Retro: Knoxville/Chattanooga Wednesday, September 1, 1982

[bpatrick]

From TV Guide, Knoxville/Chattanooga Edition:

WSJK Ch. 2 Sneedville, TN (PBS)

8:40 A.M. Weather
8:55 In-school programs
10:25 Electric Company
10:55 Sesame Street
11:55 In-school programs
12:45 3-2-1 Contact
1:15 In-school programs
3 PM Dick Cavett
3:30 Over Easy
4 PM Sesame Street
5 PM Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
5:30 Electric Company
6 PM 1982 World's Fair On Sight (Knoxville was
the site of the '82 World's Fair.)
6:30 Over Easy
7 PM MacNeil/Lehrer Report
7:30 Nightly Business Report
8 PM The Ambassadors (adaptation of a Henry James
novel, with Paul Scofield and Lee Remick)
9:30 Jack London With William Devane (London died
in 1916, so Devane is portraying him and using
rare clips to help tell London's story.)
10 PM Tribute To Alec Wilder (jazz/classical musician
who died in 1980)
11 PM Dick Cavett
11:30 Captioned ABC News

WRCB Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)

6 AM Romper Room
6:30 NBC News (Bryant Gumbel/Jane Pauley/
Willard Scott)
7 AM Today
9 AM Richard Simmons
9:30 Tom And Jerry
10 AM Diff'rent Strokes
10:30 Wheel Of Fortune
11 AM Texas
12 N News
12:30 Search For Tomorrow
1 PM Days Of Our Lives
2 PM Another World
3 PM CHiPs (NBC reruns this)
4 PM Bugs And Friends
4:55 News For Little People
5 PM Kung Fu
6 PM News
6:30 NBC News (Tom Brokaw/Roger
Mudd)
7 PM M*A*S*H
7:30 PM Magazine
8 PM Real People
9 PM Facts Of Life
9:30 Love, Sidney (controversial sitcom with
Tony Randall as a gay man who lets a
woman and daughter live in his house)
10 PM Quincy
11 PM News
11:30 Tonight Show
12:30 700 Club
1:30 NBC News (Lloyd Dobyns/Linda Ellerbee)

WATE Ch. 6 Knoxville (ABC)

6 AM Good Morning Tennessee
7 AM Good Morning America (David Hartman)
9 AM Richard Simmons
9:30 Mary Tyler Moore
10 AM Family Feud
10:30 Edge Of Night
11 AM Love Boat
12 N News
12:30 Ryan's Hope
1 PM All My Children
2 PM One Life To Live
3 PM General Hospital
4 PM Lassie
4:30 Andy Griffith
5 PM Starsky & Hutch
6 PM News
6:30 ABC News (Frank Reynolds)
7 PM Sanford And Son
7:30 PM Magazine
8 PM The Phoenix
9 PM The Fall Guy
10 PM Dynasty
11 PM News
11:30 Nightline (Ted Koppel)
12 M Love Boat

WGN Ch. 9 Chicago (Ind.)
Listed Eastern Time

5:30 Sea Hunt
6 AM Flash Gordon
6:30 Faith 20
7 AM Top O' The Morning
7:30 Bullwinkle
8 AM Bozo Show
9:30 Bewitched
10 AM Movie: "Bright Eyes"
12 N Big Valley
1 PM My Three Sons
1:30 INN News (Carter/Scott)
2 PM Dick Van Dyke
2:30 Dennis The Menace
3 PM I Dream Of Jeannie
3:30 Family Affair
4 PM Scooby Doo
4:30 Popeye
5 PM McHale's Navy
5:30 Gilligan's Island
6 PM Good Times
6:30 Hogan's Heroes
7 PM Andy Griffith
7:30 Carol Burnett And Friends
8 PM Movie: "Luv"
10 PM INN News
10:30 News
11 PM Twilight Zone
11:30 Saturday Night (SNL reruns)
12:30 Movie: "Les Miserables"
3 AM News
3:30 Movie: "Pals Of The Saddle"

