Retro: Carolina-Tennessee Saturday, August 30, 1969

[bpatrick]

From TV Guide, Carolina-Tennessee Edition:

WSJK (WETP) Ch. 2 Knoxville (NET)
off air on Saturday

WBTV Ch. 3 Charlotte (CBS)

6:45 Church News
7 AM Rascals Club (Fred Kirby)
8 AM Go-Go Gophers
8:30 Bugs Bunny/Road Runner
9:30 Wacky Races
10 AM Archie Show
10:30 Batman/Superman Hour
11:30 Casper (not the same as the ABC show)
12 N Shazzan!
12:30 Jonny Quest
1 PM Moby Dick And The Mighty Mightor
1:30 Pastors Face Your Questions
2 PM Movie: "The Gal Who Took The West"
3 PM Country Style Roundup (local)
4 PM U.S. Open Tennis (second and third rounds,
live and tape)
5 PM Wrestling (from Charlotte: George Becker and
Johnny Weaver vs. Phil Robley and Sonny Fargo;
Nelson Royal and Paul Jones vs. Pancho and
Pedro Valdez)
6 PM News, Weather, Sports
6:30 NFL Preseason Game: Redskins-Lions
9:30 Petticoat Junction (time approximate)
10 PM Mannix
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:30 Movie: "Scandal At Scourie"

WFBC (WYFF) Ch. 4 Greenville, SC (NBC)

6:30 Farm News
7:30 Monty's Rascals (Monty DuPuy and Stowe Hoyle
as Mr. Doohickey)
9 AM Super 6
9:30 Cool McCool
10 AM Flintstones
10:30 Banana Splits (preview of NBC's new Saturday-
morning shows: "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Jambo," "Here
Comes The Grump," the Pink Panther, Heckle and
Jeckle)
11:30 Underdog
12 N Storybook Squares (Wally Cox, Abby Dalton, Nanette
Fabray, Stu Gilliam, Arte Johnson, Carolyn Jones, Soupy
Sales, Paul Winchell)
12:30 Untamed World
1 PM Wrestling (from Raleigh)
2 PM Baseball Pre-Game Show
2:15 Baseball: Red Sox-Twins or Cubs-Braves
5 PM Wilburn Brothers (guest: Mary Taylor--who?) (time
approximate)
5:30 Lester Flatt (going it alone after his breakup with
Earl Scruggs)
6 PM News, Weather, Sports
6:30 Huntley-Brinkley Report
7 PM Porter Wagoner (guests: Johnny and Joannie Mosby--
again, who?)
7:30 Adam-12
8 PM Get Smart
8:30 Ghost And Mrs. Muir (later in the week Hope Lange and
Edward Mulhare will host ABC's Saturday-morning preview,
since they are about to change networks)
9 PM NBC Movie: "Wild Seed"
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:30 Movie: "Seven In The Sun"

WCYB Ch. 5 Bristol, VA (NBC)

7 AM Rural Tenneva
7:25 News, Weather
7:30 Comedy Time
8:30 Popeye
9 AM Super 6
9:30 Cool McCool
10 AM Flintstones
10:30 Banana Splits
11:30 Underdog
12 N Storybook Squares
12:30 Untamed World
1 PM TBA
2 PM Baseball Pre-Game Show
2:15 Baseball (see Ch. 4 for details)
5 PM Wilburn Brothers (same as Ch. 4, time
approximate)
5:30 Porter Wagoner
6 PM Lester Flatt
6:30 News
7 PM Huntley-Brinkley Report
7:30 Adam-12
8 PM Get Smart
8:30 Ghost And Mrs. Muir
9 PM NBC Movie: "Wild Seed"
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:30 Saturday Tonight Show

WATE Ch. 6 Knoxville (NBC)

7 AM Agriculture
7:30 Movie: "Adventures Of Robin Hood"
(Errol Flynn)
9 AM Super 6
9:30 Cool McCool
10 AM Flintstones
10:30 Banana Splits
11:30 Underdog
12 N Storybook Squares
12:30 Untamed World
1 PM Bill Anderson
1:30 Stoneman Family
2 PM Baseball Pre-Game Show
2:15 Baseball (see Ch. 4)
5 PM Wilburn Brothers (guest: Blake Emmons,
time approximate)
5:30 no listing, Wilburn Brothers are on for 30 minutes
6 PM Ernest Tubb
6:30 Lester Flatt (guest: Bill Carlisle)
7 PM Huntley-Brinkley Report
7:30 Adam-12
8 PM Get Smart
8:30 Ghost And Mrs. Muir
9 PM NBC Movie: "Wild Seed"
11 PM Movie: "The Goddess" (based on the life of
Marilyn Monroe)

WSPA Ch. 7 Spartanburg, SC (CBS)

