QUESTION ABOUT NBC & AFFILIATE PRE-EMPTIONS

[NoWayNoCC]

It didn't? Then how come WXIX Cincinnati used to preempt 'The Simpsons' or 'Cops' almost every other week?

Very often college basketball and sometimes other stuff too.

This was also the station that banned 'The Osbournes' over its content.

 

[azumanga]

It didn't? Then how come WXIX Cincinnati used to preempt 'The Simpsons' or 'Cops' almost every other week?

Very often college basketball and sometimes other stuff too.

This was also the station that banned 'The Osbournes' over its content.

The show in question was "Osbournes Reloaded"; 26 affiliates refused to carry the show "live" after American Idol, opting instead to either delay it until late night, or not carry it at all. All Fox affils owned by Raycom, including WXIX, pre-empted the program outright:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osbournes_Reloaded

 

[spencerkarter85]

Felt sorry for Memphians missing out on Scrabble, $ale of The Century, Blockbusters, etc. in the 1980s.

Our local NBC WYFF (formerly WFBC) Channel 4 pre-empted Super Password during it's entire run on NBC for NewsCenter4 at Noon followed by Search For Tomorrow (ended on NBC in 1986) which nearby NBC affiliate WIS-TV 10 of Columbia, SC didn't clear during the Peacock era. Ended up on indie WAXA 40 (now WMYA My40) instead first in pattern, then one-day tape delay. And they pre-empted Time Machine, guess what? Seen instead on WAXA 40 so as some of NBC's Saturday Morning line-up and first years of daytime reruns of The Facts of Life.

Unfortunately, WYFF is owned by Hearst Television. Before NBC added the repeats of Kathie Lee and Hoda's Today Show 4th hour at 2:05am after Carson Daly. It was one of the stations that pre-empted the 4th hour for Rachael Ray (other Hearst stations included KCRA 3 in Sacramento, KSBW 8 in Monterey, and I hate to say this WBAL 11 in Baltimore pre-empted KLG and Hoda!).

 

[onairb]

In San Francisco, IIRC, 'Search for Tomorrow' never aired on then-NBC KRON after the show switched from CBS to NBC in 1982. Sometime around 1979, KRON started a daily newscast at 11:30, which bumped whichever soap NBC had at 12:30 ET/11:30 PT(I believe at that point, it was 'The Doctors', which aired briefly on an independent station instead.)
So, when the peacock picked up 'Search', and ran it in that slot, KRON couldn't/wouldn't clear it. 'Search', along with 'The Doctors', and 'Texas' all ran on independent channel 20 in 1982(the same station that aired 'TPIR', 'Pyramid' and 'PYL' for much of the decade.) However, when NBC killed the two other soaps late in 1982, 'Search' didn't last much longer on channel 20, and by 1983, it had vanished from SF. Not sure about the situation in Sacramento, but I recall from old SF Metro edition TV Guide listings that, at the very end, 'Search' was cleared only on KSBW 8 in Monterey.

 

[spencerkarter85]

BTW, in Greenville, SC WYFF 4 didn't carry the first year of Santa Barbara which means viewers in Western Carolinas missed Joel Crothers' final TV appearance as Jack Stanfeld Lee/Jerry Cooper before his untimely death in November 1985. It was cleared by then after Wheel and J! moved to ABC station WLOS 13 (still on there today of course) and PM Magazine moved from WLOS to WYFF in September 1985.

Also on other network affiliate pre-emptions. WSPA 7 (CBS) didn't carry Now You See It, and earlier the first year of Press Your Luck meaning that Western Carolina viewers missed out of the late Michael Lawson's controversial win unless watching it on WRDW 12 out of Augusta, GA. It was picked up in circa Summer 1984. Sadly WBTV never cleared it in Charlotte. Our ABC station WLOS 13 is notorious for pre-emptions of course. Viewers in Western Carolinas didn't get to see Dark Shadows from the pre-Barnabas B&W days til the end of 1795 storyline unless watching it on then-ABC (now FOX) WCCB 18 out of Charlotte. It was cleared on April Fools Day 1968 (three days before Martin Luther King, Jr. was fatally wounded in Memphis). Also passed on the first five years of OLTL, and the final five years of Ryan's Hope (which GSP viewers didn't get to see future-Martin star Tichina Arnold appearing on the show). It was also one of the ABC stations to say NO on The Edge of Night. Other shows that WLOS passed on from the first season of Drew Carey to the first three years of The View. Sadly, WLOS does not carry ABC's Litton's Weekend Adventure on Saturday Mornings.