WTVC Ch. 9 Chattanooga (ABC)

5:30 Study In The Word With Jimmy
Swaggart
6 AM ABC News (Steve Bell/Kathleen Sullivan)
7 AM Good Morning America
9 AM Donahue
10 AM Hour Magazine
11 AM Love Boat
12 N Family Feud
12:30 Ryan's Hope
1 PM All My Children
2 PM One Life To Live
3 PM General Hospital
4 PM Dark Shadows
4:30 Muppet Show
5 PM Harry O
6 PM News
6:30 ABC News
7 PM Entertainment Tonight
7:30 Happy Days Again
8 PM The Phoenix
9 PM The Fall Guy
10 PM Dynasty
11 PM News
11:30 Nightline
12 M Love Boat
1:10 News

WBIR Ch. 10 Knoxville (CBS)

6 AM Farm And Home Show
6:30 Carl Williams (public affairs)
7 AM CBS News (Bill Kurtis/Diane Sawyer)
9 AM Donahue
10 AM One Day At A Time
10:30 Alice
11 AM Bob Braun
12 N News
12:30 Young And The Restless
1:30 As The World Turns
2:30 Capitol
3 PM Guiding Light
4 PM Bugs Bunny And Friends
4:30 F Troop
5 PM Beverly Hillbillies
5:30 Rifleman
6 PM News
6:30 CBS News (Dan Rather)
7 PM Emergency!
8 PM Movie: "Gorilla At Large" (McDonald's
was selling 3-D glasses for this, with
proceeds going to the Muscular Dystrophy
Association.)
10 PM CBS Reports (a study of Guatemala)
11 PM News
11:30 U.S. Open Tennis Highlights
12 M World's Fair Update
12:15 Alice
12:50 McCloud

WDEF Ch. 12 Chattanooga (CBS)

6:20 Farm Report
6:30 Morning Show
8 AM CBS News
10 AM One Day At A Time
10:30 Alice
11 AM Price Is Right
12 N News
12:30 Young And The Restless
1:30 As The World Turns
2:30 Capitol
3 PM Guiding Light
4 PM Woody Woodpecker And Friends
4:30 The Waltons
5:30 Gilligan's Island
6 PM News
6:30 CBS News
7 PM Tic Tac Dough
7:30 All In The Family
8 PM Football Time In Tennessee (previews of
UT and UT-Chattanooga)
9 PM CBS Movie: "Hellinger's Law"
11 PM News
11:30 U.S. Open Tennis Highlights
12 M CBS Movie: "Fraternity Row"

WTBS Ch. 17 Atlanta (Ind.)

5:40 World At Large
6 AM CNN News
7:05 SuperStation Funtime
7:35 I Dream Of Jeannie
8:05 My Three Sons
8:35 That Girl
9:05 Movie: "The Woman In White" (given that
this is from 1948, I wonder if it has any
connection to a popular radio soap of the
era)
11:05 Movie: "On The Double"
1:05 Movie: "It Happened To Jane"
3:05 SuperStation Funtime
3:35 Flintstones
4:05 Addams Family
4:35 Ozzie And Harriet
5:05 Partridge Family
5:35 Hazel
6:05 My Three Sons
6:35 Father Knows Best
7:05 Green Acres
7:35 Baseball: Braves-Phillies
10:35 News (time approximate)
11:35 All In The Family
12:05 Movie: "A Dandy In Aspic"
2:15 Baseball: Braves-Phillies (replay)

WCLP (WNGH) Ch. 18 Chatsworth, GA (PBS)

8:15 A.M. Weather
8:30 In-school programs
4 PM Sesame Street
5 PM Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
5:30 Electric Company
6 PM Here's To Your Health
6:30 Over Easy
7 PM Nightly Business Report
7:30 MacNeil/Lehrer Report
8 PM The Ambassadors
9:30 Designing The U.S. Pavilion (for
the Knoxville World's Fair)
10 PM Tribute To Alec Wilder
11 PM Dick Cavett
11:30 Captioned ABC News

