Retro: Atlanta/Chattanooga/Macon Saturday, June 23, 1962

[bpatrick]

From TV Guide, Georgia Edition:

WSB Ch. 2 Atlanta (NBC)

7:30 Spade And Hoe
8 AM New Testament: "Teachings Of
Jesus In (the book of) John"
9 AM Mr. Magoo And Dick Tracy
9:30 Pip The Piper (COLOR)
10 AM Shari Lewis (COLOR)
10:30 King Leonardo (COLOR)
11 AM Fury
11:30 Make Room For Daddy
12 N Mr. Wizard
12:30 Superman
1 PM Dangerous Robin
1:30 Baseball: Kansas City (now Oakland)
Athletics at Chicago White Sox (Bob
Wolff and Joe Garagiola report)
4:30 Movie: "The Woman On Pier 13" (time
approximate)
6 PM Two Bells
6:30 News And Weather
6:45 Eyewitness (news report not to be confused
with CBS's Friday-night program on Ch. 5)
7 PM King Of Diamonds (Broderick Crawford's
unsuccessful followup to "Highway Patrol")
7:30 Tales Of Wells Fargo (COLOR)
8:30 The Tall Man
9 PM NBC Movie: "With A Song In My Heart"
(COLOR)
11:20 Movie: "Men With Wings"

WRGP (WRCB) Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)

7:30 Movie: "Jesse James At Bay"
8:30 Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon
9 AM Navy Film
9:30 Pip The Piper (COLOR)
10 AM Shari Lewis (COLOR)
10:30 King Leonardo (COLOR)
11 AM Fury
11:30 Make Room For Daddy
12 N Pin Busters Bowling
1 PM Decoy
1:30 Baseball: Athletics-White Sox
4:30 The Buccaneers (time approximate)
5 PM Chattanooga Wrestling (would later
have a long run on Ch. 12)
6:45 News And Weather
7 PM Tightrope!
7:30 Tales Of Wells Fargo (COLOR)
8:30 The Tall Man
9 PM NBC Movie: "With A Song In My Heart"
(COLOR)
11:20 Movie: "The Big Boodle"

WAGA Ch. 5 Atlanta (CBS)

7:30 4-H Hour
8 AM Funny Pictures (Dave Michaels, later
11 Alive and CNN anchor, is also an
artist--he did this show, later called
"Mr. Pix.")
9 AM Captain Kangaroo
10 AM Bugs Bunny (not to be confused with
the ABC show airing at noon on Ch. 11)
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Magic Land Of Allakazam
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 Championship Wrestling From Florida
1:15 Baseball: Yankees-Tigers (Dizzy Dean and
Pee Wee Reese report)
4:30 Grand Ole Opry (time approximate)
5 PM Movie: "Passage To Marseilles"
6:55 Men Of Destiny
7 PM Perry Mason
8 PM Third Man
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Have Gun, Will Travel
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM News And Weather
11:15 Movie: "The Last Command"

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

WTVC Ch. 9 Chattanooga (ABC)

7 AM Better Agriculture
7:30 Country Boy Eddie
8:30 Three Stooges
9 AM Popeye
9:30 Man From Cochise
10 AM Movie: "North Of The Rio Grande"
11 AM Light Time
11:30 Bugs Bunny (ABC)
12 N Mull's Singing Convention
1 PM Word Of God School
1:30 This Is The Answer
2 PM Movie: "Covered Wagon Raid"
3 PM Ringside With The Rasslers
4 PM Women's Bowling
4:30 Air Force Story
5 PM Hawkeye
5:30 Ramar Of The Jungle
6 PM The Visitor
6:30 The Falcon
7 PM Beany And Cecil
7:30 Calvin And The Colonel
8 PM Room For One More
8:30 Leave It To Beaver
9 PM Lawrence Welk
10 PM Boxing: Joey Archer vs. Joe
Gonzalez, middleweights, 10
rounds, from Madison Square
Garden
10:45 Make That Spare (time approximate)
11 PM Movie: "King Of The Underworld"