 

[firepoint525]

WMC in Memphis was the worst about pre-emptions in daytime from the late 70's to the early 90's. They also pushed David Letterman back originally by 30 minutes and then later to an hour, and NBC apparently did little or nothing to stop it.

I've been on vacation, so I am just now seeing this to comment on it. WPSD in Paducah was also very pre-emption happy back about that same time. They even pre-empted what was then must-see TV on Thursday evenings (Cosby, et al) to show University of Kentucky basketball, despite the fact that their signal went into three other states, and they potentially had viewers in at least two more. They delayed Saturday Night Live by an hour until sometime in the '90s. And they signed off right after Letterman rather than air Later with Bob Costas. So they were actually on the air a half-hour longer on Saturday evenings than they were the rest of the week.

 

[azumanga]

WPSD in Paducah was also very pre-emption happy back about that same time. They even pre-empted what was then must-see TV on Thursday evenings (Cosby, et al) to show University of Kentucky basketball...

I read somewhere here that WPSD received an advanced copy of that week's Cosby Show from NBC, so they could show it before the game.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

WPSD in Paducah was also very pre-emption happy back about that same time. They even pre-empted what was then must-see TV on Thursday evenings (Cosby, et al) to show University of Kentucky basketball...

I read somewhere here that WPSD received an advanced copy of that week's Cosby Show from NBC, so they could show it before the game.

Did/does that station news department cover anything that happens outside in Kentucky?

 

[firepoint525]

WPSD in Paducah was also very pre-emption happy back about that same time. They even pre-empted what was then must-see TV on Thursday evenings (Cosby, et al) to show University of Kentucky basketball...

I read somewhere here that WPSD received an advanced copy of that week's Cosby Show from NBC, so they could show it before the game.

I recall that they aired it at 6:30 p.m., right before that game started at 7:00. Don't remember about when the rest of the evening's shows aired (Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court); I'm guessing that they were shown overnight or something.

 

[rwells2265]

Did/does that station news department cover anything that happens outside in Kentucky?

As I recall, WPSD was known to cover news out-of-state. Mostly, though, it was West Kentucky, NW Tennessee and - to a limited extent - SE Illinois. Given the nature of that market, they've historically ceded Missouri to CBS affil KFVS 12 (Cape Girardeau). And I suspect KFVS is the same way about Kentucky and Tennessee. Makes sense, as viewer loyalties in that DMA have typically centered on the station in/near their home state.

--Russell

 

[firepoint525]

WPSD in Paducah was also very pre-emption happy back about that same time. They even pre-empted what was then must-see TV on Thursday evenings (Cosby, et al) to show University of Kentucky basketball...

I read somewhere here that WPSD received an advanced copy of that week's Cosby Show from NBC, so they could show it before the game.

Did/does that station news department cover anything that happens outside in Kentucky?

Back in the day, they had a "Tennessee News Bureau," which was based in Dyersburg, which is actually closer to Memphis than Paducah. Otherwise, they covered the other three states relatively equally.

 

[Bob1370]

In the early 1960s, WROC-TV in Rochester, NY (then on Channel Five, later on Channel Eight) pre-empted most of the NBC prime time schedule on Monday nights. Starting in the winter of 1961 they ran their own movie series, called "Featurama", highlighting postwar movies in color. During the 1960-61 season that meant Rochester didn't see Riverboat, Tales of Wells Fargo, Dante, Barbara Stanwyck and Milton Berle's Jackpot Bowling that season--none of them big hits against The Rifleman, Red Skelton or Garry Moore (which aired on the city's CBS/ABC affiliate) nationally. The pre-emption continued through the summer of 1962, although the movie start shifted from 8 to 9 PM, which meant Rochester did see the prime time airing of The Price is Right, though 87th Precinct and Boris Karloff's Thriller got time-shifted to another night.

