"fill-in" channels?

[txchipk]

With one of the local stations having pre-empted a couple of hours of network prime time this week, it got me thinking back to when I was a kid. When I lived in Montgomery AL in the early '80s, the local cable system had a dedicated channel that was a "fill-in channel" (I think, if I recall, that's actually what it was called). It used to carry network programming from out-of-market signals when one of the locals opted out. It actually carried "Good Morning America" live by relaying WTVM 9 Columbus GA each morning (GA in the Eastern time zone; Alabama in the Central). Outside that, for example, if then local CBS affiliate didn't carry a CBS show, it would import ch 8 Selma (which following an upgrade is Montgomery's CBS affiliate today) or ch 42 Birmingham, for example.

Does any cable system still do this? We moved on to the military base there shortly after. That system didn't have such a channel, but unlike the city system which carried only the local signals, the base system carried a out-of-market affiliates for the 3 networks (aside the local ABC, CBS, and NBC affils, you got CBS from Columbus, NBC from B'ham, and ABC from Columbus and B'ham) full-time. They later decided to split WTVM with superstation WOR in New York (sometimes WTVM and sometimes WOR -- mostly WOR except for local news on WTVM).

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

The need for such a channel, for the most part, no longer exists.

A decade ago, when there were a lot of affiliation swaps around the country, networks began writing into affiliation contracts language that makes it much harder for a local station to pre-empt network programming.

Prior to the mid-1990's, very few network affiliates outside of O&O's broadcast a network's complete program schedule "in pattern". Over the last decade, very few network affiliates have pre-empted network programs on more than a very occassional basis, or even broadcast network programs "out of pattern".

 

[bpatrick]

> The need for such a channel, for the most part, no longer
> exists.
>
> A decade ago, when there were a lot of affiliation swaps
> around the country, networks began writing into affiliation
> contracts language that makes it much harder for a local
> station to pre-empt network programming.
>
> Prior to the mid-1990's, very few network affiliates outside
> of O&O's broadcast a network's complete program schedule "in
> pattern". Over the last decade, very few network affiliates
> have pre-empted network programs on more than a very
> occassional basis, or even broadcast network programs "out
> of pattern".
>
Joseph's right about this. For example, in Raleigh/Durham
the only show running out of pattern that I know of is "The
Young And The Restless," which airs at 4 PM on WRAL/5 instead
of 12:30.

I never heard of a "fill-in channel," but the next best thing
back in the '70s was to have network affiliates all the time on
cable from another market. In Athens, GA, in addition to all
the Atlanta stations except PBS Channel 30, we had three networks
from Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, and two (ABC and CBS) from
Augusta. Given the Atlanta stations' seeming love of pre-emptions,
especially on WSB, it was the only way to be sure that all, or
nearly all, network programming would get into Athens.

Another advantage was the staggering of network news. For me,
the network news times were:

ABC: 6 PM on WLOS/13 Asheville
6:30 on WJBF/6 Augusta and WXIA/11 Atlanta

CBS: 6:30 on WSPA/7 Spartanburg and WRDW/12 Augusta
7 PM on WAGA/5 Atlanta

NBC: 7 PM on WSB/2 Atlanta and (then) WFBC/4 Greenville, SC

 

[BobbyNBC10]

>
> I never heard of a "fill-in channel," but the next best
> thing
> back in the '70s was to have network affiliates all the time
> on
> cable from another market. In Athens, GA, in addition to
> all
> the Atlanta stations except PBS Channel 30, we had three
> networks
> from Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, and two (ABC and CBS)
> from
> Augusta. Given the Atlanta stations' seeming love of
> pre-emptions,
> especially on WSB, it was the only way to be sure that all,
> or
> nearly all, network programming would get into Athens.
>
> Another advantage was the staggering of network news. For
> me,
> the network news times were:
>
> ABC: 6 PM on WLOS/13 Asheville
> 6:30 on WJBF/6 Augusta and WXIA/11 Atlanta
>
> CBS: 6:30 on WSPA/7 Spartanburg and WRDW/12 Augusta
> 7 PM on WAGA/5 Atlanta
>
> NBC: 7 PM on WSB/2 Atlanta and (then) WFBC/4 Greenville, SC
>
I have heard of WSB being prone to pre-emptions in it's NBC days, WAGA during the CBS days was no better, pre-empting Match Game and Tattletales and putting on other (syndicated) shows. Did you get MG and Tattletales in Athens from WSPA and WRDW? I understand WJBF and WRDW did air some NBC shows then. When did Augusta get a full fledged NBC station?

