Music Videos on broadcast TV

[MotoMuzak]

Houston Listener (and the dude who a while back mentioned KORS-16)~

KPDX (analogue channel 49, not certain about their digital subchannels as my OTA Digital converter busted about a year and a half ago) was broadcasting a couple of "classic" 80s music videos really late nights as filler at the end of a time slot, for example if a show ran shorter than its time allowed. (classic in quotes 'coz that's also my era!! Being 23 I really don't want to hafta age faster than I need to.) Made sense, instead of just filling up the rest of the hour with stupid commercials.

And then channel 49 became a "TheirNetwork TV" affiliate and oop!--buh-bye late-night filler music videos!! (at least I, myself haven't seen any in about a year--doesn't mean they aren't broadcasting them, period...........)

 

[Madmansam]

I was passing by KTSF, Channel 26 in San Francisco today, which I pass by often when I'm channel surfing because ComCast here puts in on Channel 8. They were running hip-hop videos, which apparently they do regularly. Odd thing is - Channel 26 otherwise runs Asian language programming almost exclusively. It seems like an odd choice for them - first because you wouldn't think there would be a big audience for American Hip-hop among the Asian community, and second - because you wouldn't think the natural audience for hip-hop would think to look on KTSF.

I might be wrong, but isn't that show on KTSF Channel 26 called "California Music Channel"? They used to do a Country Music version called "Country Music Channel" with Steve Jorden on KTNC Channel 42. Also as I recall, there was a music video show called "MV3" on KICU Channel 36 in the mid 1980's.

 

[mdamico25]

[
And of course, who can forget "U-68" (and U-67) which aired videos all day until midnight... unless you're watching 67, which only aired until noon - what a tease!
[/quote]

Ah yes, WWHT/68 Newark, NJ , WSNL/67 Smithtown, NY and W60AI New York City all trimulcast and branded together as "U-68 Stereo." In the 1980s, both stations were owned by Wometco Home Theatre (note the calls of 68) and tried to be "pay-tv" basically a scrambled, over-the-air version of HBO and Showtime, with some adult movies and sports (Mets) thrown in there. Bascially, it did not work. The signal was easily descrambled with illegal converter boxes. Around 1984 or 1985, WHT folded and Wometco decided to program paid religion in the mornings, and music videos throughout the rest of the day. If I remember correctly the "VJ's" were Uncle Floyd, his puppet "Odie?" and a guy named Bill Roller. Programming originated at 68's studios in West Orange, NJ.

Besides the typical '80s videos, this station also had a show called "Upon This Rock" (Christian Music Videos) and "The Power Hour" (heavy metal videos). Wometco lost tons of $$ on these stations, and in 1986 sold out to the Home Shopping Network. HSN took over in September 1986, dumped the videos in favor of home shopping, went 24 hours a day for all 3 stations and changed the calls to WHSE (68) and WHSI (67) Long Island. Bill Roller stayed on for a few years after the sale and was the on screen personality of the hourly "In Your Interest" public affairs segments- just about the only local programming left on the stations after the sale to HSN.

Another "all-music video" station in the Philadelphia area was WRBV/65 in Vineland, NJ. This station's history is similar to Channel 68 in Newark. Tried subscription TV in the early 80s, went broke. The original owner tried to save his investment and after the subscription TV ended, broadcast "Hit Video USA" for most, if not all of the broadcast day. In 1985, the Asbury Park Press newspaper bought the station, changed the calls to WSJT and attempted a general entertainment format. Even after the sale to the APP, "Hit Video USA" remained for an occasional hour, here and there. Eventually, the Asbury Park Press sold WSJT to HSN, and just like its northern cousins the videos (and the syndicated programming) disappeared forever off of 65 in January 1987 in favor of the Home Shopping Club. Off topic, but "Hit Video" was also shown on WGOT/60 in Merrimack, NH 24/7 when this station first began in 1987.

Growing up in Hazlet, NJ (Monmouth County), I had fond memories of Channels 68 and 65 showing '80s music videos. (We could not receive 67 from Long Island or W60AI, 68's low-power repeater on the World Trade Center). Hard to believe it was over 20 years ago!!

-Mike

 

[KML0224]

I used to get a weak signal of channel 67 here in central Connecticut in the "U 68" days of 1985. Does anybody know if channel 55 from Long Island (no longer on the air) aired videos as well? I used to get a weak signal of them as well but never watched them.

 

[MotoMuzak]

".........In the 1980s, both stations were owned by Wometco Home Theatre (note the calls of 68) and tried to be "pay-tv" basically a scrambled, over-the-air version of HBO and Showtime, with some adult movies and sports (Mets) thrown in there. Bascially, it did not work. The signal was easily descrambled with illegal converter boxes...."