That all ended in the fall of 1962 when a third VHF full power station came on the air in the market as a fulltime ABC affiliate (and could even have stolen the NBC franchise if WROC hadn't changed hands and the new locally based owners promised to cut down on the pre-emptions). Stations could spike network shows back then if they thought they'd make more $$ or deliver better numbers by pre-empting a weak night on the net with a local show that would bring in local ad accounts' cash. It was only when new competition in a market weakened stations' positions in the early 60s that the pre-emptions in upstate NY became less frequent.

 

[anotherguyTN]

WPSD in Paducah was also very pre-emption happy back about that same time. They even pre-empted what was then must-see TV on Thursday evenings (Cosby, et al) to show University of Kentucky basketball...

I read somewhere here that WPSD received an advanced copy of that week's Cosby Show from NBC, so they could show it before the game.

Did/does that station news department cover anything that happens outside in Kentucky?

Back in the day, they had a "Tennessee News Bureau," which was based in Dyersburg, which is actually closer to Memphis than Paducah. Otherwise, they covered the other three states relatively equally.

I think that the NW TN bureau was there because of WPSD being on the cable systems in the area. After Cable One in Dyersburg dropped WPSD and KFVS in 2009 at about the time of the digital conversion, I don't know if they still do reports around there or not now. They probably still cover major news in the further North area of West TN like Union City, where they're still on the cable system.

 

[firepoint525]

As I recall, WPSD was known to cover news out-of-state. Mostly, though, it was West Kentucky, NW Tennessee and - to a limited extent - SE Illinois. Given the nature of that market, they've historically ceded Missouri to CBS affil KFVS 12 (Cape Girardeau). And I suspect KFVS is the same way about Kentucky and Tennessee. Makes sense, as viewer loyalties in that DMA have typically centered on the station in/near their home state.

As a Tennessean, I can tell you that that is generally true, but not entirely true. The Tennessee station for northwest Tennessee is WBBJ out of Jackson. While they cover rural west Tennessee (generally everything in west Tennessee outside of Memphis) fairly well, their overall operation is very weak and second-rate. At least it was back in the '70s and '80s when I lived there. So we northwest Tennesseans basically had to rely on the other two stations for some local coverage. Interesting to note that KFVS would, during weather segments, give the temp for Dyersburg, but not Union City, this despite the fact that Dyersburg was well over 100 miles from Cape, but only about 75 miles from Memphis. This was probably due to KFVS being on the D-burg cable system at the time, per what anotherguy said.

 

[benwolf]

In the early 1960s, WROC-TV in Rochester, NY (then on Channel Five, later on Channel Eight) pre-empted most of the NBC prime time schedule on Monday nights. Starting in the winter of 1961 they ran their own movie series, called "Featurama", highlighting postwar movies in color. During the 1960-61 season that meant Rochester didn't see Riverboat, Tales of Wells Fargo, Dante, Barbara Stanwyck and Milton Berle's Jackpot Bowling that season--none of them big hits against The Rifleman, Red Skelton or Garry Moore (which aired on the city's CBS/ABC affiliate) nationally. The pre-emption continued through the summer of 1962, although the movie start shifted from 8 to 9 PM, which meant Rochester did see the prime time airing of The Price is Right, though 87th Precinct and Boris Karloff's Thriller got time-shifted to another night.

That all ended in the fall of 1962 when a third VHF full power station came on the air in the market as a fulltime ABC affiliate (and could even have stolen the NBC franchise if WROC hadn't changed hands and the new locally based owners promised to cut down on the pre-emptions). Stations could spike network shows back then if they thought they'd make more $$ or deliver better numbers by pre-empting a weak night on the net with a local show that would bring in local ad accounts' cash. It was only when new competition in a market weakened stations' positions in the early 60s that the pre-emptions in upstate NY became less frequent.

Remember when WROC pre-empted Laugh-In for its whole first season for syndicated shows? They ran Laugh-In the following Saturdays at 6pm, even after Rowan and Martin came to town to promote the show! I remember myself and all my friends working the rabbit ears Monday nights trying to catch the snowy images of a man riding a tricycle from WGR Buffalo.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Did/does that station news department cover anything that happens outside in Kentucky?

