Retro: Atlanta/Chattanooga/Macon Saturday, July 11, 1964

[bpatrick]

This week the networks will be covering the Republican
Convention, which nominated Barry Goldwater. Goldwater
scared so many people into thinking he might drop a nuclear
weapon that he lost in a landslide to LBJ in November. But
this convention will be remembered, for our purposes, as the
one where NBC trounced CBS so badly that, for the Democratic
Convention, Roger Mudd and Robert Trout replaced Walter Cronkite,
to no one's approval.

From TV Guide, Georgia Edition:

WSB Ch. 2 Atlanta (NBC)

7 AM Spade And Hoe
7:30 Movie: "Sabu And The Magic Ring" (from '58,
fairly recent in relative terms)
9 AM Mr. Magoo And Dick Tracy
9:30 Ruff And Reddy (COLOR)
10 AM Hector Heathcote (COLOR)
10:30 Fireball XL-5
11 AM Dennis The Menace
11:30 Fury
12 N Bullwinkle (COLOR)
12:30 Baseball: Milwaukee Braves at Pittsburgh
Pirates (two years before the Braves moved
to Atlanta)
3 PM NBC Sports Special (time approximate)
3:30 Putt-Putt Golf
4 PM Rocky And His Friends
4:30 Movie: "The Left Handed Gun" (also from
'58)
6:30 Newsroom (Ch. 2 used this title until it
changed to "Action News" around 1974.
WXIA picked it up and called its newscast
"11 Alive Newsroom" for a few years starting
in 1976.)
6:45 Byline (news analysis, not the Betty Furness
show with the long title)
7 PM Arthur Smith
7:30 The Lieutenant
8:30 Joey Bishop (COLOR)
9 PM NBC Movie: "Edge Of The City"
11 PM Movies: "Loving You" (COLOR, with Elvis)
and "Beast From Haunted Cave"

WRCB Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)

7:30 Western Movie (title not given)
8:30 Cartoon Time
9:30 Ruff And Reddy (COLOR)
10 AM Hector Heathcote (COLOR)
10:30 Fireball XL-5
11 AM Dennis The Menace
11:30 Fury
12 N Bullwinkle (COLOR)
12:30 Baseball: Braves-Pirates
3 PM Local News (time approximate)
3:10 Mr. Magoo
3:30 Cannonball
4 PM NBC Sports Special: AAU Wrestling
Championships (this is the "real" thing,
not what Vince McMahon puts on)
4:30 Chattanooga Wrestling (this is
closer to Vince McMahon, even if
Nick Gulas and Roy Welch are the
promoters)
6 PM Wilburn Brothers
6:30 Flatt And Scruggs
7 PM Porter Wagoner (My mom loved these
shows and I was a captive audience for
WRAL from 6 to 7:30 on Saturdays.)
7:30 The Lieutenant
8:30 Joey Bishop (COLOR)
9 PM NBC Movie: "Edge Of The City"
11 PM Checkmate
sign off 12 M

WAGA Ch. 5 Atlanta (CBS)

6:25 Farm News, News
6:30 Summer Semester: "Modern Comparative
Drama"
7 AM 4-H Hour
7:30 Jungle Jim
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Alvin Show
9:30 Tennessee Tuxedo
10 AM Bugs Bunny (not to be confused with the
ABC show on Ch. 11 at noon)
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Rin Tin Tin
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 Quick Draw McGraw (by the late '60s Ch. 5
would be running cartoons well into Saturday
afternoon, always delaying something in the
morning)
1 PM Men Of Destiny
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs
4 PM Championship Wrestling (time approximate,
and I think it's from Tampa)
5 PM Movie: "China Gate"
6:55 News And Weather
7 PM Littlest Hobo
7:30 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (Betty Grable and
Harry James guest as "Lucy Wins A Race Horse.")
8:30 The Defenders (silent-movie legend Lillian Gish as
a grandma who threatens to blow up a bank unless
it gives her $1342.76)
9:30 Summer Playhouse ("The McGonicle": a sailor is
doing time in the brig for hitting a superior, just
as his wife brings a group of USO girls aboard.
Interestingly, a year or so later, "Trials Of O'Brien"
had a character called The Great McGonigle, who
had no connection to this busted pilot.)
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM News, Weather
11:20 Movie: "Destination Moon"

