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New York Stations that reached Scranton Through cable - December 2-6-85

M

Marckd

Guest
New York City Major Players - Post was too long - so had to split it up - New York Stations reaching Scranton through cable - December 2-6, 1985

9 WOR-TV (Ind.) RKO

5 AM Straight Talk
6 AM Headline News
6:30 Jimmy Swaggart
7 AM 700 Club
8 AM Romper Room & Friends’
9 AM Flying Nun
9:30 Gidget
10 AM My Favorite Martian
10:30 Partridge Family
11 AM Bewitched
11:30 I Dream Of Jeannie
12 Noon News Nine at Noon
1 PM Jokers Wild
1:30 Tic Tac Dough
2 PM Let’s Make A Deal
2:30 Dating Game
3 PM Bonanza
4 PM Barnaby Jones
5 PM Hawaii-Five-O
6 PM Hart To Hart
7 PM 100,000 Dollar Pyramid
7:30 Family Feud
8 PM News Nine Prime Time
8:30 Benny Hill
9 PM Million Dollar Movie – Pocket Full Of Miracles (1961) Mon
And The Subject Was Roses (1968) Tues
Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1970) Wed
Bus Stop (1956) Thurs
Little Lord Faunterboy (1980) Fri
11 PM Bizarre (except Mon)
11:30 Burns & Allen (Except Mon)
12 Mid Soap
12:30 Best Of Saturday Night Live
1 AM Joe Franklin
2 AM Ironside
3 AM Late Movie – Gay Divorcee (1934) Early Tues
Flying Down To Rio (1933) Early Wed
Holiday (1938) Early Thurs
Pittsburgh (1942) Early Fri
Above Suspicion (1943) Early Sat

I swear there were far more sports on WOR TV back then - maybe at this point WOR TV was pulling back on sports. Also sitcoms were airing mid mornings by then, This station was getting better by then.

11 WPIX Tribune

5 AM Mork & Mindy
5:30 INN News
6 AM Great Space Coaster
6:30 Superfriends
7 AM Heathcliff
7:30 Jetsons
8 AM Tom & Jerry
8:30 Scooby Doo
9 AM Munsters
9:30 Happy Days
10 AM Laverne & Shirley
10:30 Sanford & Son
11 AM Best talk In Town
11:30 INN Day News
12 Noon What’s Hot What’s Not
12:30 Afternoon Movie – Danger Ahead (1940) Mon
My Deal Secretary (1948) Tues
Country Girl (1954) Wed
Woman Hater (1948) Thurs
Danger Ahead (1940) Fri
2:30 Mask
3 PM Tom & Jerry
3:30 Transformers
4 PM GI Joe
4:30 Gobots
5 PM Little House on The Prairie
6 PM Gimme A Break
6:30 Benson
7 PM Jeffersons
7:30 Action News
8 PM Good Time Rock & Roll (Mon)
Best Of Honeymooners (Tues)
8 O Clock Movie – Middle Age Crazy (Wed)
Miracle On 34th Street (Thurs)
Yogi Bear’s Christmas (Fri)
9 PM Billy Graham Crusade (Mon-Tues)
10 PM News
10:30 INN News
11 PM Johnny Carson Classics
11:30 Honeymooners
12 Mid Odd Couple
12:30 Barney Miller
1 AM Comedy Break
1:30 Alice
2 AM Twilight Zone
2:30 Rat Patrol
3 AM Late Movie – The Scar (1948) Early Tues
Scarlet Pimpernal (1935) Early Wed
Dark Victory (1939) Early Thurs
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) Early Fri
Angels From Hell (1968) Early Sat


