Independent stations carry major network saturday morning line ups in the past

[spencerkarter85]

Here in Greenville, South Carolina market. During the 1980s, when WMYA 40 was Independent WAXA at the time around 1986 they carried some NBC Saturday Morning shows that WYFF didn't clear like Kidd Video (with Robbie "Cousin Oliver" Rist), Spiderman and His Amazing Friends, Foofur, and of course the ever popular Alvin and the Chipmunks which the latter originally aired on channel 4 until fall 1986 when it relocated to 40 and in the late 1980s, channel 4 re-cleared the Chipmunks.

Other markets I know that an Indie picked up Saturday Morning lineups like now-defunct KCIT in Kansas City, MO pick up other shows that the affiliates didn't clear like Jonny Quest reruns which were pre-empted by CBS station KCMO (KCTV), plus ABC Saturday Morning shows that KMBC passed on including Fantastic Four, Cattanooga Cats, The Bullwinkle Show, and I hate to say it American Bandstand when KCIT was on the air for almost two years. I know that back in 1969-71 the Kansas City, MO DMA was notorious for pre-empting great well loved shows (like The Brady Bunch for example which ended on KCIT for it's first season).

Also I know that WGN Chicago (not WGN America) pre-empted Kids WB programs and seen on WCIU instead. But folks who watched WGN Superstation that don't have WB affiliate at the time prior to September 1999 watched Kids WB programs on the now defunct WB network.

Do you know some other indies that carried saturday morning network programs in the past?

If we still have a 'real' Independent TV station in the Greenville, SC market. It would be perfect choice for showing ABC's Litton's Weekend Adventure Saturday Morning line-up in which our ABC station WLOS doesn't clear (yes, 13 is owned by Sinclair!). Ironically, distribitor Litton Entertainment's HQ is near Charleston, SC.

 

[bpatrick]

Back around 1971 WTOG/44 Tampa/St. Petersburg carried
CBS's Sunday 9-10 AM block, pre-empted on WTVT. IIRC,
they also carried the 8-9:30 AM portion of NBC's Saturday-
morning block around the same time when WFLA pre-empted.
(Oddly, given that WFLA did not carry NBC's noon-1 PM portion
for many years, WTOG did not carry it either.)

WXLV/45 Winston-Salem, now the Triad's ABC affiliate, started
as an independent in 1979 and for a time around 1979-80 carried
CBS's noon-2 PM block when WFMY pre-empted for movies (they
also carried CBS's morning show after it expanded to two hours
while WFMY was carrying its local "Good Morning Show").

Now if only Raleigh/Durham had had an independent in the '70s to
pick up all the NBC Saturday-morning shows pre-empted on WRDU/
WPTF/WRDC...

 

[onairb]

In San Francisco, I grew up in an era when only the ABC affiliate was (and still is) O & O, so the other two had a handful of local programs that pre-empted network shows.
At one point, UHF independent KOFY channel 20 carried 'Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends', 'Mr. T', and, later on, 'Saved By the Bell' and other teen sitcoms, while KRON 4 had local kids' shows or news. The cartoons aired early on Sunday mornings, but the sitcoms aired when scheduled on Saturdays.
KPIX(then a Group W station) also pre-empted some early 80s CBS shows. 'Drak Pck' in 1980 got picked up by channel 20,but other pre-empted just were just not aired in the market.

 

[cd637299]

Before it went Spanish, then-WAJA-TV 23 Miami showed "American Bandstand" for a few months in 1969 or so.

Also, some of ABC's Sunday morning line-up, including "Bullwinkle" & "The Dudley Do-Right Show" were taken by WAJA as well.

As to actual Saturday *morning* stuff, otherwise, I don't think it happened in Miami.

cd