WGTV Ch. 8 Athens/Atlanta (NET)
off air on Saturday

WTVC Ch. 9 Chattanooga (ABC)

7:30 Growing South (agriculture)
8 AM Tombstone Territory
8:30 Funtime
9:30 Bugs Bunny (the ABC show, on delay)
10 AM Hawkeye
10:30 Magic Land Of Allakazam
11 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
11:30 Beany And Cecil (what had aired in color
on Saturday nights in 1962-63 is now in
black and white)
12 N Mull's Singing Convention
1 PM Know Your Bible
1:30 American Bandstand (an all-Elvis show,
on delay)
2:30 Ramar Of The Jungle
3 PM Movie: "Night And Day"
5 PM Wide World Of Sports (highlights of the
final round of the British Open--which was
played on Saturdays then--and the Firecracker
400, taped at Daytona July 4)
6:30 Sea Hunt
7 PM Bold Venture
7:30 GOP Convention Preview (Lisa Howard examines
the role of women in politics, including some
Democrats.)
8 PM Ripcord
8:30 Lawrence Welk
9:30 Hollywood Palace (the Smothers Brothers are
guests)
10:30 Men Into Space
11 PM Movie: "Mein Kampf" (documentary on the
Third Reich)

WAII (WXIA) Ch. 11 Atlanta (ABC)

8 AM Adventures In Living
8:30 Magic Ranch
9:30 Bumbum And His Buddies
10 AM Heckle And Jeckle
10:30 Magic Land Of Allakazam
11 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
11:30 Beany And Cecil
12 N Bugs Bunny
12:30 American Bandstand (two of the
hottest American acts of the day
appear: Roger Miller sings "Dang Me"
and Johnny Rivers sings "Memphis")
1:30 Movies: "Racing Luck" and "Devil Goddess"
4 PM Top Star Bowling
5 PM Wilburn Brothers
5:30 Porter Wagoner
6 PM Grand Ole Opry
6:30 Live Atlanta Wrestling
7:30 GOP Convention Preview (there's a second
half-hour at 8, with Howard K. Smith, Edward
P. Morgan, and Bill Lawrence examining the
party platform)
8:30 Lawrence Welk
9:30 Hollywood Palace
10:30 Stump The Stars
11 PM News, Weather
11:15 Movie: "Lady On A Train"

WDEF Ch. 12 Chattanooga (CBS)

7:30 Cartoon Time
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Alvin Show
9:30 Tennessee Tuxedo
10 AM Quick Draw McGraw
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Rin Tin Tin
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 CBS News (Martin Agronsky)
1 PM Pete Smith (the old movie shorts)
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs
4 PM Movie: "Tarzan's Magic Fountain"
(time approximate)
5:15 Movie: "Hail The Conquering Hero"
7 PM Amos 'n' Andy
7:30 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Summer Playhouse
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM Movie: "I Love A Soldier" (you might
guess this is from WWII, 1944 to be
exact)

WMAZ Ch. 13 Macon (CBS/NBC/ABC)

6:30 Summer Semester
7 AM Farm Report
7:30 Lone Ranger
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Alvin Show
9:30 Tennessee Tuxedo
10 AM Quick Draw McGraw
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Rin Tin Tin
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 CBS News
1 PM Baseball In Macon
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs
4 PM TBA
4:30 Bugs Bunny (based on Ch. 13's
Saturday schedules from earlier
years, I'm guessing this is the ABC
show)
5 PM Bonnie Lou And Buster (I remember
this country-music show on WGHP,
sponsored by Jim Walter pre-fab homes.)
5:30 Porter Wagoner
6 PM Eddie Cannon (local country-music show)
6:25 Local News
6:30 Bonanza (NBC, delay from Sun 9 PM)
7:30 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Summer Playhouse
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM News, Weather
11:05 Lawrence Welk
12:05 Thriller (Boris Karloff)

 

[TexasTuner]

Did WMAZ not run any NBC programming in color at that time? I know that 1964 was still a tad early for "full color", but I would have thought NBC affiliates would be running everything that came down in color, in color.

