Most infomercial heavy local stations

[nomadcowatbk]

Stations that air infomercials at times that might be low viewed, but are still watched, not at 3AM

The KMIZ (ABC)/KQFX (FOX) duopoly in Columbia, MO, KQFX shows 2 hours of infomercials every weekday morning, they both go to infomercials at midnight every weeknight (11:30 on Sunday nights)

KSHB (NBC in Kansas City) shows an infomercial after SNL and after the Sunday night news, whatever happened to things like American Gladiators that filled the weekend late night spots

A lot of stations occasionally pre-empt network primetime with an infomercial disguised as a news show usually sponsored by a things like a local grocery or hospital chain

 

[Darth_vader]

You mean the stations with the most paid commercial programmming?

PAX/I/ION aside, they'd have to be the local Meredith duopoly (KPDX/KPTV). KRCW'd probably run it a very close second, especially on the weekends.

Of course, you probably couldn't have a better vendor of....umm.....(allegedly) "performance-enhancing substances" than good old "Estrellas TV"! And not just during the overnight hours, either....

 

[dave73]

In Chicagoland, WJYS would top that list. Since all timeslots are brokered, they'll air just about anything that makes them money. So infomercials will air at any hour of the day on 62.1 & 62.4 (62.2 is leased by the people who run WEDE-CA 34)

 

[ShawnHill1]

There's too many stations here in Los Angeles to list; among the English-language commerical stations, KCAL, KCOP, and KDOC do a large share, especially weekend mornings and overnights. Several of the UHF stations, particularly the Spanish and multi-ethnic ones, even have whole subchannels set aside for infomericals.

I would say the least infomercial-happy station in town is KABC.

 

[crainbebo]

KONG/16 Seattle airs infomercials 10:30AM-Noon, and another at 12:30PM. They used to have a block of paid programs in the 2-3pm hour, but that hasn't been the case for years.

-crainbebo

 

[Jul]

WACP is mostly showing infomercials.

 

[Mr Tony]

KVRR Fargo (FOX 15)
sign on at 6AM each day and from 7a-3p M-F half of that is paid programs (in 1/2 hour segments here and there)

They end the night (11:30) with a paid program

 

[Mr Tony]

KSTC 45 (5-2) here in Minneapolis gets an honorable mention only because while the weekday programming is good (they only have 1 1/2 hours of paid programs and thats in the middle of the night) the weekends are pretty much that

Saturdays
3-5am
6am-3pm with only two 1/2 hour breaks...Choo Choo Bob Show is on at 9 (locally syndicated show) and Midwest Outdoors at 10:30

Sundays
midnight-1
3-6am
8-11am
3-4pm

 

[michael hagerty]

whatever happened to things like American Gladiators that filled the weekend late night spots

Those shows are carried on a barter basis. The station keeps 3 and a half minutes of commercial time to sell in each half hour, the show gets 3 and a half to sell on a national basis.

In a late night time-slot in a medium (or even large) market, maybe the station will get $25 or $50 a minute. So, best case, the station is only going to get $100-$200 in revenue IF they sell all the available time at that rate.


When an infomercial comes along and offers any more than that, the General Manager is going to see that he's money ahead and he can have his sales people devote their time to selling spots in a more lucrative time period.

The problem is, it's like crack. GMs get hooked on it. The infomercials offer significantly more money for other timeslots, and if it equals or betters what they can reasonably expect to get from running spots inside programming, they jump. They don't understand that for the majority of viewers, an infomercial is like seeing a "CLOSED" sign in a shop window every time they tune in to be entertained or informed and see one of those instead. Eventually, they stop going there.

 

[blizzard59]

The "big four" stations in the Duluth, MN-Superior, WI market all air at least one half hour of paid programming every weekday during the late morning/early afternoon time period. The peak occurs at 11 AM, when three of the stations air paid programming simultaneously.

WDIO (ABC) - Paid programming 11 AM-Noon, in between The View and The Chew
KQDS (Fox) - Half hour of paid programming at 9 AM, 11 AM, and 2 PM, all sandwiched between second-rate syndicated fare
KBJR (NBC) - Paid programming from 11 AM-Noon and then from 12:30 PM-1 PM. In between this programming is a noon newscast, and during that newscast co-operated KDLH (CBS) (KBJR and KDLH are essentially a duopoly) airs, you guessed it, paid programming, which naturally ensures the newscast gets a better rating than if KDLH, at the same time, aired something that a lot of people would actually be interested in watching.

 

[nathannah]

When an infomercial comes along and offers any more than that, the General Manager is going to see that he's money ahead and he can have his sales people devote their time to selling spots in a more lucrative time period.