5 WNEW TV (Ind) Metromedia (Sale To Fox Pends)

5:30 Make Room For Daddy
6 AM New Zoo Revue
6:30 Fat Albert
7 AM Bugs Bunny
7:30 Woody Woodpecker
8 AM Popeye
8:30 Flintstones
9 AM Brady Bunch
9:30 Leave It To Beaver
10 AM I Love Lucy
10:30 Gilligan’s Island
11 AM Divorce Court
11:30 Midday
1 PM Hour Magazine
2 PM Inspector Gadget
2:30 Jace & Wheeled Warriors
3 PM Thundercats
3:30 He-Man & Masters Of Universe
4 PM She Ra & Princess Of Power
4:30 Flintstones
5 PM Brady Bunch
5:30 What’s Happening
6 PM Diff’rent Strokes
6:30 Too Close For Comfort
7 PM M*A*S*H
7:30 Three’s Company
8 PM PM Magazine
8:30 All In The Family
9 PM Merv Griffin (about to be put out to pasture)
10 PM 10 O Clock News
11 PM M*A*S*H
11:30 Taxi
12 Mid WKRP In Cincinnati
12:30 I Love Lucy
1 AM Dynasty
2 AM Hogan’s Heroes
2:30 Late Movie – Confessions Of A Nazi Spy (1939) Early Tues
Edge Of Darkness (1943) Early Wed
Captains Of the Clouds (1944) Early Thurs
All Through The Night (1942) Early Fri
Sea Hornet (1951) Early Sat
4:30 Sign Off

A great weekday schedule with a bit of everything - still weak with movies - Metromedia was not big on running large amounts of movies on their stations - They preferred first run syndicated shows in prime time and liked running merv on most stations. Metromedia would stop producing this show soon after they sold the TV division to Fox. Also movies on Channel 5 tended to be older than on WPIX and WOR TV being they did not need alot of movies due to the fact they counter programmed prime time.

2 WCBS TV (CBS)

5 AM CBS News
6:00 Daybreak
6:30 CBS News
7 AM CBS Morning News
9:00 Break The Bank
9:30 Catch Phrase
10 AM 25,000 Dollar Pyramid
10:30 Press Your Luck
11 AM Price Is Right
12 Noon Tattletales
12:30 Young & The Restless
1:30 As The World Turns
2:30 Capitol
3 PM Guiding Light
4 PM America (Quincy would move here soon after – America was about to be canceled)
5 PM Channel 2 News
6 PM Channel 2 News
7 PM CBS News
7:30 Wheel Of Fortune

Monday
8 PM Scarecrow & Mrs. King
9 PM Newhart
9:30 Kate & Allie
10 PM Cagney & Lacey

Tuesday
8 PM Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
9 PM CBS Movie – Copachabana (1985)

Wednesday
8 PM Charlie Brown Christmas
8:30 Twas The Night Before Christmas
9 PM Charlie & Company
9:30 George Burns
10 PM Equalizer

Thursday
8 PM Magnum PI
9 PM Simon & Simon
10 PM Knot’s Landing

Friday
8 PM New Twilight Zone
9 PM Dallas
10 PM Falcon Crest

Monday-Friday
11 PM Channel 2 News

Tuesday/Early Wednesday
11:30 Simon & Simon
12:40 McCoy

Wednesday/Early Thursday
11:30 TJ Hooker
12:40 CBS Late Movie – This Is Kate Bennett (1982)

Thursday/Early Friday
11:30 Night Heat
12:40 CBS Late Movie – King’s Crossing (1982)

Friday/Early Saturday
11:30 CBS Late Movie – Lovely But Deadly (1980)
1:30 Channel 2 News
2 AM Runaway (1973)
4 AM Name Of The Game

Early Tuesday-Early Saturday
2 AM Channel 2 News
2:30 CBS News

4 WNBC-TV (NBC)

5 AM Bob Newhart
5:30 Here’s Lucy
6:00 Today In New York
6:30 NBC News
7 AM Today
9:00 Phil Donahue
10 AM Numbers Up (Family Ties would air here in a couple weeks in reruns)
10:30 Sale Of The Century
11 AM Wheel Of Fortune
11:30 Scrabble
12 Noon Password
12:30 Search For Tomorrow
1 PM Days Of Our Lives
2 PM Another World
3 PM Santa Barbara
4 PM Love Connection
4:30 People’s Court
5 PM Newscenter 4 Live At 5
6 PM Newscenter 4
7 PM NBC News
7:30 Newlywed Game

Monday
8 PM John & Yoko: Love Story

Tuesday
8 PM A Team
9 PM Riptide
10 PM Remington Steele

Wednesday
8 PM Highway To Heaven
9 PM Helltown
10 PM Remington Steele

Thursday
8 PM Cosby Show
8:30 Family Ties
9 PM Cheers
9:30 Night Court
10 PM Hill Street Blues