 

[Mike Stroud]

Question, bp: Was "Byline" at 6:45 p.m. on WSB NBC or local? My guess is that it was probably local public affairs, probably a 15-minute station commentary (or series of them) on local and/or state matters, basically an expanded version of what the likes of Jesse Helms did for Raleigh's WRAL in the 1950s and 1960s. Of course, given WSB owner Cox Broadcasting's Democratic/liberal proclivities, editorials on that show probably took positive stands on integration and the social welfare initiatives of the Johnson adminstration--very much in keeping with its newspaper sister The Atlanta Constitution, and very much NOT in keeping with stations elsewhere in the South.

If WSB took the progressive side on issues, would it be safe to say that either WAGA or WAII espoused conservative viewpoints in their editorials? I do think it is safe to say that most if not all of the Chattanooga stations and Macon's WMAZ probably did, given the viewpoints of the newspapers in both places (most notoriously the Chattanooga News Free-Press). In this day and time of punditry 24/7, this sounds a quaint concern, but given the FCC's enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine at the time, it is an interesting speculation.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

WSB Ch. 2 Atlanta (NBC)
WRCB Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)
12:30 Baseball: Milwaukee Braves at Pittsburgh Pirates

Is this the NBC Game Of The Week with Bob Wolff and Joe Garagiola?

WAGA Ch. 5 Atlanta (CBS)
WDEF Ch. 12 Chattanooga (CBS)
WMAZ Ch. 13 Macon (CBS/NBC/ABC)
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs

Is this a CBS network telecast? Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese?

What, no Yankees? Oh, I guess that started the next season.

Unlike CBS, Fox didn't have to buy the Yankees (or the Red Sox)
just to fawn all over them! Maybe Fox can improve their lousy
perception as a baseball broadcaster if Joe Buck starts saying
"he slud into third." ;D

 

[bpatrick]

To try to answer the questions:

1. The few NBC programs WMAZ aired were
not in color if they aired on delay; I seem to
recall "Sing Along With Mitch" airing in pattern
and in color. Don't ask me why.

2. "Byline" was local, and, yes, WSB was one
of the most progressive stations in the South
re civil rights (WFTV Orlando was another).
I wasn't living anywhere near Atlanta in those
days, and wouldn't until the late '60s, but I've
always had the impression Ch. 11 was the most
conservative; in 1968 it dropped ABC's newscast
when Frank Reynolds became anchor and began
doing liberal commentaries. The station didn't
pick up the ABC Evening News again until 1971,
in the Smith/Reasoner era, mostly after Harry
Reasoner chewed out the affiliates that were
still holding out. By that time, there was more
of a liberal/conservative mix; Smith had become
the conservative, while Reasoner tended to be more
liberal. It didn't hurt that ABC's ratings had picked up
since the Smith/Reasoner broadcast began in December
1970.
In 1964 WAGA wasn't carrying Cronkite. I don't
know (again, not living in that part of the country
at the time) if that can be traced to Eric Sevareid's
commentaries, or to the overwhelming dominance of
"The Huntley-Brinkley Report" both in Atlanta and
nationally at the time. As Huntley-Brinkley's ratings
began to drop around 1966 or '67, Cronkite was reinstated
on Ch. 5.

3. The NBC baseball game (Chs. 2 and 3) was called
by Bob Wolff and Joe Garagiola; the CBS game (Chs.
5, 12, and 13) by Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese.

And, although nobody asked, "Wide World Of Sports"
aired on Ch. 11 on delay on Sundays at 3:30; later,
it would air on delay Saturdays at 3:30. In 1968, it
began airing in pattern. A scheduling conflict took
place, however, when ABC moved to WSB. With
"Wide World" on the schedule, Lawrence Welk had
to go; Welk's people sounded out both 5 and 11, but
it was Pat Robertson who picked him up.

