Retro: Pittsburgh Commercial local stations - November 17-21, 1975 - Weekdays

[Marckd]

Again from the Pittsburgh Press

2-KDKA (CBS) Westinghouse
6 AM INTERNATIONAL ZONE
6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER
7 AM CBS MORNING
8 AM CAPTAIN KANGAROO
9 AM THAT GIRL
9:30 TATTLETALES
10 AM PRICE IS RIGHT
11AM GAMBIT
11:30 LOVE OF LIFE
12 Noon EYEWITNESS NEWS
12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW
1 PM MARIE TORRE
2 PM GUIDING LIGHT
2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT
3 PM MATCH GAME
3:30 MIKE DOUGLAS
5 PM I DREAM OF JEANNIE
5:30 PARTRIDGE FAMILY
6PM EYEWITNESS NEWS
7PM CBS NEWS (Mon-Thurs)

Monday
7:30 NAME THAT TUNE
8PM RHODA
8:30 PHYLLIS
9PM ALL IN THE FAMILY
9:30 MAUDE
10 PM MEDICAL CENTER
Tuesday
7:30 SCREEN TEST
8 PM CBS MOVIE – That’s Entertainment (1973)
Wednesday
7:30 TREASURE HUNT
8 PM TONY ORLANDO & DAWN
9 PM CANNON
10 PM RICKLES
Thursday
7:30 BOBBY VINTON
8 PM WALTONS
9 PM CBS MOVIE – Hannie Caulder (1973)
Friday
7:30 CALL IT MACORONI
8 PM BIG EDDIE
8:30 M*A*S*H
9 PM HAWAII-FIVE-O
10 PM BARNABY JONES

Monday-Friday
11PM EYEWITNESS NEWS

Monday
11:30 MOVIE – Weekend Nun (1969)
1:30 EYEWITNESS NEWS
2 AM LATE MOVIE – Do Not Disturb (1965)
4 AM SIGN OFF
Tuesday
11:30 CBS MOVIE – 7 Brides for Seven Broths (1964)
1:30 EYEWITNESS NEWS
2 AM LATE MOVIE – Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
4 AM SIGN OFF
Wednesday
11:30 CBS LATE MOVIE – Banekek (1972)
1:30 EYEWITNESS NEWS
2 AM LATE MOVIE – Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
4 AM SIGN OFF
Thursday
11:30 CBS LATE MOVIE – Cannon, Who Digs A Grave (1971)
1:30 EYEWITNESS NEWS
2 AM LATE MOVIE – They Won’t Believe Me (1947)
4 AM SIGN OFF
Friday
11:30 CBS LATE MOVIE – Trouble With The Girls (1965)
1:30 EYEWITNESS NEWS
2 AM LATE MOVIE – Souls Of Sin (1949)
4 AM SIGN OFF

4 WTAE-TV (ABC) Hearst
6AM NEW ZOO REVUE
6:30 POPEYE
7 AM BUGS BUNNY
7:30 FLINTSTONES
8 AM LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
8:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST
9 AM LUCY SHOW
9:30 AM PITTSBURGH
10:30 DINAH SHORE
12 Noon SHOWOFFS
12:30 RYAN’S HOPE
1 PM ALL MY CHILDREN
1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL
2 PM 10,000 DOLLAR PYRAMID
2:30 RHYME & REASON
3 PM GENERAL HOSPITAL
3:30 BUGS BUNNY & FRIENDS
4 PM FLINTSTONES
4:30 BRADY BUNCH
5 PM BEWITCHED
5:30 ANDY GRIFFITH
6 PM ACTION NEWS
6:30 ABC NEWS
7PM BOWLING FOR DOLLARS