 

[Tom_Desmond]

> Does any cable system still do this?

The current "retransmission consent" rules that govern cable carriage of the more popular broadcast stations would preclude such a channel today. A cable operator would have to get the consent of the out of town affiliates that would be used for this fill-in channel before it would be allowed to carry them -- even on a part-time basis.

My understanding is that network affiliation contracts do not allow affiliates to grant retransmission consent to cable systems outside their home market under most circumstances. The exception would be for network stations historically viewed in an adjacent market (for example, the Dallas-Fort Worth stations continue to run in Sherman, TX, even though Sherman is now part of the Sherman-Ada market). Another exception would be where the adjacent market lacks an affiliate for one or more of the networks.

 

[KML0224]

> My understanding is that network affiliation contracts do
> not allow affiliates to grant retransmission consent to
> cable systems outside their home market under most
> circumstances. The exception would be for network stations
> historically viewed in an adjacent market (for example, the
> Dallas-Fort Worth stations continue to run in Sherman, TX,
> even though Sherman is now part of the Sherman-Ada market).
> Another exception would be where the adjacent market lacks
> an affiliate for one or more of the networks.
>

You get this in Springfield, MA. They carry WTIC-TV (FOX) channel 61 of Hartford, CT on their cable systems. The station is 5 million watts and already covers a good portion of western Massachusetts over-the-air (transmitter on Rattlesanke Mountain in Farmington, CT, which is west-southwest of Hartford). It is also one of the five highest rated FOX affiliates in the country (so I've heard).

 

[SteveRichards]

In addition to the networks putting more restrictive language into affiliation contracts regarding pre-emptions, the networks have gradually given daytime time periods that were heavily pre-empted back the affiliates to program themselves. Coincidentally, this has led to NBC practically doing away with daytime programming, with the exceptions of the network's two soaps, and the third hour of "Today," if you want to count that. While it could be said that the affiliates are pre-empting less, it is largely because the networks are programming less. I know of at least three CBS affiliates (WRAL...mentioned in another post on this thread, KMOV, and WLKY) that delay "The Young and the Restless" to late afternoon, two CBS affils (KOVR and WNEM) that pre-empt "Guiding Light," and one CBS (KOTV) that delays "The Bold and the Beautiful" to 1:05 in the morning. Since ABC cancelled "Port Charles," I imagine the network has virtually 100 percent clearance of its daytime shows, and since NBC programs so little, the network can now probably say the same.

Prime-time pre-emptions are a different story. Stations have rarely completely pre-empted a prime-time show on a regular basis since the 1970s. There are a few exceptions, of course, such as several ABC affils bumping "NYPD Blue" when it premiered, and a few network stations tried running the syndicated "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in prime-time when that show first came out. Other than an occasional pre-emption for a regional sporting event or the occasional Billy Graham special, stations pretty much adhere to their network's prime-time schedule. Then there's KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, but we all know about them.

As far as late-night shows, a few CBS affiliates still delay Craig Ferguson anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes (KENS in San Antonio still delays Letterman); a few ABC affiliates still delay "Nightline" and/or "Jimmy Kimmel Live," but ABC probably has more "live" late-night clearances now than it ever has; and there still might be a few NBC stations delaying Conan and Carson Daly.

