Hee Haw in Urban areas and other areas outside the South

[aarontabr]

With Hee Haw reruns making their return this weekend to CMT, I thought this would be the perfect time to ask this question. In the South and parts of the Midwest, Hee Haw would air on Saturday nights at 7 eastern/ 6 central (on any of the big 3 networks or independent depending on the channel). But I was wandering how stations outside the South handled the hee haw syndicated package. What I mean for example is, did any tv station in places such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, anywhere in New England, etc air Hee Haw since those markets were outside of Hee Haw's audience demographics? If so, did they air it at a decent time, or did it air very late at night?

I remember reading an old TV weekly for the New York City area published by the New York Times. Hee Haw did air in New York City on WPIX 11 (which was independent back then). However, WPIX ran Hee Haw very late Saturday night at 2 A.M. That tells me every large TV market was obliged to air Hee Haw on syndication whether the markets wanted to or not.

 

[radiorob2.0]

I always liked the choice you had in most markets early on a Saturday evening, Hee Haw vs. Lawrence Welk.

 

[dougw9wi]

handled the hee haw syndicated package. What I mean for example is, did any tv station in places such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, anywhere in New England, etc air Hee Haw since those markets were outside of Hee Haw's audience demographics? If so, did they air it at a decent time, or did it air very late at night?

It aired in Madison, Wis. at a reasonable hour - I want to say 6:30 Saturday evening.

That tells me every large TV market was obliged to air Hee Haw on syndication whether the markets wanted to or not.

Not sure I understand this. Taken strictly at face value, syndicators can't force any station to air a program that station doesn't want to air. I suppose they could require that if you air the show at all, you air it between (say) 5 and 10pm but the stations would always have the option of refusing to air it at all.

There were some cases where if you wanted to run one program, you were required to air another program from the same syndicator. Whether Hee Haw was such a program I don't recall.

 

[jh]

Is it possible the syndicator gave some incentive to stations in those markets to run Hee Haw? Like cash or a better deal on another show the station wanted to run?

I know in radio, companies have been known to do that to get their shows cleared in some large markets. I understand ABC is paying the Air America affiliate in NYC to run "Satellite Sisters." I don't know if similiar deals have been done in TV or with "Hee Haw," but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[bpatrick]

Hee Haw, as I recall, did not air in Boston, the only
city where it wasn't carried. I do recall at least
one New England station, WCAX/3 Burlington-Plattsburgh,
carrying it Saturdays at 7 (Lawrence Welk was on WPTZ/5
at the same time).

WJBK/2 Detroit and KDKA/2 Pittsburgh carried Hee Haw
Saturdays at 7 back around 1978. WJW/8 Cleveland
also did so. (Welk was on at the same time on WPXI/11
Pittsburgh.)

On the West Coast, I seem to recall KOIN/6 Portland
carrying Hee Haw Saturdays at 7 (Pacific). (Welk aired
on KATU/2 at the same time.)

There are also some fringe areas where North meets
South (specifically, Ohio and Indiana) where Hee Haw
was usually seen against Welk: Columbus, Dayton,
Indianapolis, Ft. Wayne, Toledo (Hee Haw had a 30-
minute head start in Cincinnati, airing on WKRC/12
at 6:30; Welk started at 7 on WLWT/5).

 

[Ultimajock]

I always liked the choice you had in most markets early on a Saturday evening, Hee Haw vs. Lawrence Welk.

...in fact, while on the networks, in Green Bay "Hee Haw" ran on CBS affiliate WBAY-TV/2 and "Lawrence Welk" ran on WLUK/11. In syndication, "Hee Haw" was on 11 and Welk was on 2, in overlapping slots in Saturday prime fringe (I want to say 2 ran Welk from 6 to 7 and 11 ran "Hee Haw" from 5:30 to 6:30, after their respecive networks' Saturday evening news; if I'm wrong, please correct)...

 

[Braves2005]

In San Antonio,Hee Haw was always on KENS Channel 5 on Saturday nights at 6:00 PM from 1971 to 1984,then it moved to KENS own cable channel until 1985,and then moved to KSAT-12 where it was on until 1987,and then it moved back to KENS where it stayed until 1991. They did not show the final season or Hee Haw Silver in San Antonio.

Lawrence Welk in San Antonio was on KSAT Channel 12. At first they showed it either on Saturday or Sunday afternoons or nights for about 3 years into the syndication run. Then it moved to 6:00 PM Saturday nights in 1974 where it stayed until 1978 where Lawrence Welk was taken off San Antonio airwaves. I don't know why another station didn't pick it up after KSAT dropped the show.

 

[tvradiofan]

KTVU in Oakland-S.F. used to air Hee Haw at 2 or 3 in the afternoon on Saturdays or Sundays, depending on their movie schedules, or sometimes, Giants baseball.
I think they finally dropped Hee Haw in the early '80s, and it was only seen in Santa Rosa on KFTY-50 (not available to most of the Bay Area) for several years.
I vaguely remember they aired it Saturday evenings, at 6 or 7.
Toward the end of Hee Haw's run, it aired on KICU, channel 36, on Sundays at
6 PM.

