 1-13. (Yes, they had cable channels 1A and 1B.)

 

[fortmill]

Samons Cable Petersburg/Colonial Hts VA, 1970s

2- WCVE/23 PBS Richmond
3- WTAR/3 (now WTKR) CBS Norfolk
4- WCVW/57 PBS Richmond
5- WTVR/6 CBS Richmond
7- WDCA/20 Ind. Washington
6- blank
8- local automated info
9- WXEX/8 (now WRIC) ABC Petersburg/Richmond
10-WTTG/5 Ind. Washington
11-WWBT/12 NBC Richmond
12-WVEC/13 ABC Hampton/Norfolk
13-WAVY/10 NBC Portsmouth/Hampton Roads

 

[bpatrick]

I don't have the stations & cities, but back in the mid-1960's (and even perhaps before that) the cable company that served Harlan & Loyal in southeastern Kentucky provided a number of stations for subscribers. I know they had a Lexington station because it was on the Reds TV Network and there was even a station from North Carolina. These were all picked up from antennas the company had on a nearby mountain.

That North Carolina station was almost certainly WLOS, which put out a monster signal from its transmitter on Mt. Pisgah into six states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Georgia). And there were sections of southeastern Kentucky which could get WLOS via translator; I remember Middlesboro and Corbin having them.

 

[bpatrick]

Decatur, Alabama is situated in the midst of not one, not two, but three TV markets. Hence, we got quite a choice. As I recall from the TeleCable franchise system:

(2) unknown (became HBO circa 1977)
(3) WMSL-TV (now WAFF), ch. 48, ABC (now NBC), Huntsville
(4) WSM-TV (now WSMV), ch. 4, NBC, Nashville
(5) WLAC-TV (now WTVF), ch. 5, CBS, Nashville
(6) WBRC-TV, ch. 6, ABC (now FOX), Birmingham
(7) unknown (became WTCG, ch. 17, Atlanta, circa 1976)
(8) WSIX-TV (now WKRN), ch. 8 (later ch. 2), ABC, Nashville
(9) WAAY-TV, ch. 31, NBC (now ABC), Huntsville
(10) WHNT-TV, ch. 19, CBS, Huntsville
(11) Decatur City Schools in-school programming during school day; rotary weather displays at other times
(12) WHIQ-TV, ch. 25, PBS (Alabama Public Television translator), Huntsville
(13) WAPI-TV (now WVTM), ch. 13, NBC, Birmingham

One will notice that we received three stations apiece of ABC and NBC and two for CBS. The only thing missing was Birmingham's CBS affil, the weak-signaled UHF WBMG (now WIAT), on channel 42. However, I remember reading that nearby Hartselle, Alabama, some 15 miles to our south, carried it on its cable system, perhaps from a relay somewhere in Cullman or Blount counties (read your Alabama maps). TeleCable probably just didn't bother, since there were already two CBS channels (WLAC and WHNT).


I suspect there has been a post or thread about this before, but does anyone remember the old rotary mirror-camera machines that produced a black-and-white rotating display of weather instruments? I'm sure that was a fixture of smaller (and perhaps bigger) cable systems prior to the Weather Channel's 1982 debut (and the availability of local radar, on some systems). My father was good friends with the manager of TeleCable and once took me to the office to have him show me the equipment, and I recall being fascinated beyond belief at the device. At that time, those mirrors had to be the smallest video cameras that were available anywhere.

The cable company in Athens, GA, brought in three ABC, three CBS, and two NBC stations as well; WATU (later WAGT)/26 Augusta, GA, which eventually became Augusta's NBC affiliate, was never carried in Athens. Athens also made an effort to
keep the stations on their broadcast channels; 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13 were handled this way.

We also had the rotating display of weather instruments that looked like clocks. I suspect most cable companies had them; I know I used to see them when I'd go to my cousins' house in Cocoa, FL. BTW, their cable lineup in the '70s was:

2 WESH Daytona Beach/Orlando (NBC)
5 WPTV West Palm Beach (NBC)
6 WDBO (now WKMG) Orlando (CBS)
8 WFLA Tampa (NBC)
9 WFTV Orlando (ABC)
13 WTVT Tampa (CBS, now Fox)
24 WMFE Orlando (PBS)
35 WSWB Orlando (Ind.) (now WOFL, Fox)
44 WTOG St. Petersburg (Ind., now MyNet, I think)

I seem to recall WTCG on their cable; I'm not sure if WEDU Ch. 3 (PBS, Tampa) was on it.

 

[mleach]

Winchester, Virginia TV Cable ..November 1968

channel 2: WMAR Baltimore ( CBS )
channel 3: WSVA Harrisonburg, VA ( NBC-ABC )
channel 4: WRC Washington ( NBC )
channel 5: WTTG Washington ( Ind. )
channel 6: WTVR Richmond ( CBS )
channel 7: WMAL Washington ( ABC )
channel 8: WVPT Harrisonburg, VA ( Educ. )
channel 9: WTOP Washington ( CBS )
channel 10: WDCA Washington ( Ind. )
channel 11: WBAL Baltimore ( NBC )
channel 12: Community local TV from WHPL-AM Winchester
channel 13: WJZ Baltimore ( ABC )

 

[DelusionOfGrandeur]

Found this thread while researching some long-gone stations and being the broadcast geek that I am, I thought I'd resurrect it to share Elmira, NY in the late 70s:

2 - HBO
3 - WSYE 18, Elmira (NBC, then a satellite of WSYR, Syracuse)
4 - TelePrompTer local access channel
5 - WTVH 5, Syracuse (CBS)
6 - WPIX 11, New York (Ind.)
7 - WOR 9, New York (Ind., not yet moved to Secaucus)
8 - WSKG 46, Binghamton (PBS)
9 - WENY 36, Elmira (ABC)
10 - WNEW 5, New York (Ind.)
11 - Billboard/WICZ 40, Binghamton (NBC)
12 - WBNG 12, Binghamton (CBS)
13 - Billboard/WIXT 9, Syracuse (ABC)

I assume Elmira cable had previously carried the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre stations based on a handwritten list my grandfather kept with an old TV. Also, Elmira was not its own market at this time, but was part of the Syracuse market, so Syracuse's big three were carried (WSYR via its local satellite). Still, the local stations and WBNG were the dominant network affiliates.

An early-80s expansion brought the following changes:

2 - WMGC 34, Binghamton (ABC)
3 - WETM 18, Elmira (NBC, then a satellite of WSTM, Syracuse)
4 - Group W local access channel
5 - WTVH 5, Syracuse (CBS)
6 - WPIX 11, New York (Ind.)
7 - WOR 9, Secaucus, NJ (Ind.)
8 - WSKG 46, Binghamton (PBS)
9 - WENY 36, Elmira (ABC)
10 - WNEW 5, New York (Ind.)
11 - Billboard/WICZ 40, Binghamton (NBC)
12 - WBNG 12, Binghamton (CBS)
13 - Satellite News Channel
14 - HBO
15 - The Movie Channel (later Cinemax)
16 - Showtime
17 - TBS
18 - The Nashville Network
19 - MTV
20 - USA

There were some channels higher up, but my memory of them fails me.
Also, MLeach included Winchester's lineup from 1968. I live here now and can confirm that WBAL and WJZ are still included high up in the digital lineup. If you have a digital TV (who doesn't anymore?) and bypass the converter, you can also get WTVR Richmond and WVIR Charlottesville.