 

[bpatrick]

> >
> >
> >
> I have heard of WSB being prone to pre-emptions in it's NBC
> days, WAGA during the CBS days was no better, pre-empting
> Match Game and Tattletales and putting on other (syndicated)
> shows. Did you get MG and Tattletales in Athens from WSPA
> and WRDW? I understand WJBF and WRDW did air some NBC shows
> then. When did Augusta get a full fledged NBC station?
>
WSPA and WRDW did carry Match Game and Tattletales. Augusta
had a third station, WATU (now WAGT)/26, which carried NBC
shows that WJBF and WRDW didn't want, until around 1977, when
WJBF became fulltime ABC, WRDW fulltime CBS, and WAGT fulltime
NBC.

Another CBS daytime show that WSPA and WRDW had from day one,
but WAGA didn't pick up until 1976, is The Young And The Restless.
Until Y&R went to an hour, we got it at 12 Noon on Channels 7
and 12, and 1 PM on Channel 5.

WXIA was not quite as pre-emption prone in its ABC days as
WSB and WAGA were in the same era. When it went to NBC it
picked up some programs WSB had not carried, mostly sports
(WSB loved to pre-empt NBC sports programming on Sundays
between January and August, so they could show movies and
Lawrence Welk).

 

[bpatrick]

> > Does any cable system still do this?
>
> The current "retransmission consent" rules that govern cable
> carriage of the more popular broadcast stations would
> preclude such a channel today. A cable operator would have
> to get the consent of the out of town affiliates that would
> be used for this fill-in channel before it would be allowed
> to carry them -- even on a part-time basis.
>
> My understanding is that network affiliation contracts do
> not allow affiliates to grant retransmission consent to
> cable systems outside their home market under most
> circumstances. The exception would be for network stations
> historically viewed in an adjacent market (for example, the
> Dallas-Fort Worth stations continue to run in Sherman, TX,
> even though Sherman is now part of the Sherman-Ada market).
> Another exception would be where the adjacent market lacks
> an affiliate for one or more of the networks.
>
Our local cable company, Charter Communications, wanted to
kick two stations from Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point
off their lineup: WFMY/2 (CBS) Greensboro, and WGHP/8 (Fox)
High Point. Reason: this is the Raleigh/Durham market.
But people here have been watching WFMY as far back as 1949,
and WGHP since 1963, and there was a big fuss about taking
them off. So the two stations remained, although they're
carried around Channel 18 or somewhere in there (I have
DirecTV, not cable, so I don't know or care about the
precise cable lineup). WFMY is also on cable in the
Chapel Hill/Carrboro area (also part of Raleigh/Durham),
because I've seen The Young And The Restless there at 12:30,
whereas Raleigh's CBS affiliate, WRAL, doesn't run Y&R
until 4 PM.

 

[OldAkronite]

> With one of the local stations having pre-empted a couple of
> hours of network prime time this week, it got me thinking
> back to when I was a kid. When I lived in Montgomery AL in
> the early '80s, the local cable system had a dedicated
> channel that was a "fill-in channel" (I think, if I recall,
> that's actually what it was called). It used to carry
> network programming from out-of-market signals when one of
> the locals opted out.

I don't believe they specifically reserved it as a dedicated channel, but I remember seeing network shows on then-Warner Cable (Akron, OH) from Youngstown or even from Steubenville/Wheeling.

It wasn't as necessary in our market at the time, as we had two ABC affiliates - WEWS/5 Cleveland and WAKC/23 Akron. 23 usually carried ABC programming 100 percent.

It isn't being done today, anywhere in Northeast Ohio, that I'm aware of.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>

 

[moedog1]

Amazingly, Comporium Communications in York (and upper Lancaster) Counties in SC carries WSPA/7/CBS Spartanburg 100% blackout free, right in the shadow of WBTV/3/CBS in Charlotte. Spartanburg is 70 plus miles away while Charlotte is as close as two miles from this system. It blows my mind that WBTV has not put a stop to this (though I'm not complaining). Comporium claims 63000 subscribers so this is not just a few homes and the channel placement runs like this: WSOC(ABC)4, WBTV(CBS)5, WCNC(NBC)6, WSPA(CBS)7, WJZY(UPN)8, WTVI(PBS)9, etc.