WLW-A (WXIA) Ch. 11 Atlanta (ABC)

7 AM Cartoons
8 AM Adventures In Living
9 AM Billy Johnson
9:30 Jet Jackson
10 AM Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
10:30 TBA
11 AM Circus Boy
11:30 Ramar Of The Jungle
12 N Bugs Bunny
12:30 Teen Time
1:30 Championship Bridge
2 PM Stars Of Tomorrow (James Brown,
Brenda Lee, Jerry Reed, and Joe
South all got their break on this
show, hosted by GCW's Freddie
Miller.)
2:30 Movies: "Armored Car" and "Hi, Good
Lookin'" (the second feature stars
Ozzie and Harriet)
5 PM Beany And Cecil
5:30 Robin Hood
6 PM Live Atlanta Wrestling
7:30 Calvin And The Colonel
8 PM Room For One More
8:30 Leave It To Beaver
9 PM Lawrence Welk
10 PM Boxing
10:45 Make That Spare (time approximate)
11 PM News And Weather
11:30 Roller Derby

WDEF Ch. 12 Chattanooga (CBS)

8:30 Cartoons
9 AM Captain Kangaroo
10 AM Alvin Show
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Magic Land Of Allakazam
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 CBS News (Roger Mudd substitutes
for Robert Trout)
12:45 Cartoons
1:15 Baseball: Yankees-Tigers
4:30 Movie: "Unconquered" (time approximate)
6 PM Roller Derby
7 PM Peter Gunn
7:30 Perry Mason
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Have Gun, Will Travel
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM Movie: "The Unseen"

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

7 AM Komedy Korner
8 AM Superman
8:30 Cisco Kid
9 AM Captain Kangaroo
10 AM Alvin Show
10:30 Mighty Mouse
11 AM Magic Land Of Allakazam
11:30 Roy Rogers
12 N Sky King
12:30 Bugs Bunny (ABC)
1 PM Playhouse 15
1:15 Baseball: Yankees-Tigers
4:30 Wrestling (time approximate)
5:30 Grand Ole Opry
6 PM Ben Casey (ABC, delay from Mon
10 PM)
7 PM Eddie Cannon (local music show)
7:30 Perry Mason
8:30 The Defenders
9:30 Have Gun, Will Travel
10 PM Gunsmoke
11 PM Lawrence Welk
12 M Famous Playhouse

 

[oldiesfan6479]

WAGA Ch. 5 Atlanta (CBS)
7 PM Perry Mason
8 PM Third Man
8:30 The Defenders

For the want of a half-hour, WAGA (Storer?) had to run Perry Mason
(network 7:30-8:30 ET) on a one-week delay! Wonder why it was so
critical to air it at 7 and the syndie at 8? (Maybe Klaatu was told to
"nictu WAGA's barada" if Third Man didn't get the 8:00 slot. ;D)

WTVC Ch. 9 Chattanooga (ABC)
WLW-A (WXIA) Ch. 11 Atlanta (ABC)
9 PM Lawrence Welk
10 PM Boxing: Joey Archer vs. Joe
Gonzalez, middleweights, 10
rounds, from Madison Square
Garden
10:45 Make That Spare (time approximate)

Assuming boxing/bowling was still live EDT, it's strange ABC didn't send it
through at 9 and flip Welk to 10 in the EST areas.

Or maybe Welk also was still live then? But wouldn't you rather have run
one of the two live shows live, instead of both on delay?

This may have something to do with Roaring Twenties having already been
canceled, and while you could flip it to 10 EST, it would be marginal to run
any two of the three early-eveningcartoon/sitcom shows that late.

 

[trusty]

Assuming boxing/bowling was still live EDT, it's strange ABC didn't send it
through at 9 and flip Welk to 10 in the EST areas.

Or maybe Welk also was still live then? But wouldn't you rather have run
one of the two live shows live, instead of both on delay?