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

6 AM Study In The Word With Jimmy
Swaggart
6:30 NBC News
7 AM Today
9 AM 700 Club
10 AM Diff'rent Strokes
10:30 Wheel Of Fortune
11 AM Today At The 1982 World's Fair
12 N The Doctors (the soap)
12:30 Search For Tomorrow
1 PM Days Of Our Lives
2 PM Another World
3 PM Texas
4 PM TV26 Cartoon Hour
5 PM Bonanza
6 PM News
6:30 NBC News
7 PM Tic Tac Dough
7:30 Family Feud
8 PM Real People
9 PM Facts Of Life
9:30 Love, Sidney
10 PM Quincy
11 PM News
11:30 Tonight Show
12:30 Late Night With David Letterman
1:30 NBC News

WTCI Ch. 45 Chattanooga (PBS)

In-school programs throughout the day.

3 PM Over Easy
3:30 Villa Alegre
4 PM Sesame Street
5 PM Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
5:30 Electric Company
6 PM It's Everybody's Business
6:30 Writers' Workshop
7 PM Nightly Business Report
7:30 MacNeil/Lehrer Report
8 PM The Ambassadors
9:30 Jack London With William Devane
10 PM Tribute To Alec Wilder
11 PM Dick Cavett
11:30 Captioned ABC News

WRIP (WDSI) Ch. 61 Chattanooga (Ind.)

6 AM Morning Stretch
6:30 Rick Igou (talk--don't know anything
about him or the show)
9:30 Jack LaLanne
10 AM 700 Club
11:30 Study In The Word With Jimmy
Swaggart
12 N Make Room For Daddy
12:30 My Little Margie
1 PM Movie: "Stella"
3 PM Gigantor
3:30 Uncle Waldo
4 PM McHale's Navy
4:30 Best Of Jackie Gleason
5 PM Kojak
6 PM Star Trek
7 PM Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
8 PM Movie: "Let's Dance"
10 PM INN News
10:30 I Love Lucy
11 PM Mission: Impossible
12 M Words Of Life

 

[classictvfan]

WKCH Channel 43 apparently had not started at that point

 

[mleach]

WBIR Ch. 10 Knoxville (CBS)

11 AM Bob Braun

This is the first time I had heard of Bob Braun's Cincinatti based show airing on TV in Tennessee.

Interesting thing about Bob Braun I had heard recenty from a buddy of mine who works at Direct TV. Back in the early 80's he was working at Washington, DC's WDCA-TV channel 20. WDCA had actually wanted to air Bob's show only to get a "thanks but no thanks" from Braun and from what he was telling me WDCA wasn't the first station to get turned down from wanting to air Bob Braun either. He was telling me that Pittsbugh's WPXI, Buffalo's WIVB plus a station in Boston ( he thinks it was WSBK )..all of them got the "NO" from Bob Braun. Dittos with Harrisonburg, VA's WHSV-TV who wanted to air Braun at 9am weekdays replacing Jim Bakker.

Makes me wonder what made a market "favorable" or "unfavorable" to Braun and his staff?

 

[radiorob2.0]

WBIR Ch. 10 Knoxville (CBS)

11 AM Bob Braun

This is the first time I had heard of Bob Braun's Cincinatti based show airing on TV in Tennessee.

Interesting thing about Bob Braun I had heard recenty from a buddy of mine who works at Direct TV. Back in the early 80's he was working at Washington, DC's WDCA-TV channel 20. WDCA had actually wanted to air Bob's show only to get a "thanks but no thanks" from Braun and from what he was telling me WDCA wasn't the first station to get turned down from wanting to air Bob Braun either. He was telling me that Pittsbugh's WPXI, Buffalo's WIVB plus a station in Boston ( he thinks it was WSBK )..all of them got the "NO" from Bob Braun. Dittos with Harrisonburg, VA's WHSV-TV who wanted to air Braun at 9am weekdays replacing Jim Bakker.