Monday
7:30 WILD KINGDOM
8 PM MOBILE ONE
9 PM MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – Buffalo Bills At Cincinnati Bengals
12 Mid ACTION NEWS
12:30 ADAM 12
1 AM BONANZA
2 AM BIG VALLEY
3 AM SIGN OFF
Tuesday
7:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
8 PM HAPPY DAYS
8:30 WELCOME BACK KOTTER
9 PM ROOKIES
10 PM MARCUS WELBY MD
Wednesday
7:30 LAST OF THE WILD
8 PM WHEN THINGS WERE ROTTON
8:30 THAT’S MY MAMA
9 PM BARETTA
10 PM MARCUS WELBY MD
Thursday
7:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
8 PM BARNEY MILLER
8:30 ON THE ROCKS
9 PM STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO
10PM HARRY O
Friday
7:30 MATCH GAME
8 PM BARNABY COAST
9PM ABC FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE – Murder On Flight 502 (1975)

Tuesday/Early Wednesday-Friday/Early Saturday
11 PM ACTION NEWS
11:30 COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER
12 MID ODD COUPLE
12:30 BIG VALLEY
1:30 IRONSIDE
2:30 BONANZA
3:30 ADAM 12
4 AM SIGN OFF

11-WIIC (NBC) Cox
6 AM FLYING NUN
6:30 BULLWINKLE
7 AM TODAY
9 AM PETTICOAT JUNCTION
9:30 GET SMART
10 AM CELEBRITY SWEEPSTAKES
10:30 WHEEL OF FORTUNE
11 AM HIGH ROLLERS
11:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
12 Noon STEEL CITY NEWS
12:30 THREE FOR THE MONEY
1 PM MAGNIFICENT MARBLE MACHINE
2 PM DAYS OF OUR LIVES
2:30 DOCTORS
3 PM ANOTHER WORLD
4 PM STAR TREK
5 PM GILLIGAN’S ISLAND
5:30 I LOVE LUCY
6 PM STEEL CITY NEWS
7 PM NBC NEWS

Monday
7:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL
8 PM INVISIBLE MAN
9 PM NBC MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Guilty Or Innocent (1975)
Tuesday
7:30 WORLD OF MAGIC
8 PM SPACE 1999
9 PM POLICE WOMAN
10 PM JOE FORESTER
Wednesday
7:30 PRICE IS RIGHT
8 PM LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
9 PM POLICE WOMAN
10 PM DOCTOR’S HOSPITAL
Thursday
7:30 LASSIE (first run epsiodes from after 1971)
8 PM MCCLEAN STEVENSON SHOW
9 PM ANN MARGARET
10 PM DEAN MARTIN
Friday
7:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL
8 PM SANFORD & SON
8:30 CHICO & THE MAN
9 PM POLICE STORY
10 PM ROCKFORD FILES

Monday-Friday
11 PM STEEL CITY NEWS
11:30 TONIGHT-Johnny Carson
1 AM TOMORROW-Tom Snyder (Except Friday)
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (Friday)
2 AM MARCUS WELBY MD
3 AM FBI
4 AM SIGN OFF


53 WPGH (Ind./ABC/CBS/NBC) Boyd Broadcasters
6 AM THREE STOOGES
6:30 TOP CAT
7 AM GOOD MORNING AMERICA (ABC)
9 AM SOMERSET (NBC)
9:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE (ABC)
10 AM 700 CLUB
11:30 HAPPY DAYS (ABC)
12 NOON YOUNG & THE RESTLESS (CBS)
12:30 GALLOPING GORMET
1 PM AS THE WORLD TURNS (CBS)
1:30 WHAT’S MY LINE
2 PM MCHALE’S NAVY
2:30 MUNSTERS
3 PM BOZO THE CLOWN
3:30 SPEED RACOR
4 PM LITTLE RASCALS
4:30 BANANA SPLITS
5PM MICKEY MOUSE CLUB
5:30 SUPERMAN
6 PM BATMAN
6:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
7 PM GOMER PYLE USMC
7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES
8 PM WILD WILD WEST (Mon; Wed-Fri)
MOVIN’ ON (Tues) (ABC)
9 PM MERV GRIFFIN
10:30 ALFRED HICHCOCK
11PM 700 CLUB
12 MID WIDE WORLD MYSTERY – Death In Deep Water (1975) Early Wed (ABC)
WIDE WORLD MOVIE – Satan’s Triangle (1974) Early Thurs (ABC)
MANNIX (Early Fri) (ABC)
WIDE WORLD SPECIAL (Early Sat) (ABC)
1 AM LONGSTREET (Early Fri) (ABC)
2 AM LATE MOVIE - Brother Rat (1958) Early Tues
Alexander (1959) Early Wed
The Paleface (1948) Early Thurs
Midnight (1949) Early Fri
Arsenic & Old Lace (1944) Early Sat