 

[David67]

To try to answer the questions:

1. The few NBC programs WMAZ aired were
not in color if they aired on delay; I seem to
recall "Sing Along With Mitch" airing in pattern
and in color. Don't ask me why.

2. "Byline" was local, and, yes, WSB was one
of the most progressive stations in the South
re civil rights (WFTV Orlando was another).
I wasn't living anywhere near Atlanta in those
days, and wouldn't until the late '60s, but I've
always had the impression Ch. 11 was the most
conservative; in 1968 it dropped ABC's newscast
when Frank Reynolds became anchor and began
doing liberal commentaries. The station didn't
pick up the ABC Evening News again until 1971,
in the Smith/Reasoner era, mostly after Harry
Reasoner chewed out the affiliates that were
still holding out. By that time, there was more
of a liberal/conservative mix; Smith had become
the conservative, while Reasoner tended to be more
liberal. It didn't hurt that ABC's ratings had picked up
since the Smith/Reasoner broadcast began in December
1970.
In 1964 WAGA wasn't carrying Cronkite. I don't
know (again, not living in that part of the country
at the time) if that can be traced to Eric Sevareid's
commentaries, or to the overwhelming dominance of
"The Huntley-Brinkley Report" both in Atlanta and
nationally at the time. As Huntley-Brinkley's ratings
began to drop around 1966 or '67, Cronkite was reinstated
on Ch. 5.

3. The NBC baseball game (Chs. 2 and 3) was called
by Bob Wolff and Joe Garagiola; the CBS game (Chs.
5, 12, and 13) by Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese.

And, although nobody asked, "Wide World Of Sports"
aired on Ch. 11 on delay on Sundays at 3:30; later,
it would air on delay Saturdays at 3:30. In 1968, it
began airing in pattern. A scheduling conflict took
place, however, when ABC moved to WSB. With
"Wide World" on the schedule, Lawrence Welk had
to go; Welk's people sounded out both 5 and 11, but
it was Pat Robertson who picked him up.

I'm suprised that none of the Chattanooga stations carried Professional Wrestling. I thought that Wrestling was on tv there all the time in the 60s-70s.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

1. The few NBC programs WMAZ aired were
not in color if they aired on delay; I seem to
recall "Sing Along With Mitch" airing in pattern
and in color. Don't ask me why.

Were they not in color because the WMAZ tape machine(s) could not
play back color (unmodified Ampex VR1000 or the like), or were they
"third-play" (as NBC called them) 16mm film prints, on an X-number
of days plus a week or two delay, and WMAZ's film chain was B&W?

 

[bpatrick]

Channel 3 in Chattanooga did carry professional wrestling
4:30-6 PM. Later it moved to Ch. 12, with Harry Thornton
as host. Nick Gulas and Roy Welch, based in Nashville, were
the promoters.

 

[David67]

This week the networks will be covering the Republican
Convention, which nominated Barry Goldwater. Goldwater
scared so many people into thinking he might drop a nuclear
weapon that he lost in a landslide to LBJ in November. But
this convention will be remembered, for our purposes, as the
one where NBC trounced CBS so badly that, for the Democratic
Convention, Roger Mudd and Robert Trout replaced Walter Cronkite,
to no one's approval.

From TV Guide, Georgia Edition:

WSB Ch. 2 Atlanta (NBC)