Makes me wonder what made a market "favorable" or "unfavorable" to Braun and his staff?

It wasn't as much a favorable or unfavorable status but keeping it "local" as the show was very Cincinnati. The attitude might have been to keep the show distribution within a few hours of Crosley Square. Knoxville, Huntington/Charleston, Louisville and a return to Indy on WTTV was the extent of the network and a couple of the old WLW network station (Columbus and Dayton).

 

[mleach]

It wasn't as much a favorable or unfavorable status but keeping it "local" as the show was very Cincinnati. The attitude might have been to keep the show distribution within a few hours of Crosley Square. Knoxville, Huntington/Charleston, Louisville and a return to Indy on WTTV was the extent of the network and a couple of the old WLW network station (Columbus and Dayton).

Maybe so but Bob's show I believe did air for a time in Raleigh, NC. Not exactly "nearby" to Cincinatti. For Braun to turn down Pittsbugh is a bit of a surprise to me since some of that market does goes into Ohio. Did Bob Braun ever air on TV in Cleveland, Youngstown or Toledo? Of all the listings that have appeared on this site from those markets, I don't recall ever seeing Bob Braun's show being listed.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

9:30 Love, Sidney (controversial sitcom with
Tony Randall as a gay man who lets a
woman and daughter live in his house)

"Family Ties" would premiere in this time slot three weeks later to begin its seven-year run.

 

[bpatrick]

It wasn't as much a favorable or unfavorable status but keeping it "local" as the show was very Cincinnati. The attitude might have been to keep the show distribution within a few hours of Crosley Square. Knoxville, Huntington/Charleston, Louisville and a return to Indy on WTTV was the extent of the network and a couple of the old WLW network station (Columbus and Dayton).

Maybe so but Bob's show I believe did air for a time in Raleigh, NC. Not exactly "nearby" to Cincinatti. For Braun to turn down Pittsbugh is a bit of a surprise to me since some of that market does goes into Ohio. Did Bob Braun ever air on TV in Cleveland, Youngstown or Toledo? Of all the listings that have appeared on this site from those markets, I don't recall ever seeing Bob Braun's show being listed.

Braun's show did air briefly on WLFL in Raleigh, in the show's later years when it was called "Braun & Co." His main markets, as pointed out, were Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington, Charleston/Huntington, Nashville, and Knoxville. At one time Multimedia, which owned the stations in Cincinnati, Knoxville, and Nashville that carried Braun, wanted to put the show into national syndication; Braun refused, saying he preferred to keep the show as an outlet for local and regional talent.

I've never heard of any stations in northern Ohio carrying his show. I am surprised, though, that WBIR pre-empted "The Price Is Right" (WBIR didn't switch from CBS to NBC until 1988) in favor of Braun, rather than air him at 10 AM instead of the two CBS sitcoms airing in that hour.

 

[Tim L]

It wasn't as much a favorable or unfavorable status but keeping it "local" as the show was very Cincinnati. The attitude might have been to keep the show distribution within a few hours of Crosley Square. Knoxville, Huntington/Charleston, Louisville and a return to Indy on WTTV was the extent of the network and a couple of the old WLW network station (Columbus and Dayton).

Maybe so but Bob's show I believe did air for a time in Raleigh, NC. Not exactly "nearby" to Cincinatti. For Braun to turn down Pittsbugh is a bit of a surprise to me since some of that market does goes into Ohio. Did Bob Braun ever air on TV in Cleveland, Youngstown or Toledo? Of all the listings that have appeared on this site from those markets, I don't recall ever seeing Bob Braun's show being listed.

As far as I know, Braun never aired in the markets mentioned, however, Ruth Lyons, precdeccesor to Braun, aired a NBC national version of her show on WNBK-4 in Cleveland in 1951-52..