6:30 Black Heritage (the role of the black man in
the Korean War)
7 AM South Carolina Agriculture
8 AM Go-Go Gophers
8:30 Bugs Bunny/Road Runner
9:30 Wacky Races
10 AM Archie Show
10:30 Batman/Superman Hour
11:30 Herculoids
12 N Shazzan!
12:30 Jonny Quest
1 PM Moby Dick And The Mighty Mightor
1:30 Skippy The Bush Kangaroo
2 PM Cliff Gray (local)
2:30 Bill Anderson
3 PM Stan Hitchcock (country music)
3:30 Blue Ridge Quartet
4 PM U.S. Open Tennis (see Ch. 3 for details)
5 PM F Troop
5:30 McHale's Navy
6 PM News, Weather, Sports
6:30 NFL Preseason Game: Redskins-Lions
9:30 Petticoat Junction (time approximate)
10 PM Mannix
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:30 Movie: "The Tall Lie"

WSOC Ch. 9 Charlotte (NBC)

7 AM Cartoons
7:30 Cisco Kid
8 AM Super 6
8:30 Movie: "Tarzan's Fight For Life"
9:30 Cool McCool
10 AM Flintstones
10:30 Banana Splits
11:30 Underdog
12 N Kilgo's Kanteen (Charlotte legend
Jimmy Kilgo)
1 PM Roller Derby
2 PM Baseball Pre-Game Show
2:15 Baseball (see Ch. 4)
5 PM no listing
5:30 Virginian (delay from Wed 7:30)
7 PM Huntley-Brinkley Report
7:30 Adam-12
8 PM Get Smart
8:30 Ghost And Mrs. Muir
9 PM NBC Movie: "Wild Seed"
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:30 Joe Pyne

WBIR Ch. 10 Knoxville (CBS)

7:30 Patty Duke
8 AM Go-Go Gophers
8:30 Bugs Bunny/Road Runner
9:30 Wacky Races
10 AM Archie Show
10:30 Batman/Superman Hour
11:30 Herculoids
12 N Shazzan!
12:30 Jonny Quest
1 PM Moby Dick And The Mighty Mightor
1:30 Lone Ranger (animated)
2 PM Pastor's Study
2:30 Country Music Carousel (guest: Ray
Pennington--again, who?)
3 PM Kitty Wells
3:30 Stan Hitchcock
4 PM U.S. Open Tennis (see Ch. 3)
5 PM Rifleman
5:30 Animal World (delay from Thu 7:30)
6 PM News, Weather, Sports
6:30 NFL Preseason Game: Redskins-Lions
9:30 Petticoat Junction (time approximate)
10 PM Mannix
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:30 Movie: "Bell, Book And Candle" (an
inspiration for "Bewitched")

WJHL Ch. 11 Johnson City, TN (CBS)

7 AM Playhouse Theater
7:30 Tom And Jerry (delay from Sun 9 AM)
8 AM Go-Go Gophers
8:30 Bugs Bunny/Road Runner
9:30 Wacky Races
10 AM Archie Show
10:30 Batman/Superman Hour
11:30 Herculoids
12 N Shazzan!
12:30 Jonny Quest
1 PM Moby Dick And The Mighty Mightor
1:30 Lone Ranger (animated)
2 PM Movie: "Born To Be Loved"
4 PM U.S. Open Tennis (see Ch. 3)
5 PM Country Tune Twisters (I think this is local)
5:30 Perfect Match ("Dating Game" with a twist--
couples are matched by computer. Dick Enberg
hosts.)
6 PM Bill Anderson
6:30 NFL Preseason Game: Redskins-Lions
9:30 Petticoat Junction (time approximate)
10 PM Mannix
11 PM News, Weather, Sports
11:15 Movie: "The Story Of Will Rogers" (Will Rogers Jr.
plays his father)

WLOS Ch. 13 Asheville, NC (ABC)

7 AM Aspect (farm show that aired all over North Carolina)
7:30 New Casper Cartoon Show
8 AM Mr. Bill And Bumbo (Bill Norwood and weathercaster Bob
Caldwell)
9:30 Adventures Of Gulliver
10 AM Spider-Man
10:30 Fantastic Voyage
11 AM Journey To The Center Of The Earth
11:30 Fantastic Four
12 N Popeye
12:30 American Bandstand (guests: Peaches and Herb,
and Brotherhood)
1:30 Happening (guest: Barbara Feldon, hosts: Paul Revere
and the Raiders)
2 PM Movie: "20 Million Miles To Earth"
3:30 Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship
5 PM Wide World Of Sports (Rugby League Cup final, Walker
Cup golf championship, time approximate)
6:30 Wrestling (from High Point, NC)
7:30 Dating Game (guest: Sue Lyon)
8 PM Newlywed Game
8:30 Lawrence Welk (at the county fair)
9:30 Johnny Cash (guests: Roger Miller, Odetta, Charlie Callas,
singers Bobby and I)
10:30 Joe Pyne
12 M Roller Derby

WHKY Ch. 14 Hickory, NC (Ind.)