7 AM Spade And Hoe
7:30 Movie: "Sabu And The Magic Ring" (from '58,
fairly recent in relative terms)
9 AM Mr. Magoo And Dick Tracy
9:30 Ruff And Reddy (COLOR)
10 AM Hector Heathcote (COLOR)
10:30 Fireball XL-5
11 AM Dennis The Menace
11:30 Fury
12 N Bullwinkle (COLOR)
12:30 Baseball: Milwaukee Braves at Pittsburgh
Pirates (two years before the Braves moved
to Atlanta)
3 PM NBC Sports Special (time approximate)
3:30 Putt-Putt Golf
4 PM Rocky And His Friends
4:30 Movie: "The Left Handed Gun" (also from
'58)
6:30 Newsroom (Ch. 2 used this title until it
changed to "Action News" around 1974.
WXIA picked it up and called its newscast
"11 Alive Newsroom" for a few years starting
in 1976.)
6:45 Byline (news analysis, not the Betty Furness
show with the long title)
7 PM Arthur Smith
7:30 The Lieutenant
8:30 Joey Bishop (COLOR)
9 PM NBC Movie: "Edge Of The City"
11 PM Movies: "Loving You" (COLOR, with Elvis)
and "Beast From Haunted Cave"

WRCB Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)

7:30 Western Movie (title not given)
8:30 Cartoon Time
9:30 Ruff And Reddy (COLOR)
10 AM Hector Heathcote (COLOR)
10:30 Fireball XL-5
11 AM Dennis The Menace
11:30 Fury
12 N Bullwinkle (COLOR)
12:30 Baseball: Braves-Pirates
3 PM Local News (time approximate)
3:10 Mr. Magoo
3:30 Cannonball
4 PM NBC Sports Special: AAU Wrestling
Championships (this is the "real" thing,
not what Vince McMahon puts on)
4:30 Chattanooga Wrestling (this is
closer to Vince McMahon, even if
Nick Gulas and Roy Welch are the
promoters)
6 PM Wilburn Brothers
6:30 Flatt And Scruggs
7 PM Porter Wagoner (My mom loved these
shows and I was a captive audience for
WRAL from 6 to 7:30 on Saturdays.)
7:30 The Lieutenant
8:30 Joey Bishop (COLOR)
9 PM NBC Movie: "Edge Of The City"
11 PM Checkmate
sign off 12 M

WAGA Ch. 5 Atlanta (CBS)

6:25 Farm News, News
6:30 Summer Semester: "Modern Comparative
Drama"
7 AM 4-H Hour
7:30 Jungle Jim
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Alvin Show
9:30 Tennessee Tuxedo
10 AM Bugs Bunny (not to be confused with the
ABC show on Ch. 11 at noon)
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Rin Tin Tin
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 Quick Draw McGraw (by the late '60s Ch. 5
would be running cartoons well into Saturday
afternoon, always delaying something in the
morning)
1 PM Men Of Destiny
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs
4 PM Championship Wrestling (time approximate,
and I think it's from Tampa)
5 PM Movie: "China Gate"
6:55 News And Weather
7 PM Littlest Hobo
7:30 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (Betty Grable and
Harry James guest as "Lucy Wins A Race Horse.")
8:30 The Defenders (silent-movie legend Lillian Gish as
a grandma who threatens to blow up a bank unless
it gives her $1342.76)
9:30 Summer Playhouse ("The McGonicle": a sailor is
doing time in the brig for hitting a superior, just
as his wife brings a group of USO girls aboard.
Interestingly, a year or so later, "Trials Of O'Brien"
had a character called The Great McGonigle, who
had no connection to this busted pilot.)
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM News, Weather
11:20 Movie: "Destination Moon"

WGTV Ch. 8 Athens/Atlanta (NET)
off air on Saturday

WTVC Ch. 9 Chattanooga (ABC)

7:30 Growing South (agriculture)
8 AM Tombstone Territory
8:30 Funtime
9:30 Bugs Bunny (the ABC show, on delay)
10 AM Hawkeye
10:30 Magic Land Of Allakazam
11 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
11:30 Beany And Cecil (what had aired in color
on Saturday nights in 1962-63 is now in
black and white)
12 N Mull's Singing Convention
1 PM Know Your Bible
1:30 American Bandstand (an all-Elvis show,
on delay)
2:30 Ramar Of The Jungle
3 PM Movie: "Night And Day"
5 PM Wide World Of Sports (highlights of the
final round of the British Open--which was
played on Saturdays then--and the Firecracker
400, taped at Daytona July 4)
6:30 Sea Hunt
7 PM Bold Venture
7:30 GOP Convention Preview (Lisa Howard examines
the role of women in politics, including some
Democrats.)
8 PM Ripcord
8:30 Lawrence Welk
9:30 Hollywood Palace (the Smothers Brothers are
guests)
10:30 Men Into Space
11 PM Movie: "Mein Kampf" (documentary on the
Third Reich)