A side thought:I always wonder if Crosley had ever considered, or been in the running originally to put Cleveland's WXEL-9 on the air before Empire Coil Co. ultimately did in December 1949..Almost certainly Lyons and Braun along with Paul Dixon, would have aired on WXEL-Cleveland for years..Would probably have changed the dynamics of the Cleveland Market. With Crosley being sold to AVCO, etc..Storer might never have come to Cleveland..

Paul Dixon had an afternoon DuMont music show that aired on WXEL/WJW, and WKBN Youngstown..

 

[Tim L]

Expanding on the above thoughts-The call letters on Cleveland's original Channel 9 might have been something like WLW-K..To keep the "Crosley style" call letters..If Storer is never involved, By 1955 Channel 5 and 8 don't neccessarily swap networks so WLW-K Channel 8 remains ABC through the years and 5 CBS...If Gannett eventually owns the station then Gannett doesnt own WKYC..So WKYC is sold by NBC to someone else..

I know thats kind of out there..But fun to speculate what might have been..

 

[mleach]

From TV Guide, Knoxville/Chattanooga Edition:

WRCB Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)

9:30 Love, Sidney (controversial sitcom with
Tony Randall as a gay man who lets a
woman and daughter live in his house)

Even though it had been years since I have seen "Love, Syndey", but I am pretty sure the "gay angle" only applied to the pilot and not the series as the producers downplayed, if not overlooked all together the fact that Syndey was gay. And yes this was another program that was cancelled where Jerry Falwell took credit by saying it was he who had the show cancelled. NBC would later proved that to be a lie.

It was also around the time of these listings I do believe when Norfolk's long time rock station WQRK-FM "Q104 and a half " announced they would be giving up rock and roll, only to have Virginia's other TV preacher...Pat Robertson taking credit for that format change. Did WQRK go religious to please Pat? Ah no...they became WNVZ "Z104" sporting a "Hot Hits" CHR format. Egg was all over Pat Robertson's face over that one

Anyway after the Love, Sydney & WQRK-FM "credits", even though both Falwell & Robertson's prgrams continued to air in Virginia for years at the same time most of Virginia's radio & TV stations did keep some "distance" between their stations and Falwell & Robertson as far as their politics were concerned and whenever rumors pop up about the "Falwell Influence" or "Pat's Influence" and their programming decisions.....they tend to get "nasty" about it.

 

[bpatrick]

Thanks for the reminder. The gay angle on "Love, Sidney" was
played down after the pilot; you would have had difficulty guessing
Sidney's sexual orientation (but not to worry, Tony Randall was
straight in real life, married to the same woman for many years, as
I recall).

Back to Bob Braun/Ruth Lyons: NBC wanted Ms. Lyons to move her
show to New York. She was holding her own well against the "Love
Of Life"/"Search For Tomorrow"/"Guiding Light" block on CBS, and NBC
felt that advertisers would be even more receptive to her show if she
got it out of Cincinnati. Nothing doing, she said, she was a Cincinnati
native and had no desire to leave. End of network show, but the local
"50/50 Club" continued on WLWT and its sister stations (except WLWA
Atlanta) until 1967, at which point she retired and Braun, who had been
increasingly visible as co-host, took over the show.

In the '50s Braun was a regular on Dotty Mack's ABC musical-variety
show (she pantomimed the latest hits, and I think--somebody from Ohio
correct me on this--her boyfriend ran WCPO and insisted that ABC take
her show). Another regular, Colin Male, was the second "court reporter"
on "Divorce Court" after Bill Welsh.

 

[Ultimajock]

WRCB Ch. 3 Chattanooga (NBC)

11:30 Tonight Show
12:30 700 Club
1:30 NBC News (Lloyd Dobyns/Linda Ellerbee)

...any ideas what David Letterman, Dobyns and Ellerbee would think of this late-night lineup? ;-) ...was WRCB replacing Tom Snyder with Pat Robertson prior to this?...