KDKA 2 - Westinghouse standard type preemptions - No Young & The Restless or As The World Turns. Maybe missing a game show as well. Cannot exactly tell. They did run CBS Late night shows. They also ran Westinghouse locally produced talk shows as well. They ran Westinghouse Syndicated Mike Douglas Show. He is still alove - not all that well - didn't he recently battle cancer? Didn't he remarry 10 or 15 years back and doesn't he have some young children now??? I never watched his show. When seeing him on Channel 2 (by coincidence he was on Channel 2 in NY as well but they are a CBS & O and hey KD is today) I would just keep turning the dial. Anyhow any preempted shows on KDKA aired on WPGH it seemed. Also Channel 10 Altoona reached the eastern part of the market and they ran at least the 2 soaps not on Channel 2. Also Channel 9 in Steubenville which did reach Pittsburgh and west ran most of the preempted CBS shows so CBS viewers had ways to get missed shows.

4 WTAE - Poor station in terms of bringing ABC shows - Good station in terms of syndicated offerings. The station has piles of sitcoms, cartoons, and other offerings. So they are a high budget operation for programming. But at the expense of ABC shows. TONS of ABC shows are missing - Good Morning America, One Life To Live, ABC late night, Happy Days weekday reruns. The year before it was even worse with several more shows missing and more syndicated movies. WTAE was run like an independent that happened to be a network affiliate. Even worse was both Johnstown/Altonna and Wheeling Steubenville lacked ABC affiliates so WTAE was the only way to get ABC shows there. Chances are cable systems in those markets had no other ABC station to pull in. At least WPGH ran Goos Morning America and most of the other missing shows but were they on cable in neighboring markets? So ABC viewers were out of luck in this market. If I were ABC I would have tried affiliating with WIIC. WTAE got a bit better but still notorious for preemptions in the 80's and 90's as well.

53 - WPGH - an also ran. As an only independent it should have had shows like Flintstones, Bugs Bunny, Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, among others but they are all on network affiliates in this market. WPGH settles on stuff noone else wanted. Still an important station - just for the ABC shows WTAE was not running. Basically WTAE should have just let WPGH have all those cartoons and sitcoms and taken ABC lineups in their entirety. They even did not run Good Morning America. Anyhow they also took NBC and CBS rejected shows as well

Pittsburgh was one rather wierd market back then. The market began to look more normal after WPTT signed on in 1978 and WPGH was sold to Meredeth and they began pouring money into that station still causing huge losses there over the years.

 

[harrisburgpatv]

Tattletales was pre-empted at 3:30 for Mike Douglas, but aired (presumably on a delay) at 9:30am. 2 did not air "Give-n-Take", the 4pm CBS offering.

Did most stations air syndicated Squares on Tuesday and Thursday? WPVI-6 (Philly) and WGAL-8 (Lancaster) also did that too.

One more - You have "Magnificent Marble Machine" airing for an hour at 1pm..I don't think that was an hour show..

 

[Marckd]

One more - You have "Magnificent Marble Machine" airing for an hour at 1pm..I don't think that was an hour show..

Except for Price Is Right - all game shows were 30 minutes - just a typo - Days Of Our Lives was the show that was an hour from 130 to 230 PM. Marble Machine was actually 1-130

Thanks - I have a pile of Pittsburgh Schedules from then until 1999 that I will try to gradually post

 

[FreddyE1977]

53 WPGH (Ind./ABC/CBS/NBC) Boyd Broadcasters

3 PM BOZO THE CLOWN

This was the version produced by CBN in Virginia Beach (the one where Bozo would
sit down with a group of children and read Bible stories). Along with twice-daily airings
of The 700 Club they seemed to take a lot of their programming from CBN in those days.