 

[Whyzmaster954]

> Prime-time pre-emptions are a different story. Stations
> have rarely completely pre-empted a prime-time show on a
> regular basis since the 1970s. There are a few exceptions,
> of course, such as several ABC affils bumping "NYPD Blue"
> when it premiered, and a few network stations tried running
> the syndicated "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in
> prime-time when that show first came out. Other than an
> occasional pre-emption for a regional sporting event or the
> occasional Billy Graham special, stations pretty much adhere
> to their network's prime-time schedule. Then there's KSL-TV
> in Salt Lake City, but we all know about them.

I remember in Boston, our local ABC affilate, WCVB-TV preempted at first what ever ABC was showing on Friday nights at 9:30 in favor of "The Cosby Show" reruns and at the same time they pre-empted ABC's Sat 8:00pm sched for "Star Trek: TNG"
<P ID="signature">______________
Tape Traders Central/Retro Blog</P>

 

[RFLA]

In my area, we are in the New Orleans DMA but the New orleans affliates do not complain about systems carrying other affliates outside of their 5 parish (county) metro area.

In the Bayou region (Houma,La about 50 miles SW of New Orleans) we have both all New Orleans affliates and the 4 to 5 full power TV stations (depending upon if they can recive the lower power but stull full power FOX affliate) from Baton Rouge (probably due to the fact that both can be recieved by outside TV antennas). To the west of my area, one of the cable systems actually carries the affliates from both cities plus Lafayette so you definitely won't have to worry about preemptions there (3 ABC,3CBS,2 NBC,3FOX,2PBS)

In the past, When the NFC was on CBS and blackout rules weren't as stingy as they are now, the local cable system carried the CBS affliate from Lafayette (about 70 miles away) to carry Saints football.

But right now with most affliates in New Orleans on limited broadcast day mode or broadcasting news, It does help having an out of town affliate on the system to be able to get your mind on something other than "the storm"

RFLA

 

[fybush]

> I never heard of a "fill-in channel," but the next best
> thing back in the '70s was to have network affiliates all the time
> on cable from another market. In Athens, GA, in addition to
> all the Atlanta stations except PBS Channel 30, we had three
> networks from Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, and two (ABC and CBS)
> from Augusta.

This was one of the first selling points for cable in Rochester when it started up in the late 70s. When we got cable in January 1980, it carried all of the "big 3" from Buffalo, plus NBC (WSYR-TV, then) from Syracuse.

(At various times over the ensuing decade, we also got 5, 9 and 11 from New York, CJOH Ottawa via its Deseronto channel 6 relay transmitter, CBLFT-25 from Toronto, and even WSBK Boston for a time.)

When they pulled the last of the Buffalo signals off cable - I want to say this was about 1985 - they promised a "Potpourri" channel that would carry the local newscasts and other locally pre-empted programming from those signals. It never happened, probably for the retrans-consent issues that would now prevent the cable company from carrying any of those channels.

As soon as you cross the line out of Monroe County in either direction, the cable systems start carrying Buffalo and Syracuse signals, and now with a rooftop antenna and a DTV tuner, I get cleaner pictures on most of them then I ever did in the days when the cable company was picking them off the air from 60 miles out.<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2006 JUST RELEASED! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>

 

[RockManAC]

> a few ABC affiliates still
> delay "Nightline" and/or "Jimmy Kimmel Live," but ABC
> probably has more "live" late-night clearances now than it
> ever has; and there still might be a few NBC stations
> delaying Conan and Carson Daly.

ABC O&O WLS-TV Chicago runs Nightline live but delays Jimmy Kimmel until after a re-run of Oprah.

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>