 

[BobbyNBC10]

I always liked the choice you had in most markets early on a Saturday evening, Hee Haw vs. Lawrence Welk.

I remember in the late 1970's and early 1980's, both WGN TV Channel 9 Chicago and WKBD TV 50 Detroit had both Hee Haw and Lawrence Welk.

 

[gr8oldies]

WHIO-TV Channel 7 in Dayton aired Hee Haw at 6:30, more than likely WLW-D 2 would have run Welk but I'm not sure..I think where I lived it my grandmother watched it out of Ft. Wayne. WHIO had a Saturday afternoon block of Country themed shows, including "That Nashville Music", and Porter Waggoner's show with Dolly Parton, airing at 5:30.

Did Midwestern hayride fit into this picture around that time (Avco stations WLW-T, D, I, C, etc. )

 

[anoldguy]

I can tell you that in Utica, N. Y. Welk ran on WKTV Ch 2 and Hee Haw ran on WUTR-TV 20 at 7:00 PM for many years. Welk won the ratings war.

 

[RunWithScissors]

Was Hee Haw ever shown in Philadelphia, PA, if so, what time, channel and years, thanks for the help....I can't wait to watch this show, I remember when the Nashville Network was on, they had a show called Country Standard Time in 1990, when they had Classic singers do a one hour show and they played old country videos and many were from the Hee Haw show....

 

[MHB]

Hee Haw, as I recall, did not air in Boston, the only
city where it wasn't carried. I do recall at least
one New England station, WCAX/3 Burlington-Plattsburgh,
carrying it Saturdays at 7 (Lawrence Welk was on WPTZ/5
at the same time).

It definitely ran at some point in the early 70s on Saturday mornings on independent Channel 56.

I'll try to find some hard data on that a little later.

 

[bpatrick]

Hee Haw must have aired in Boston before I
started tracking markets outside the South in
the late '70s, because I don't remember
encountering it in TV Guide. I'd like to know
about this (Hee Haw on Channel 56) myself.

I do know that WCVB carried Welk Saturdays
at 7.

 

[Maine-i-ac]

In Maine, "Hee Haw" aired in Bangor on WVII 7 (ABC) and in Portland on WGME 13 (CBS) at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. Good ol' Lawrence Welk ran at the same time on WABI 5 (CBS) in Bangor. WMTW 8 (ABC) ran Lawrence Welk although I'm not sure if it was on Saturday. I'm not sure if WAGM 8 in Presque Isle ran the show or not. I'll have to do some digging on it.

 

[MHB]

Hee Haw must have aired in Boston before I
started tracking markets outside the South in
the late '70s, because I don't remember
encountering it in TV Guide. I'd like to know
about this (Hee Haw on Channel 56) myself.

I do know that WCVB carried Welk Saturdays
at 7.

After a quick random check, it ran on Channel 56 on June 8, 1974 (Saturday) at 5 P.M., according to the Boston Globe weekly TV section from the previous Sunday. It ran in Providence at 7 P.M. the same night (Channel 6).

It must have run on Saturday mornings at some point either before or after that. I seem to remember it at 11 A.M.

 

[ShawnHill1]

In Los Angeles, at least during its later years, aired on KHJ/KCAL Channel 9, late Friday nights/early Saturday mornings at 1am until the end of its run.

In Rockford, IL, WTVO aired it Saturday nights at 6pm, at least right through its run.

 

[ixnay]

Was Hee Haw ever shown in Philadelphia, PA, if so, what time, channel and years, thanks for the help....I can't wait to watch this show, I remember when the Nashville Network was on, they had a show called Country Standard Time in 1990, when they had Classic singers do a one hour show and they played old country videos and many were from the Hee Haw show....

Around 1973-74 Hee Haw aired in Philly on WPHL-17 (then an indy, later WB17, now about to become CW "MY17"), perhaps on Saturday night 7-8 opposite the syndicated Welk show on WPVI-6 (then ABC affiliated, now Disney O&O). Welk was no stranger to WPVI (called WFIL until 1971 when CapCities bought it from Walter Annenberg's Triangle), as his show aired on ABC from 1955 to 1971 before going to new syndicated episodes (according to Brooks and Marsh's book).

I had a Mrs. Hawes for a teacher in middle school at that time. One time I addressed her Mrs. HeeHawes. She liked it, but I never did it again. I was in a punny (is that a word?) mood that day.

Speaking of Hee Haw, I'm surprised no one has mentioned its 2-year run on CBS 1969-1971. I actually watched that a few times on WCAU-10 (then CBS O&O, now NBC O&O).

ixnay

 

[MHB]

Speaking of Hee Haw, I'm surprised no one has mentioned its 2-year run on CBS 1969-1971. I actually watched that a few times on WCAU-10 (then CBS O&O, now NBC O&O).

Hee Haw in fact was a hit show on CBS and was in the top 20 during its entire run.

 

[Ultimajock]

Speaking of Hee Haw, I'm surprised no one has mentioned its 2-year run on CBS 1969-1971. I actually watched that a few times on WCAU-10 (then CBS O&O, now NBC O&O).

...I mentioned it when discussing the Green Bay scheduling of "Hee Haw" and Welk...