Slightly off-topic sidebar: a former UHF station in Portland, KECH-22 (now a Paxnet affiliate, and for years prior was a Home Shopping Club affiliate) used to do that mostly at night, broadcasting adult movies (apparently can't say "p----o" here)........just for reference, it was about the same time that a number of larger markets carried HBO over the air via 2.xxyy GHz Microwave, circa early-1980s.

I actually found a *very old* KECH-22 descrambler box at a Goodwill store a couple of years ago........

 

[searadiofreak]

moto...what a surprise seeing you here. I know you from PDXradio!

Unlike you, I use a different handle here though. You'll just have to guess...

Anyway, to keep this on thread...I know this was mentioned at the top of the thread, but NBC's Friday Night Videos...what time did it air? My guess it was after Carson, and who hosted??? I can't get this show out of my mind!

 

[bhayes1016]

moto...what a surprise seeing you here. I know you from PDXradio!

Unlike you, I use a different handle here though. You'll just have to guess...

Anyway, to keep this on thread...I know this was mentioned at the top of the thread, but NBC's Friday Night Videos...what time did it air? My guess it was after Carson, and who hosted??? I can't get this show out of my mind!

FNV aired after Carson on Friday Nights (Letterman was only Monday-Thursday at that time). They had various hosts over the years.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

From New York City:

I've seen mentions of New York Hot Tracks on WABC-TV and the U68 experiment, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned Video Music Box, which began in 1984 on NYC-owned WNYC-TV (channel 31, now WPXN-TV) and is still running today, albeit once a week on WNYE-TV (channel 25, which is not owned by the City of New York, as "Toby" implied in an earlier post).

As I wrote in the WPXN entry on Wikipedia, this program started out eclectic, but became strictly an R&B/Rap show after a few years. Hip-Hop's Golden Age (which is considered to fall between 1984-92), and the artists who came out of it (eg. Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, De La Soul, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane, Fresh Prince, etc.), all got their breaks on this show. Video Music Box was never syndicated outside of New York, but its influence stretched far and wide.

For those who both grew up in New York during the '80s and '90s, and were fans of rap music, perhaps this clip will stir up some memories: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7CJXVsRJ10

As WOR-TV, channel 9 also carried a syndicated program called (I think) Record Guide for a while (it may have been in 1985, IIRC)

 

[network]

Of course, you can forget TBS's late night block of music videos during the 80s and 90s that ran on Friday and Saturday nights.

It was called "Night Tracks."

Did you mean to say you CAN forget it?

I loved that show and used to look forward to it coming on (I was a young teen at the time). It used to tick me off during baseball season that the show would start late because of the Braves.

There is also a tribute site to Night Tracks on the web. Pretty extensive.

 

[gr8oldies]

Ft Wayne once had a low power station (channel 45) that had pay per view videos..you called a 900 number with your request and the system would cue it up and play it. It was owned by a guy in Florida and located in the transmitter building of a pager company.

 

[DoctorBear]

Anybody remember a service called Odyssey?

WLRE (now WGBA) in Green Bay broadcast it overnights in the early 80s - it was billed as "urban/suburban rock-USR". Good mix, everything from the Fat Boys to "One Night in Bangkok."

 

[MotoMuzak]

This likely isn't the same Odyssey network/service, but I remember seeing one on one of the Galaxy birds (5, possibly) in the late-1990s. This was still back when programming on satellite (particularly C-band) was mostly analogue, even though MPEG2 DVB was just barely starting to catch on by that time. (roundabout 1995 or so.)

This Odyssey was mainly Science programming, tho. Probably not the same unless this was a result of a buy-out of the one you mentioned, Dr. Bear........

I think it might still be on, tho I bet it's probably on a digital transponder by now. I really *should* do a scan sometime soon, it's been about two years since my box has left Echo7........

searadiofreak~
"Unlike you, I use a different handle here though. You'll just have to guess..."

Izzat you, Radioxpert? (Incidentally I have seen Semoochie hanging around these boards on a few occasions.)

My handle was also slightly different on PDXradio--I just dropped the "Mu" from it, resulting in "Motozak", as opposed to "Motomuzak".

 

[zman]

WLS TV 7 Chicago also had a one hour video show late on Friday nights around 1983 or so. I remember it being hosted by Brant Miller former WLS radio DJ and now NBC 5 Chicago weatherman. I can't remember the name though.

I also remember a syndicated video show called top forty videos which WYZZ TV 43 in Bloomington Illinois used to run late Friday nights.

I grew up about an hour and a half away from Chicago but we lived in the country and we could get a watchable signal on both Channel 66 and channel 60. I spent many hours parked in front of the TV watching channel 66 when they played videos. I'd even watch through the snowy signal. I would also watch Music Video 60 when I arrived home from school.

