Merced, CA June 1993

[JDW95]

Source: Merced Sun-Star, June 5, 1993

1 Encore
2 KTVU (FOX 2 Oakland)
3 KFSN (ABC 30 Fresno)
4 KTXL (FOX 40 Sacramento)
5 KPIX (CBS 5 San Francisco)
6 KMPH (FOX 26 Visalia)
7 KGO (ABC 7 San Francisco)
8 KSBW (NBC 8 Salinas)
9 KQED (PBS 9 San Francisco)
10 KSEE (NBC 24 Fresno)
11 Local Origination
12 KJEO (CBS 47 Fresno)
13 KCSO (Univision 19 Modesto)
14 KRBK (IND 31 Sacramento)
15 Cinemax
16 Showtime
17 HBO
18 Disney Channel
20 Prevue Guide
21 Request 1 Pay-Per-View
22 Request 2 Pay-Per-View
23 Family Channel
24 Nickelodeon
25 Discovery Channel
26 CNBC / American Movie Classics
27 USA Network
28 SportsChannel Pacific
29 ESPN
30 The Nashville Network
31 MTV
32 VH-1
33 CNN
34 TBS SuperStation
35 TNT
36 A&E
37 C-SPAN
38 QVC

 

[IM42A]

My aunt lived in Merced, and they had a similar, if not identical lineup in September 1985.

 

[JDW95]

I find it interesting that the only PBS the system carried was from San Francisco (two hours away), while Fresno is less than an hour from Merced. And no Lifetime.

 

[IM42A]

I find it interesting that the only PBS the system carried was from San Francisco (two hours away), while Fresno is less than an hour from Merced. And no Lifetime.

It's very possibly because KQED was, at one time, the only PBS station available in a large part of California (including Merced), via an extensive network of translators, and that's what people were used to. That, and the fact that KQED is one of the largest and most prestigious PBS stations in the US. Some PBS station from Fresno, at the time, would have been bush-league by comparison.

 

[JDW95]

That would make sense. I know that some time after the year 2000, the cable system in Merced replaced KQED with Fresno's KVPT. Side note: Later in 1993, TCI dropped KPIX, KGO, and KSBW from the lineup while retaining KTVU and KQED.

 

[IM42A]

That would make sense. I know that some time after the year 2000, the cable system in Merced replaced KQED with Fresno's KVPT. Side note: Later in 1993, TCI dropped KPIX, KGO, and KSBW from the lineup while retaining KTVU and KQED.

Probably trying to whittle down to one affiliate per network, and possibly pushback from Fresno stations who wanted Merced viewers watching them, and not SF stations. My aunt liked to watch the news on KPIX.