2 PM Movie: "Ramona"
3:30 Quest For Adventure
4 PM Junior America Jubilee
4:30 Movie: "The Old Corral"
5:30 Navy Film
6 PM News, Weather, Sports (Ch. 14 does not have color)
6:15 College News (Lenoir Rhyne)
6:30 TV Reader's Digest
7 PM William Tell
7:30 Movie: "Magnificent Doll"
9 PM Movie: "Frontier Gambler"
10:30 Peter Gunn
11 PM Invisible Man
11:30 Man Without A Gun

WUNE Ch. 17 Linville, NC/WUNF Ch. 33 Asheville (NET)
off air on Saturday

WCCB Ch. 18 Charlotte (ABC)

8 AM Agriculture
8:30 King And Odie
9 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
9:30 Adventures Of Gulliver
10 AM Spider-Man
10:30 Fantastic Voyage
11 AM Journey To The Center Of The Earth
11:30 Fantastic Four
12 N George Of The Jungle
12:30 American Bandstand
1:30 Happening
2 PM Upbeat
3 PM Spotlight (safety)
3:15 Film
3:30 Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship
5 PM Wide World Of Sports (see Ch. 13, time approximate)
6:30 Carl Story (country music)
7 PM Call Of The West ("Death Valley Days" reruns)
7:30 Dating Game
8 PM Newlywed Game
8:30 Lawrence Welk
9:30 Johnny Cash
10:30 Kitty Wells
11 PM Movie: "So Red The Rose"
12:30 ABC News (anchor not given)

WTVK Ch. 26 (WVLT Ch. 8) Knoxville (ABC)

8:30 Agricultural Science In Action
9 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
9:30 Adventures Of Gulliver
10 AM Spider-Man
10:30 Fantastic Voyage
11 AM Journey To The Center Of The Earth
11:30 Fantastic Four
12 N George Of The Jungle
12:30 American Bandstand
1:30 Happening
2 PM TBA
2:30 Dennis The Menace
3 PM Film
3:30 Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship
5 PM Wide World Of Sports (see Ch. 13, time approximate)
6:30 Wrestling (don't know if this is from Knoxville or somewhere
in Nick Gulas' territory)
7:30 Dating Game
8 PM Newlywed Game
8:30 Lawrence Welk
9:30 Johnny Cash
10:30 Clayton Show (local)
11 PM ABC News
11:15 Joe Pyne

WNTV Ch. 29 Greenville, SC (NET)

4 PM Now See This
4:30 South Carolina Wildlife
5 PM Washington Week In Review
5:30 Highway Panorama
5:45 Agricultural Panorama
6 PM Everybody's Business
6:30 Experiment ("The Invisible Planet," a
profile of astronomer Dr. Peter Van de Kamp,
who discovered the first planet outside our
solar system.)
7 PM What's New
7:30 French Chef
8 PM Folk Guitar
8:30 At Home
9 PM NET Festival (Erich Leinsdorf conducts the senior
orchestra of the New England Conservatory of
Music.)
sign off 10 PM

WCTU (pre-Turner, now WCNC) Ch. 36 Charlotte (Ind.)

4 PM Young Country America
4:30 Dwight And Cathy Moody (local music show)
5 PM Movie: "The Stranger Wore A Gun"
6:30 listed as CBS News with Roger Mudd, but CBS pre-empted
him this night for the football game
7 PM NFL Action (pre-empted on Ch. 3, delay from Sun 4:30)
7:30 Riverboat
8:30 Wrestling (from Tampa: Sonny King vs. Red Shadow, Pepe
Gomez vs. El Mongol, Beautiful Brutus and Cyclone Negro
vs. Smasher Sloan and Duke Keomuka, Dory Funk Jr. and
Jack Brisco vs. Dale Lewis and Baron Hans Mortier, Eduardo
Perez and Vincente Lopez vs. Danny Miller and Sam Steamboat)
9:30 Bullfights
10:30 Movie: "The Frozen Ghost"

WAIM (WMYA) Ch. 40 Anderson, SC (ABC/CBS)

8 AM Go-Go Gophers
8:30 Bugs Bunny/Road Runner
9:30 Wacky Races
10 AM Archie Show
10:30 Batman/Superman Hour
11:30 Herculoids
12 N Shazzan!
12:30 Jonny Quest
1 PM Moby Dick And The Mighty Mightor
1:30 Lone Ranger (animated)
2 PM Quest For Adventure
2:30 no listing given
3 PM Compass
3:30 no listing given
4 PM U.S. Open Tennis (see Ch. 3)
5 PM Wide World Of Sports (see Ch. 13)
6:30 NFL Preseason Game: Redskins-Lions
9:30 Petticoat Junction (time approximate)
10 PM Mannix
sign off 11 PM