 

[RyanHoward]

Again from the Pittsburgh Press


KDKA 2 - Westinghouse standard type preemptions - No Young & The Restless or As The World Turns. Maybe missing a game show as well. Cannot exactly tell. They did run CBS Late night shows. They also ran Westinghouse locally produced talk shows as well. They ran Westinghouse Syndicated Mike Douglas Show. He is still alove - not all that well - didn't he recently battle cancer? Didn't he remarry 10 or 15 years back and doesn't he have some young children now??? I never watched his show. When seeing him on Channel 2 (by coincidence he was on Channel 2 in NY as well but they are a CBS & O and hey KD is today) I would just keep turning the dial. Anyhow any preempted shows on KDKA aired on WPGH it seemed. Also Channel 10 Altoona reached the eastern part of the market and they ran at least the 2 soaps not on Channel 2. Also Channel 9 in Steubenville which did reach Pittsburgh and west ran most of the preempted CBS shows so CBS viewers had ways to get missed shows.

Mike Douglas died on August 11, 2006, which was his 81st birthday.

 

[RyanHoward]

Again from the Pittsburgh Press



4 WTAE - Poor station in terms of bringing ABC shows - Good station in terms of syndicated offerings. The station has piles of sitcoms, cartoons, and other offerings. So they are a high budget operation for programming. But at the expense of ABC shows. TONS of ABC shows are missing - Good Morning America, One Life To Live, ABC late night, Happy Days weekday reruns. The year before it was even worse with several more shows missing and more syndicated movies. WTAE was run like an independent that happened to be a network affiliate. Even worse was both Johnstown/Altonna and Wheeling Steubenville lacked ABC affiliates so WTAE was the only way to get ABC shows there. Chances are cable systems in those markets had no other ABC station to pull in. At least WPGH ran Goos Morning America and most of the other missing shows but were they on cable in neighboring markets? So ABC viewers were out of luck in this market. If I were ABC I would have tried affiliating with WIIC. WTAE got a bit better but still notorious for preemptions in the 80's and 90's as well.

Some viewers in the western part of Pittsburgh could pull in WYTV/33 from Youngstown, OH for any ABC shows denied by WTAE.
And Johnstown/Altoona had WOPC/38(now WATM/23) for ABC, but that station was low-powered and not viewable at all in Pittsburgh. So, the eastern part of the market had no other choice for ABC besides WTAE.

 

[Marckd]

Some viewers in the western part of Pittsburgh could pull in WYTV/33 from Youngstown, OH for any ABC shows denied by WTAE. And Johnstown/Altoona had WOPC/38(now WATM/23) for ABC, but that station was low-powered and not viewable at all in Pittsburgh. So, the eastern part of the market had no other choice for ABC besides WTAE.

WYTV Youngstown was a UFH station so I am surprised that WVTV could reach anywhere near Pittsburgh. I would think that station would reach north of the city though. WOPC/38 likley did not even reach Johnstown. That was only reaching Altoona.

Also, Johnstown and Altoona were both very tiny seperate markets. Channel 6 and Channel 10 reached both markets. Channel 19 only reached Johnstown once they signed on. Channel 38 only reached Altoona. So Altoona had a CBS affiliate and an ABC affiliate. Johnstown only had an NBC affiliate and also got the CBS one. In 1981 Johnstown and Altoona were collapsed into one market and still once Channel 8 signed on that had difficulty reaching Altoona as did 23 the ABC affiliate reaching Johnstown. Johnstown was a bit over 60 miles from Pittsburgh so they were able to pick up Pittsburgh VHF stations at least. So for Johnstown, Pittsburgh stations were needed. Also Wheeling and Steubenville picked up Pittsburgh stations and Pittsburgh picked those two up. Still ABC should have pushed for a full power affiliate in Wheeling or Johnstown.

53 WPGH (Ind./ABC/CBS/NBC) Boyd Broadcasters

3 PM BOZO THE CLOWN

This was the version produced by CBN in Virginia Beach (the one where Bozo would
sit down with a group of children and read Bible stories). Along with twice-daily airings
of The 700 Club they seemed to take a lot of their programming from CBN in those days.