Friday
8 PM Knight Rider
9 PM Misfits Of Science
10 PM Miami Vice

Monday-Friday
11 PM Newscenter 4

Monday/Early Tuesday-Friday/Early Saturday
11:30 Tonight With Johnny Carson
12:30 Late Night With David Letterman (Except Early Saturday)
Friday Night Videos (Early Saturday)
1:30 Newscenter 4 (Except Early Saturday)
2 AM Bob Newhart (Except Early Saturday)
Newscenter 4 (Early Saturday)
2:30 Price Is Right
3 AM Ben Casey
4 AM Mary Tyler Moore
4:30 More Real People

7 WABC TV (ABC)

6:00 ABC News
7 AM Good Morning America
9:00 Morning Show
10:30 Sally Jessie Raphael
11 AM Three’s A Crowd (daytime reruns)
11:30 All Star Blitz
12 Noon Ryan’s Hope
12:30 Loving
1 PM All My Children
2 PM One Life to Live
3 PM General Hospital
4 PM Jeopardy
4:30 Sale Of The Century
5 PM Eyewitness News
6 PM Eyewitness News
7 PM ABC News
7:30 Entertainment Tonight

Monday
8 PM Hardcastle & McCormick
9 PM Monday Night Football – Chicago Bears At Miami Dolphins
11:45 Eyewitness News
12:15 Nightline
12:45 Headline Chasers
1:15 Movie – Sidecar Racers (1975)
3:30 Sign Off

Tuesday
8 PM Who’s The Boss
8:30 Growing Pains
9 PM Moonlighting
10 PM Spenser For Hire

Wednesday
8 PM Insiders
9 PM Dynasty
10 PM Hotel

Thursday
8 PM Shadow Chasers
9 PM Dynasty II: The Colbys
10 PM 20/20

Friday
8 PM Webster
8:30 Diff’rent Strokes
9 PM Mr. Belvidere
9:30 Benson
10 PM Our family Honor

Early Wednesday-Early Saturday
11 PM Eyewitness News
11:30 Nightline
12 Mid Headline Chasers
12:30 Eye On Hollywood
1 AM Movie – Macon Dirty Line (1974) Early Wed
Aaron Slick From Pumpkin Crick (1952) Early Thurs
Gypsy Moths (1969) Early Fri
New York Hot Tracks (Early Sat)
3 AM Sign Off

STill Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy on seperate stations. Being together was likely a year away.
 
I can understand the independent NYC stations being carried on cable in cable's early days, in Scranton and other smaller Northeastern markets. My friend in Syracuse got 5, 9 and 11 from NYC as well as 38 from Boston on his cable system. He even got CBC 11 from Kingston Ont. for the first couple of years.

But he didn't get NYC network stations. I wonder why they were available in the Scranton area, since Scranton has had ABC, NBC and CBS for many years, plus could get CBS 12 from Binghamton as well, since it had a good VHF signal from 35-40 miles to the north.

The Northeast PA TV Guide carried most NYC and Philadelphia TV stations but I thought that was more for viewers in the Allentown-Stroudsberg area who had no network affiliates of their own.
 
The reason in The Scranton area for New York City stations was beacuse back in 1960 when the cable system began, Cable was to bring in more than your nearby stations and to bring in a dozen channels to places with bad reception. So Scranton had 4 stations and New Yoprk City had 7 so the logic was to carry both. The headends in the Scranton area easily picked up NYC stations so to suppliment WNEP, WBRE, WDAU, and WVIA, they carried NYC stations. They also eventually carried the PBS station in Allentown. Toward the northern end of the market, they also carried NYC indies but for Net Affiliates they carried Binghamton. In the 70's, as cable systems there got increased capacity and added HBO, they began carrying Philadelphia independents as well. Some systems carred the Scranton stations and out of market indies on basic and in the pay area carried duplicate network affiliates.

One reason for carrying NYC was there were alot of people living in the Scranton Wilkes Barre Hazelton area that were transplants from teh NY Netro area, especially in the Poconos and Stroudsburg area. Also before the late 80's there were few franchise and syndex protection laws, so if a cable system could get a station off air on its headend it could be carried. Unsure if NYC stations are still on cable today...My guess is maybe -
 
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