 

[Mike Stroud]

From TV Guide, Carolina-Tennessee Edition:

WSJK (WETP) Ch. 2 Knoxville (NET)
off air on Saturday

WUNE Ch. 17 Linville, NC/WUNF Ch. 33 Asheville (NET)
off air on Saturday

WNTV Ch. 29 Greenville, SC (NET)

4 PM Now See This
4:30 South Carolina Wildlife
5 PM Washington Week In Review
5:30 Highway Panorama
5:45 Agricultural Panorama
6 PM Everybody's Business
6:30 Experiment ("The Invisible Planet," a
profile of astronomer Dr. Peter Van de Kamp,
who discovered the first planet outside our
solar system.)
7 PM What's New
7:30 French Chef
8 PM Folk Guitar
8:30 At Home
9 PM NET Festival (Erich Leinsdorf conducts the senior
orchestra of the New England Conservatory of
Music.)
sign off 10 PM

The public TV skeds for the three states here are quite curious. WSJK (now branded "East Tennessee PBS") was then licensed to the Tennessee state school board, and quite obviously, didn't have enough money to run seven days a week. Ditto for North Carolina ETV (WUNE, WUNF). But in South Carolina, we have a six-hour sked on Saturday of programs.

While all of this seems odd in this day of 24/7 even on PBS, we have to remember that governments usually established public TV primarily as a means of transmitting educational programming for classrooms, beginning in the 1950s. That meant that, for the most part, adult programming was dependent on leftovers in a station's or network's budget allocation and thus was largely centered around early prime time on weeknights, not on weekends when potential viewers (typically better-educated, affluent Euro-Americans) were not at home. Well into the early 1970s, some stations went off the air for the summer, at least in the daytime, as there was no need to telecast in-school programming.

In fact, it was not unheard of for a station to sign off the air at, say, 2:30 p.m., after the ETV sked had finished for the school day, and sign on again at perhaps 5 or 6 for a three-hour or so adult lineup. It was only when Sesame Street and Mister Rogers took off in popularity among little kids that NET/PBS affils and networks began filling in the late afternoon gap, perhaps out of concern for the increasingly violent tone of cartoons and adult orientation of talk shows on commercial outlets.

Some points to remember:

1) South Carolina apparently allocated a lot more money than North Carolina or Tennessee toward ETV. Had that not been the case, SCETV would have gone dark on Saturday also.

2) North Carolina, according to Wikipedia, began its expansion rollout in 1965 and had five stations up to that point. Interestingly, South Carolina had the exact same number of transmitters for that state. It had reached half of the number of stations it would eventually start up (through 1984). North Carolina had a somewhat longer way to go, with seven needed to reach its current complement of 12. South Carolina had done a lot of its work already, and thus likely had a little more money to spare. That, of course, depended on several other factors, of course, but it didn't hurt. (This, of course, excepts the stand-alone WTVI in Charlotte, founded shortly before the NC launch.)

3) In Tennessee, meanwhile, only one other state-operated ETV outlet was already on the air (WLJT in western Tennessee; however, it duplicated the programs of WKNO in Memphis, which aired a full seven days a week, surely). Tennessee was a patchwork case due to the fact that Memphis and Nashville had developed their own stations without state assistance, years earlier. The rest of the state had to catch up, and would not do so entirely until 1978, when WCTE began for the Upper Cumberland area between Nashville and Knoxville. Unlike the Carolinas, Tennessee chose not to build a statewide network, since it would have been impossible to get the Memphis and Nashville stations (WKNO and WDCN, respectively) to abandon their independence and local programming.

One question for bp: what were the skeds like for the weekdays and Sunday? What stations/networks did the most (or least) for adults?

 

[azumanga]

WATE Ch. 6 Knoxville (NBC)

5 PM Wilburn Brothers (guest: Blake Emmons,
time approximate)

Many of us (at least, those who are game show geeks) know Blake best as the first host of the USA Network's "Chain Reaction", which was taped in Canada, where Blake came from.

1) South Carolina apparently allocated a lot more money than North Carolina or Tennessee toward ETV. Had that not been the case, SCETV would have gone dark on Saturday also.

In addition, SCETV was also one of the most-ambitious educational networks in the country, using a closed-circuit television network to broadcast additional educational channels to its schools and universities.

3) Unlike the Carolinas, Tennessee chose not to build a statewide network, since it would have been impossible to get the Memphis and Nashville stations (WKNO and WDCN, respectively) to abandon their independence and local programming.

They could've went on the air anyway on their own channels, to compete against WKNO and WDCN (like what UNC-TV did in the Charlotte area, competing with WTVI), but they, for some reason, opted not to do so.