This may have something to do with Roaring Twenties having already been
canceled, and while you could flip it to 10 EST, it would be marginal to run
any two of the three early-eveningcartoon/sitcom shows that late.

From 1944 to 1960, didn't NBC air Gillette Calvacade of Sports (Boxing) on Friday nights at 10? I believe ABC was just programming to viewers' expectations. Also, Beaver was a good lead-in to Lawrence Welk while Boxing at 9 pm would have lost audience.

 

[bpatrick]

Both Welk and boxing were live; I suspect the
reason both aired on a one-hour tape delay is
that 10 PM would have been pretty late for a
lot of Welk's audience, and--as pointed out--to
run Welk at 8 and the fights at 9 might have meant
"Room For One More" and "Leave It To Beaver" from
10 to 11--not good scheduling at all.

When "The Roaring 20s" aired at 7:30 the previous
year, ABC did flip-flop its schedule for EST:

7:30 Leave It To Beaver
8 PM Lawrence Welk
9 PM Fight Of The Week
9:45 Make That Spare (time approximate)
10 PM Roaring 20s

But that strategy made no sense with a two-hour
block of cartoons and family sitcoms. Hence the
running of Welk and the fights on delay.

As for "Perry Mason," TV Guide showed that WAGA
was running the same episode that aired on the rest
of the CBS network at 7:30. How they pulled it off,
I don't know (they did the same thing with "Rawhide"
on Fridays), but it gave Ch. 5 a half-hour's head start
on Ch. 2 (with "Tales Of Wells Fargo" at 7:30) and
Ch. 11 ("Calvin And The Colonel").

 

[oldiesfan6479]

As for "Perry Mason," TV Guide showed that WAGA
was running the same episode that aired on the rest
of the CBS network at 7:30. How they pulled it off,
I don't know...

Two possibilities:

1)
Somehow got Telco to switch them--but not other CBS affils in the
southeast--to the live EDT feed from 6:30-7:30 EST, and for WAGA
to do a half-hour tape delay. This would require a bare minimum of
three VTRs (and that's going without a backup). I just can't see
AT&T being able to accommodate one station in the EST area where
all others were getting the alternate network feed.

2)
Getting CBS to send them a 16mm film print of Mason in advance for
same-night airing. Normally, these prints were sent--after the fact--
to non-interconnected stations or others out-of-pattern who were
unable to tape the feed, and who aired the episodes on a one-week
or more delay. There was precedence, as KOOL-TV Phoenix ran some
shows same-night from 16mm film in the 1960s, but being in the Mountain
time zone there was already a built-in handicap of having to delay at
least part of prime time every weeknight.

I suppose there is a third scenario--that being it really was a one-week
delay and the episode listing was just incorrect. TVG's data was only
as good as what each station furnished. Do you have issues from other
weeks in summer 1962 where the episode summary also matches what
was on the net at 7:30 EDT?

 

[bpatrick]

I have one that I could readily put my hands on,
from May 1962 (DST in effect); it, too, shows
Ch. 5 running the "Perry Mason" episode that ran
a half-hour later on Chs. 12 and 13.

These books also show Bugs Bunny running at 11:30
AM on Ch. 9 and noon on Ch. 11. Noon was the time
ABC scheduled the show, yet Ch. 9 is shown running
the same episode as Ch. 11.

I also have one or two that show CBS's "The 20th
Century" on Ch. 5 Sundays at 4:30, and on Chs. 12
and 13 at 6. CBS scheduled the program at 6 PM
on Sundays (12 and 13 are in-pattern), yet CBS's ads
show Ch. 5 airing the same program as the in-pattern
stations, as do TV Guide's listings. These come in
September, and I don't think Ch. 5 could have gotten
a live feed before 5 PM (EST).

I don't have an answer to this, just as I never had one
for the ABC station in New Bern, NC, running everything
an hour earlier in the summers of 1965 and 1966, when
North Carolina still stayed on standard time.