WAII (WXIA) Ch. 11 Atlanta (ABC)

8 AM Adventures In Living
8:30 Magic Ranch
9:30 Bumbum And His Buddies
10 AM Heckle And Jeckle
10:30 Magic Land Of Allakazam
11 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
11:30 Beany And Cecil
12 N Bugs Bunny
12:30 American Bandstand (two of the
hottest American acts of the day
appear: Roger Miller sings "Dang Me"
and Johnny Rivers sings "Memphis")
1:30 Movies: "Racing Luck" and "Devil Goddess"
4 PM Top Star Bowling
5 PM Wilburn Brothers
5:30 Porter Wagoner
6 PM Grand Ole Opry
6:30 Live Atlanta Wrestling
7:30 GOP Convention Preview (there's a second
half-hour at 8, with Howard K. Smith, Edward
P. Morgan, and Bill Lawrence examining the
party platform)
8:30 Lawrence Welk
9:30 Hollywood Palace
10:30 Stump The Stars
11 PM News, Weather
11:15 Movie: "Lady On A Train"

WDEF Ch. 12 Chattanooga (CBS)

7:30 Cartoon Time
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Alvin Show
9:30 Tennessee Tuxedo
10 AM Quick Draw McGraw
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Rin Tin Tin
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 CBS News (Martin Agronsky)
1 PM Pete Smith (the old movie shorts)
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs
4 PM Movie: "Tarzan's Magic Fountain"
(time approximate)
5:15 Movie: "Hail The Conquering Hero"
7 PM Amos 'n' Andy
7:30 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Summer Playhouse
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM Movie: "I Love A Soldier" (you might
guess this is from WWII, 1944 to be
exact)

WMAZ Ch. 13 Macon (CBS/NBC/ABC)

6:30 Summer Semester
7 AM Farm Report
7:30 Lone Ranger
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Alvin Show
9:30 Tennessee Tuxedo
10 AM Quick Draw McGraw
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Rin Tin Tin
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 CBS News
1 PM Baseball In Macon
1:15 Baseball: Giants-Cubs
4 PM TBA
4:30 Bugs Bunny (based on Ch. 13's
Saturday schedules from earlier
years, I'm guessing this is the ABC
show)
5 PM Bonnie Lou And Buster (I remember
this country-music show on WGHP,
sponsored by Jim Walter pre-fab homes.)
5:30 Porter Wagoner
6 PM Eddie Cannon (local country-music show)
6:25 Local News
6:30 Bonanza (NBC, delay from Sun 9 PM)
7:30 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Summer Playhouse
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM News, Weather
11:05 Lawrence Welk
12:05 Thriller (Boris Karloff)

Wrestling went from Channel 11 to Channel 17 because Promoter Paul Jones got so pissed off at Channel 11 seemingly regularly changing the time of the Saturday Atlanta Wrestling show.

 

[bpatrick]

I think the last straw was when Ch. 11 moved
wrestling to 10:30 on Saturday nights. For years,
the station had always carried wrestling at either
6 or 6:30, but I have the distinct impression that
by the late '60s ABC was pressuring them to carry
Wide World Of Sports in pattern (5-6:30). On top
of that, around 1968 or '69 11 decided to run movies
from 6:30-8:30 (pre-empting ABC's game shows which
occupied the first hour of Saturday primetime), rejoining
the network when Lawrence Welk came on at 8:30.

At any rate, in the fall of '68, with ABC not programming
10:30 Saturday nights, wrestling moved into that timeslot.
It sounds to me that, because Ted Turner could program
wrestling at 6, that this was more appealing to Paul Jones,
and the change was made in late '71. (It's also said that
Turner had an "in" because he was dating one of the secretaries
in Jones' office.)