The former low power TV station in our area W51AF TV 51 Oglesby Illinois which has been dark for almost twenty years would carry blocks of hit video USA throughout the day. TV 51 was only on for about two years if that long.

 

[ten_four]

WRTV-6 Indianapolis also ventured into the video game in the early 80s with host Mark Patrick. The show ran Friday nights after the late night programming with the latest rock videos. I don't remember the show title, unfortunately. Something like RTV Rocks, or Rock Tv.

WIPB-49, Muncie, IN did the country thing with jocks from WMDH-New Castle in the 80s and continue to have their country video show today. Not sure who the host is.

 

[MotoMuzak]

I just remembered this on Saturday night while watching an episode--why it did not occur to me sooner to mention this, I do not know.

KPDX (Fox 49, formerly--now a TheirNetwork TV affiliate ;o) at around 2330h (Pacific, +/- 5 minutes typically) on Saturdays has this programme called "Fearless Music".............basically a full half-hour (not counting commercials) of possibly some of the crappiest heavy-metal-grunge-slasher-hop audio I have ever heard. (Even the heavy-metal-grunge-slasher-hop styles from the 80s could be comparable to an Easy Listening/BM format compared to this stuff.....Ugh.) It comes out of New York, apparently taped "live" in the "Fearless Music Studios" therefore feigning a "concert" appearance.

Not exactly a "music video" (at least not in practise) but it could be in concept.

Incidentally:
My folks just purchased an digital TV unit last night (from a supermarket of all the poor choices of stores to buy these electronics from!) and it appears Channel 32, KEPR in Portland (formerly a WB affiliate, now carries CW network) has an "MTV-like" DTV subchannel channel called "The Tube". Basically itpicks up where MTV left off when lost sight of its goals and format circa mid-1990s--an all-music video format. (Sans the irritating Veejays.)

Now, having "The Tube" be the only thing in Portland's OTA digital TV market of any real worth that actually caught my eye I could go on a rant about how we now have access to "31 channels (and nuthin' on)." That's also counting the 18 analogue NTSC channels I can receive from home. But I will save that tirade for some other time..........

 

[jvparent]

Two that struck my memory:

KDOC-56 Anaheim had no fewer than five hours a week of video shows in the mid-80's. "Video One," hosted by Richard Blade (of KROQ fame), aired at 4:30 or 5pm daily from KDOC's old studio across from Disneyland. It was succeeded by "Request Video," hosted by just about anyone they could get to do it (Rodney Bingenheimer, Gia DeSantis Clarke, and others). KDOC also originated "On The Flip Side," a 30 minute mix of rock videos and field pieces hosted by Raechel Donahue. Like most shows in the Pat Boone-era of KDOC's ownership, there was no budget, minimal production values, and some good fun.

Out in Vegas, I recall KRLR-21 being almost entirely music video based from its start in 1982 as "Vusic 21." That station is now MyNetwork TV affiliate KVMY.

 

[oldtimeradio]

I recall a Las Vegas UHF that broadcast music videos most of the day (cheap programming) and reruns at night. I think as they got older there were more off network reruns filling the hours.

Here in Phoenix AZ a low power UHF broadcast music videos. The VJ's had a camera in the studio and you could watch them run the show as if it were a radio show. They'd start the videos and change pictures with the video switcher. The station was on 18 hours a day.

Not too long after that they purchased six hours of airtime daily on the Satellite Program Network and did the same thing.

Phoenix also had the TV Jukebox, or whatever the name was, where one made requests on a 900 line and then watched the video.

Mike

 

[only1moore]

In Milwaukee, there was W08BY channel 8, which aired music videos, mostly from Canada's Muchmusic. Now they're a affiliate of America One and now broadcasts on channel 7.

 

[dhett]

I recall a Las Vegas UHF that broadcast music videos most of the day (cheap programming) and reruns at night. I think as they got older there were more off network reruns filling the hours.

Here in Phoenix AZ a low power UHF broadcast music videos. The VJ's had a camera in the studio and you could watch them run the show as if it were a radio show. They'd start the videos and change pictures with the video switcher. The station was on 18 hours a day.

Not too long after that they purchased six hours of airtime daily on the Satellite Program Network and did the same thing.

Phoenix also had the TV Jukebox, or whatever the name was, where one made requests on a 900 line and then watched the video.

Mike

Do you recall which stations those were in Phoenix? I know KPHE-LP 19/44 used to run Bohemia Visual Music, which has now moved up to Portland on KORS-CA 16.2. Was it K25DM that had the TV Jukebox, or was it someone else?

 

[stefanokills]

Originally everybody wanted a piece of the pie, there was a competition.

Unfortunately, it died out.

Now the Music Video channels don't even show music videos anymore.