 

[trusty]

Apparently, CBS did in the early '60s what it did in the late '60s when I was working at WAGA - send a complete program down the line a few days earlier for taping by local stations that needed it. It would be sent in the late afternoons along with CBS news feeds.

Many times, all the Atlanta stations (especially WSB) had local contracts that would cause a conflict. To help matters, the station and the network would agree to "adjust" the air time of the network program by 30 min just to get the network program on the air in the market. This compromise was acceptable to everyone as long as it was not abused. (Most times, the station only had one shot - only one time did we have to get CBS to re-feed the show when Telco messed up.)

This also applied as a preview for "controversial" programs; "All in the Family" was a weekly afternoon feed, but never the same day every week .

 

[oldiesfan6479]

trusty,

Maybe that does solve the "Mason mystery," but a few questions
still remain.

I can't speak for what CBS may have pre-fed in the 1960s, but by
the mid-1970s, the closed-circuit time was for program previews
only, and I believe it was the program only, no spots or CTNs.

Additionally, as late as 1973 and perhaps even beyond then, programs
were not yet assembled together with breaks on a master tape (two
copies each at the dairy barn and TV City) for air, but were run off
of the show's source (tape shows on two VTRs and film from a 35mm
primary and 16mm backup) with spots inserted "live" from air control
from whatever tape or film source they were on. Movies (prime and
late) themseves were dubbed to tape for airing, but not the breaks.

I have a copy of the daily program log (for both CBS net NYC feed and
WCBS-TV) from one day in 1973.

It may well be that a small number of shows back in the 1960s were
pre-fed, but the air control techs would have to roll in the spots and
have the booth announcer voice the CTNs, unless for these feeds
they did pass everything to tape ahead of time.

And if CBS did these "favors" for a few larger markets in the 1960s,
why didn't they also do any pre-feeds for the Mountain time zone?

 

[bpatrick]

I remember when Ch. 9 (WTVC) would run ABC's
late-night programs at 11:30, while Ch. 11 (WXIA)
would run them at midnight, following "Mary Hartman,
Mary Hartman." It would always be the same show,
just a 30-minute delay in Atlanta. Since this was
the '70s, how was this accomplished?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...while Ch. 11 (WXIA) would run them at midnight, following
"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." It would always be the same
show, just a 30-minute delay in Atlanta. Since this was the
the '70s, how was this accomplished?

Being in Mountain (Standard) Time markets, I was familiar with one-
and two-hour delays for extended periods of programming, but from
that I can give you a half-hour delay scenario. Assuming this is the
mid-70s and we're dealing with those two-inch quad VTR monsters.

You'd need four machines, three for primary record/playback and the
fourth to record a "continuous" backup--meaning keep recording on
90-min. reels until and unless you need it, and do a reel change during
a local station break (and don't forget to clean the heads then too).
If you do need the backup, then all bets are off as all hell is breaking
loose in the tape room!

You record in 25-min. segments with a five-min. record overlap from
reel to reel. This allows you five min. to rewind and check each reel,
then five min. to synch it up with the previous reel and segue to it.

VTR 1
record 11:30-11:55 play 12:00-12:25

VTR 2
record 11:50-12:15 play 12:20-12:45

VTR 3
record 12:10-12:35 play 12:40-1:05

VTR 1 (again)
record 12:30-12:55 play 1:00-1:25

VTR 2 (again)
record 12:50-1:15 play 1:20-1:45

VTR 3 (again)
record 1:10-1:35 play 1:40-2:05

If the ABC late night runs more than 2:05--lather, rinse, repeat the above.

 

[trusty]

I worked at a station in the mid 70's that delayed The Tonight Show 1 hour using 2 VTRs. It went something like this (Central Time):
VTR 1
record 10:30-11:20 / play 11:30-12:15

VTR 2
record 11:10-12:00 / play 12:15-1:00

(12:10-12:20 sync up playback of VTR 1 & 2 - change when needed)

We also had a backup rolling. ('Twas a long time ago!)