 

[mleach]

Thanks for the reminder. The gay angle on "Love, Sidney" was
played down after the pilot; you would have had difficulty guessing
Sidney's sexual orientation (but not to worry, Tony Randall was
straight in real life, married to the same woman for many years, as
I recall).

Eve though Tony was married to the same woman for 50 years ( ending with her death in 1992 ), Randall still had that eye for younger chicks. Actually his second wife whom he married a few years after the death of his first was 50 years younger ( Tony was 75..she was 25 ). That marriage actually raised a few eyebrows much like Martha Raye's marriage to Mark Harris ( Martha was 75 and in very poor health..Mark was 42 ).

But going back to the subject of Bob Braun...I wonder if there were other similar shows like Braun's where though syndicated.it was only to a handful of markets?

Back in the 90s I can remember hearing about where Denver's KUSA ( when they were still with ABC ) was planning on sydicating a talk show with Tom "The Troubleshooter" Martino and Paula Woodward to a handul of stations in the Mountain time zone including Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Casper and throughout Colorado but I don't believe that ever got past the talking stage. Looking back I think this was nothing more than to rebuff the rumors that Woodward would be leaving Denver since at the time there were a LOT of rumors ( some of which was even reported in the press ) about how there was an effort to woo Paula Woodward away from KUSA in order to start a nationwide "David Horowitz/Fight Back" style talk-information program. That program never happened either.

Back in the early 80's, Norfolk's WVEC-TV I believe did offer "Tidewater Evening" ( a 60 minute live talk show with Joe Flanigan ) to the other markets in Virginia such as Richmond and even a few in West Virginia and Salisbury, Maryland...alas..WVEC found no takers and "Tidewater Evening" only lasted a year on WVEC before that station cancelled it in favor of Wheel of Fortune and another game show.

 

[bpatrick]

I seem to recall that Tony became a father at age 78...naturally,
and not by adoption.

WRCB always carried Tom Snyder. Eventually it picked up Letterman
as well. But the station has a history of caution when it comes to
late-night programming; it carried The 700 Club instead of Saturday
Night Live for about two years, finally picking up SNL around 1977.

Other than various wrestling shows and Arthur Smith I can't think
right offhand of shows with regional syndication; I'm not sure if
"Light Unto My Path," which was produced at WRAL Raleigh, was
seen outside the South, and I don't recall "Mull's Singing Convention"
airing outside Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville. On second thought,
one that comes to mind is "Eyes Of Texas," which I recall airing in Houston,
San Antonio, and Austin when I lived out there; I think it eventually added
Dallas, but in the late '70s that market had its own similar show:
"4 Country Reporter" (on KDFW), later "8 Country Reporter" (on WFAA).

 

[Tim L]

I remember picking up WBOY-12 Clarksburg, West Virginia via DX from Canton, Ohio and seeing "Mull's Singing Convention" on there so it was on at least one West Virginia statiom, possibly more..

 

[Markd]

Channel 61 WRIP was one wierd station. It seemed to be a very weak independent from 1974 to about 1978. Just as you think it could not get worse, by the summer of 1981, the station had mostly unusual religious shows that appeared to be locally produced with a few very low budget secular shows mixed in. I cannot see why as the only independent station, that this station was so badly run. Its run as if its a fourth independent station and there are three others.

Anyhow, I would like to see retro schedules with this station of the following:

1. Weekdays and weekends fall of 1979
2. Weekdays and Weekends fall of 1980
3. Saturday in May of 1981
4. Weekdays and weekends fall of 1981
5. Weekends Summer 1982
6. Weekdays and Weekends October of 1982
7. Weekdays and Weekends April of 1983 (by then WDSI)
8. Weekdays and Weekends October 1983.

At the same time, maybe post it with a retro Atlanta schedule.

I actually have a TV Guide from Atlanta from July of 1984 with WDSI included. At that point, they were still an also ran but at least they were mediocre and getting better.