As I recall, WPSD was known to cover news out-of-state. Mostly, though, it was West Kentucky, NW Tennessee and - to a limited extent - SE Illinois. Given the nature of that market, they've historically ceded Missouri to CBS affil KFVS 12 (Cape Girardeau). And I suspect KFVS is the same way about Kentucky and Tennessee. Makes sense, as viewer loyalties in that DMA have typically centered on the station in/near their home state.

--Russell

Did KFVS pre-empt CBS primetime with Mizzou Basketball?

 

[rwells2265]

Did/does that station news department cover anything that happens outside in Kentucky?

As I recall, WPSD was known to cover news out-of-state. Mostly, though, it was West Kentucky, NW Tennessee and - to a limited extent - SE Illinois. Given the nature of that market, they've historically ceded Missouri to CBS affil KFVS 12 (Cape Girardeau). And I suspect KFVS is the same way about Kentucky and Tennessee. Makes sense, as viewer loyalties in that DMA have typically centered on the station in/near their home state.

--Russell

Did KFVS pre-empt CBS primetime with Mizzou Basketball?

Never, to my recollection. KFVS 12 was as faithful to the network as it got back then ... rare was the preemption.

-RW

 

[bpatrick]

In markets where there are stations in two or more states, don't
they generally cover their state of license? I don't think, for example,
that WEAR has a big viewership in Mobile because the station is licensed
to Pensacola and I believe gives more weight to Florida news. Likewise,
I don't recall many people in Greenville or Spartanburg watching WLOS, which
is licensed to Asheville, NC, and tends to emphasize North Carolina news.

If what I'm saying is true, then I can understand if WPSD emphasizes Kentucky
news and KFVS, Missouri news. And nobody's even mentioned WSIL--or does
anybody want to? (I once knew a girl from Cape Girardeau who was talking about
the local television one day; she mentioned every station except WSIL, and when
I asked her about it, she sort of sighed and said something like yeah, that one too.)

 

[firepoint525]

If what I'm saying is true, then I can understand if WPSD emphasizes Kentucky
news and KFVS, Missouri news. And nobody's even mentioned WSIL--or does
anybody want to? (I once knew a girl from Cape Girardeau who was talking about
the local television one day; she mentioned every station except WSIL, and when
I asked her about it, she sort of sighed and said something like yeah, that one too.)

Well, I lived at the far south end of that market, down in northwest Tennessee, and you saw that I gave only a passing mention to WBBJ, so I'm assuming here that WBBJ and WSIL, both being ABC stations, probably had (and maybe still have) a somewhat inferior quality, and somewhat inferior news department. (Although they ('SIL) probably covered southern Illinois better than the other two.)

Interesting to note that in the days before 24-hour television, WPSD used to sign off by playing "My Old Kentucky Home" in addition to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Onetime NBC affiliate WBZ-4 here in Boston sometimes would pre-empt an hour or two of NBC's daytime schedule, and in the late 1970's/early 1980's, often pre-empt NBC's regular-season college basketball telecasts on weekend afternoons.

Between 1972 and 1985, there were periodic pre-emptions of NBC prime-time programming for coverage of Boston Red Sox baseball games (1972-74) and Boston Celtics basketball games (1972-73 through 1984-85). During the early 1980's, WBZ would often carry half (about 40 games) of the Celtics' schedule (ten or so home games and 30 or so away games each year), which caused quite a few pre-emptions of network fare.

But since NBC was a deep third in prime-time back then, and the Celtics had Larry Bird, WBZ probably got far more viewers for their Celtics' games than they would have for most NBC prime-time programs of the period.

Today, as a CBS O&O, WBZ only pre-empts CBS network programming for:

(1) The Boston Marathon each April;

(2) The full Boston Pops' July 4th concert (WBZ carries the full show; only the portion after 10 P.M. is carried on the full CBS network);

(3) New England Patriots' pre-season football games (an average of three times every August); and,

(4) Local breaking-news or special-event news coverage.

In each of those cases, displaced CBS programs are shown on sister station WSBK-38.