---

When CBS fed the programs in the 60's, They fed the program, then the commercials, promos, etc. (with slates). We inserted the network spots and our local spots.

---

Can't answer about the Mountain Time Zone - never worked there and always wondered about it. Why would the networks run an extra feed to make their programs air earlier than in the Pacific Zone?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

I worked at a station in the mid 70's that delayed The Tonight Show 1 hour using 2 VTRs. It went something like this (Central Time):
VTR 1
record 10:30-11:20 / play 11:30-12:15
VTR 2
record 11:10-12:00 / play 12:15-1:00
(12:10-12:20 sync up playback of VTR 1 & 2 - change when needed)
We also had a backup rolling. ('Twas a long time ago!)

Exactamente! That is the standard scenario for doing a one-hour delay
for any extended period of time (daytime, prime, late-night)--record in
50-min. segments with 10-min. overlaps. Has Mountain Time Zone
written all over it.

When CBS fed the programs in the 60's, They fed the program, then the commercials, promos, etc. (with slates). We inserted the network spots and our local spots.

OK, now I think the "Mason mystery" has definitely been solved! The only question
remaining is did CBS also feed you (with the spots/promos) the system cues (CTNs)
for the mid-break and end-break? Back then this would likely be as simple as the
CBS booth guy reading promo copy over a Danny Thomas Show program slide
followed by the eyeball slide ("...Uncle Tonoose visits--but then won't leave--on
Look Out For Father with Danny Nose, Monday at 9/8 Central time on CBS" ;D).

Can't answer about the Mountain Time Zone - never worked there and always wondered about it. Why would the networks run an extra feed to make their programs air earlier than in the Pacific Zone?

There wasn't an extra feed. Mountain stations got the New York origination, so prime
came in 5:30-9 MST and, while some smaller (but interconnected) markets took it all
live, most stations ran prime 6:30-10 so one or more shows had to be flipped around
via tape delay, or in some cases, 16mm film prints.

MST stations wouldn't want the left coast feed from TV City as that would put prime
time on from 8:30-midnight/winter and 7:30-11/summer.

 

[trusty]

OK, now I think the "Mason mystery" has definitely been solved! The only question
remaining is did CBS also feed you (with the spots/promos) the system cues (CTNs)
for the mid-break and end-break? Back then this would likely be as simple as the
CBS booth guy reading promo copy over a Danny Thomas Show program slide
followed by the eyeball slide ("...Uncle Tonoose visits--but then won't leave--on
Look Out For Father with Danny Nose, Monday at 9/8 Central time on CBS" ;D).

CBS would send segment times, commercial placement, scripts, etc. via teletype. Traffic would put them on the log, and we aired them as logged. We also kept listening for the teletype located close to the announce booth for any last-minute changes. Usually, we didn't VO over credits that would have been heard if took the pgm. live.

Mountain stations got the New York origination, so prime came in 5:30-9 MST and, while some smaller (but interconnected) markets took it all live, most stations ran prime 6:30-10 so one or more shows had to be flipped around via tape delay, or in some cases, 16mm film prints.

MST stations wouldn't want the left coast feed from TV City as that would put prime
time on from 8:30-midnight/winter and 7:30-11/summer.

Thanks. I would like to see a schedule for Denver on June 23, 1962 OR an early listing of an ET market and MT market on the same day for comparison (Which shows got switched where...).

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Thanks. I would like to see a schedule for Denver on June 23, 1962 OR an early listing of an ET market and MT market on the same day for comparison (Which shows got switched where...).

If you search back through Classic TV, you'll see some threads on what was
scheduled to air on 11/22/63. One was for Dallas/Fort Worth, I believe that
bpatrick added a networks/New York feed (EST), and there are also Denver
and Phoenix (includes Tucson) for that day.

It's possible that Salt Lake, Albuquerque, El Paso, etc., may each have had
their own nuances, and we're still looking for skeds from these markets for
11/22/63.