Are you sure??? about Bozo on WPGH??? Its quite possible though. WPGH did seem to have Christian ties early on.

[/quote]

Mike Douglas died on August 11, 2006, which was his 81st birthday.

[/quote]

I thought he was still living. I read just a couple weeks in a tabloid paper that he has seemed to have recovered from Cancer for now at least. About 3 years ago Mike Douglas cancer was a huge story. I swear he is still alove but not likely well. He also was in quite a few movies as well - into the 90's.

 

[Ultimajock]

Mike Douglas died on August 11, 2006, which was his 81st birthday.

I thought he was still living. I read just a couple weeks in a tabloid paper that he has seemed to have recovered from Cancer for now at least. About 3 years ago Mike Douglas cancer was a huge story. I swear he is still alove but not likely well. He also was in quite a few movies as well - into the 90's.

...you're confusing the talk show host Mike Douglas with the actor and producer Michael Douglas (who was finishing out his last year on ABC's The Streets of San Francisco at this point). Michael's still living, Mike isn't...

 

[NeilRattigan]

Steel City News? In 1975? I thought WIIC didn't use that name until 1979.

 

[Marckd]

You are likely right. I tried to estimate what the title of news for local stations is. TV Guide and most papers just called all news shows "NEWS" or "News". But I had a 1979 retro schedule that called WIIC's news "Steel City News", KD's news "Eyewitness News" and TAE's news as "Action News". So I just used these titles in 1975. I did wonder about WIIC's news title. I guess they used some other title. SO I was wrong on this one likely. THANKS

 

[Kurt Toy]

KDKA ran "Jeannie" at 9 AM and ran "Tattletales" at 3:30, followed by Douglas at 4. Also, WTAE showed "Fury" at 7:30 AM.

 

[FreddyE1977]

WYTV Youngstown was a UFH station so I am surprised that WVTV could reach anywhere near Pittsburgh. I would think that station would reach north of the city though. WOPC/38 likley did not even reach Johnstown. That was only reaching Altoona.

WYTV put a VERY weak and fuzzy signal into Pittsburgh (unlike WKBN which was close to local strength,
and WFMJ which was not bad until local WPTT signed-on and created adjacent channel issues).
This was very frustrating to those of us trying to watch the unstable and highly ghosted signal
of WTAE during Monday Night Football.

 

[NeilRattigan]

When I started attending college in Wheeling in 1976, WIIC called their newscast "Channel 11 Instant News." In 1977, they renamed it "11 Alive News."

 

[Marckd]

I did notice that in 1976 WTAE ran Fury at 7:30 once they moved their morning show up to 8 AM. Fury does not sound like a show that would last long running on weekdays. But I do have a 1976 schedule showing what you have said. Same with KD's lineup and Tattletales. Pittsburgh on any note had some wierd patterns.

 

[Tim L]

Somebody told me a story a few years back..That CBS, before Westinghouse bought then-WDTV Channel 2 from DuMont, tried to acquire the license for Channel 9, allocated to Steubenville, Ohio (This was before WSTV went on the air) and move it to Pittsburgh as owned and operated CBS, but the FCC wouldnt allow it. After Westinghouse's purchase of WDTV (renamed KDKA-TV) in 1955 CBS acquired the primary affiliation for Channel 2..

 

[cowboybud]

Also, Johnstown and Altoona were both very tiny seperate markets. Channel 6 and Channel 10 reached both markets. Channel 19 only reached Johnstown once they signed on. Channel 38 only reached Altoona. So Altoona had a CBS affiliate and an ABC affiliate. Johnstown only had an NBC affiliate and also got the CBS one. In 1981 Johnstown and Altoona were collapsed into one market and still once Channel 8 signed on that had difficulty reaching Altoona as did 23 the ABC affiliate reaching Johnstown. Johnstown was a bit over 60 miles from Pittsburgh so they were able to pick up Pittsburgh VHF stations at least. So for Johnstown, Pittsburgh stations were needed.

I remember my grandfather in Johnstown watching KDKA when I visited as a kid (in the 70s). I remember thinking the call letters sounded funny when you said them fast.