The problem is, it's like crack. GMs get hooked on it. The infomercials offer significantly more money for other timeslots, and if it equals or betters what they can reasonably expect to get from running spots inside programming, they jump. They don't understand that for the majority of viewers, an infomercial is like seeing a "CLOSED" sign in a shop window every time they tune in to be entertained or informed and see one of those instead. Eventually, they stop going there.

The most annoying type of infomercial of course is the 'ballroom seminar' shysters like Armando Montelongo, who will backfill every single slot they can get the week before they come to town to mention every Hyatt and Best Western they want to draw the gullible to, so often if it's late night or midday, it is possible that every station in town is looping the Montelongo infomercial at the same time. In that case, it absolutely poisons your opinion of local television, especially when their consumer news department absolutely hates them in general but has to suck it up and take their money.

Thankfully in Milwaukee the infomercials are confined to late night, or on the Sinclair stations in the morning. About the worst is WTMJ, which carries a Saturday infomercial after the late news and will even carry it into Saturday prime time if they have to. Green Bay's WACY is the worst in that market, mainly because of their terrible schedule. WBAY also carries a midday infomercial, but it solely exists to fill time between their noon newscast and General Hospital, but WFRV under Nexstar is quickly threatening to be the infomercial king in the market (not including the usual forced shilling in newscasts for their .biz sites and sponsors).

 

[mjlarochelle]

Last I checked, WUAB/43 in Cleveland was the infomercial king of Cleveland-Akron-Canton. Most of their morning schedule, save for a little E/I, was infomercials when I used to get that station.

 

[crainbebo]

Add KSTW 11 Seattle for their marathon of infomercials on Sundays (save for two E/I programs, Mystery Hunters and Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition in the Noon-1PM hour).

KING and KIRO occasionally do a one-hour Saturday night, 7-8PM infomercial block as well. Mostly that Time Life stuff.

-crainbebo

 

[MarcB]

Alot of the affiliates of MY Network TV are infomercial heavy on the weekend. Some were previously UPN affiliates and still were infomercial heavy.

 

[vjm]

Last I checked, WUAB/43 in Cleveland was the infomercial king of Cleveland-Akron-Canton. Most of their morning schedule, save for a little E/I, was infomercials when I used to get that station.

Not so much during the week. Weekday mornings are religious shows, news (an extension of the morning newscast on sister station WOIO CBS 19), and E/I stuff with a couple of infomericals thrown in.

Weekends though...pretty much infomercials until 2 or 3 p.m.

 

[azumanga]

Last I checked, WUAB/43 in Cleveland was the infomercial king of Cleveland-Akron-Canton. Most of their morning schedule, save for a little E/I, was infomercials when I used to get that station.

Not so much during the week. Weekday mornings are religious shows, news (an extension of the morning newscast on sister station WOIO CBS 19), and E/I stuff with a couple of infomericals thrown in.

Weekends though...pretty much infomercials until 2 or 3 p.m.

A far cry from the days back when they were a superstation for much of Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

 

[crainbebo]

Last I checked, WUAB/43 in Cleveland was the infomercial king of Cleveland-Akron-Canton. Most of their morning schedule, save for a little E/I, was infomercials when I used to get that station.

Not so much during the week. Weekday mornings are religious shows, news (an extension of the morning newscast on sister station WOIO CBS 19), and E/I stuff with a couple of infomericals thrown in.

Weekends though...pretty much infomercials until 2 or 3 p.m.

A far cry from the days back when they were a superstation for much of Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

KSTW is also a far cry, from the days that they were carried on cable as far as Spokane and Pullman (230 mi east). Now KSTW carries lots of court shows, some off-net sitcoms, game shows and the Steve Harvey talk show in the daytime. Back in the day they had a 1PM and 8PM movie, lots of off-net reruns and children's programming, as well as "The Ten O'Clock News".

-crainbebo

 

[cd637299]

One would think that the very first digital-only TV station, WHDT in Stuart FL (with repeaters in Miami & Boston) would use the technology to showcase HD TV.

Ahhh but nowadays they might be the most infomercial-laden **full power** TV station, outside of WACP, mentioned earlier.

cd

 

[Wright County Guy]

Twin Cities, the king may be WFTC/MNT (Fox owned):

Saturdays 1-7am and 9am-3pm
Sundays 1-8am, 9am-3pm
Weekdays 1-8am

Occasionally, WFTC will toss in an episode of "Cops" if they don't sell the time.

 

[Mr Tony]

Twin Cities, the king may be WFTC/MNT (Fox owned):

Saturdays 1-7am and 9am-3pm
Sundays 1-8am, 9am-3pm
Weekdays 1-8am

Occasionally, WFTC will toss in an episode of "Cops" if they don't sell the time.

THe overnight stuff I'd personally omit as most stations show infomercials on overnights

KSTC has it beat on Saturdays for sure with 9 hours...but Sunday goes to WFTC