Thanks

 

[TexasTom]

Channel 61 WRIP was one wierd station. It seemed to be a very weak independent from 1974 to about 1978. Just as you think it could not get worse, by the summer of 1981, the station had mostly unusual religious shows that appeared to be locally produced with a few very low budget secular shows mixed in. I cannot see why as the only independent station, that this station was so badly run. Its run as if its a fourth independent station and there are three others.

Remember that independent stations in markets below the Top 30 or 35 were pretty rare until the late seventies -- and independent stations in markets as small as Chattanooga were not common until the early eighties. So part of the reason that this station may have been badly run is because it was on a very tight budget and was almost certainly losing money.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Channel 61 WRIP was one wierd station. It seemed to be a very weak independent from 1974 to about 1978. Just as you think it could not get worse, by the summer of 1981, the station had mostly unusual religious shows that appeared to be locally produced with a few very low budget secular shows mixed in. I cannot see why as the only independent station, that this station was so badly run. Its run as if its a fourth independent station and there are three others.

Remember that independent stations in markets below the Top 30 or 35 were pretty rare until the late seventies -- and independent stations in markets as small as Chattanooga were not common until the early eighties. So part of the reason that this station may have been badly run is because it was on a very tight budget and was almost certainly losing money.

Let us not forget about the "Mouth of the South", Ted Turner. Who cares about Channel 61 when you have WTCG/WTBS on cable.

 

[Markd]

Yes, before 1980, independent stations even below the top 30 were rare. The few I knew of such as KVVU 5 Las Vegas, WYAH 27 Portsmouth/Norfolk VA (Pat RObertson's station by the way ironically had a very strong lineup of syndicated shows by 1975, in fact it was a better station than a few larger market indies), 11 KMSB Tucson, 26 WGNO New Orleans, 21 KMPH Fresno, and a few others were pretty strong stations as indies in their respective markets.

In markets that small with only one independent, you would have thought more shows were available because there were fewer stations fighting for programming. In most cases independent stations in smaller markets were strong because of less competition. Three network affiliates with 14 hour a day network schedules had little room for alot of shows.

Actually with cable, WTBS/WTCG indeed was carried and I believe Pat Robertson's WANX was also carried so with two imported stations, cable subscribers had little use for channel 61. Still, those with antennas would still be served. TV 61 did get a bit better late in 1981 and slightly improved once again in 1982. In 1983, the station finally became viable.

 

[TexasTom]

Yes, before 1980, independent stations even below the top 30 were rare. The few I knew of such as KVVU 5 Las Vegas, WYAH 27 Portsmouth/Norfolk VA (Pat RObertson's station by the way ironically had a very strong lineup of syndicated shows by 1975, in fact it was a better station than a few larger market indies), 11 KMSB Tucson, 26 WGNO New Orleans, 21 KMPH Fresno, and a few others were pretty strong stations as indies in their respective markets.

Keep in mind that those other stations were owned by groups or individuals who were well capitalized -- in particular, KVVU 5 was owned by Johnny Carson and WYAH 27 by CBN. Channel 11 in Tucson was KZAZ at the time, and was owned by Roadrunner Broadcasting -- a group well enough capitalized to offer $6 million to the Clover Park School District for the license to KCPQ/13 in Tacoma. KMPH 26 (not 21) had the advantage of being in an all-UHF market, and WGNO 26 was in a much larger market (New Orleans was barely outside the top 30 in the late 70s).

I can't know for sure, but I strongly suspect that the owners of WRIP 61 just didn't have a lot of money to invest in that station, so they had to build it very, very slowly. And the result was a station with a very weak lineup for it's first decade or so of existence.

Another station that apparently had a think operating budget in its early years was WDRB 41 in Lousiville -- some months back, a schedule was posted here for that station that showed that they weren't signing on until 3 PM on weekdays in the late seventies. Still, they certainly managed to build a successful station from that rather humble beginning.