RTN Currently Off the Air

[4dude]

Be careful-- they may have that phrase copyrighted as their new slogan...

Ah man!!

 

[jonbruce]

As of Wednesday KRET Cathedral City, Ca. (Palm Springs market) was back with it's local spot inserts and various local paid infomercial type shows. Last night at 10pm pacific they ran the "Emergency" show that ran the night before at 1am, the episode with guest star Bobby Sherman. At 11pm rather than Alfred Hitchcock that was on the two previous nights at that time the screen went to the previously mentioned "new logo" myretrotv.com that changes color in the middle of the screen for I guess the full hour (I fell asleep). However with "Hitch" the two previous nights segments were not only shown out of order but segments of other episodes were randomly inserted. My wife told me she saw one that failed to air the concluding segment ! She also saw a couple of nights ago a half hour of the old RTN logo that moved around on the screen. No she didn't watch the whole thing, but checked back from time to time.

 

[DToTheJ]

My wife told me she saw one that failed to air the concluding segment !

Good, that must mean shows are starting at the top and bottom of the hour once again!

 

[powergate92]

RTN's local feed is back on the air on KAZT as they showed a station id at 9:30am saying "RTN KAZT-DT Prescott AZ"

 

[Mario500]

As of today, Retro Television Network programming is back on WKRG-TV's digital sub-channel 5-3 for viewers in the Mobile-Pensacola TV market.

 

[4dude]

The RTN network where im @ says "RTN Programming" instead of what it is showing..

 

[powergate92]

KAZT just showed the "Primetime all the time Retro Television Network RTN" bumper for 10 minutes then went to a black screen for 5 minutes and then they went back to dragnet.

 

[willcail]

WCMH 4.2 still carries RTN. I hope it will stay on for Off Beat Cinema.

 

[Poledo]

As of today, Retro Television Network programming is back on WKRG-TV's digital sub-channel 5-3 for viewers in the Mobile-Pensacola TV market.

I was setting up a digital converter box on the TV in my office breakroom yesterday and noticed that WKRG-RTV was back, but when I went in there today all I was getting was a blank screen with "Emergency" on the EPG. So it's still not back to normal, I've only seen one show on WKRG 5-3 since this disaster started.

On another weird side note, I flipped over to WPMI 15-2 Weather Plus and they were running E/I programming at around 3 PM this afternoon (Friday). I wonder if WKRG 5-2 (the 24 hour radar channel) ever shows E/I programming?

 

[azumanga]

I wonder if WKRG 5-2 (the 24 hour radar channel) ever shows E/I programming?

If not, they may be breaking the law, as 3 hours of E/I applies to all subchannels. This was the reason why WX+ had special E/I program in its schedule; this was also why some stations gave up on a weather radar channel.

 

[Poledo]

Can a station put 6 hours of E/I on their main channel and leave the sub channels alone?

 

[w9wi]

Can a station put 6 hours of E/I on their main channel and leave the sub channels alone?

IMHO that certainly *should* be permitted ---

but it isn't. You have to run three hours of E/I on all subchannels. Drives me batty when I want to go riding on Saturday morning & the weather channel is running something else...

 

[KyDXIn]

I wonder if WKRG 5-2 (the 24 hour radar channel) ever shows E/I programming?

If not, they may be breaking the law, as 3 hours of E/I applies to all subchannels. This was the reason why WX+ had special E/I program in its schedule; this was also why some stations gave up on a weather radar channel.

I never saw our local WAVE Weather Plus airing any children's programming. BTW, they seem to be working on bringing back the local weatherplus and commericals on one of the subchannels. Yesterday it was shifting between the .2 and .3 channels. Also I saw a brief clip of "Inherit the Wind" from "This TV" Thursday evening on the .2 channel. I had hoped we would get the RTN but maybe the station favored this tv channel.

 

[notalkallstatic]

RTN Update:

Currently in Atlanta, RTN keeps showing the same 10 second promo back to back since I've tuned in at 6pm. It's suppose to be the "RTN Mystery Movie" but currently the same promo keeps running.

Just curious, since RTN Master Control has moved (no longer part of Equity), anyone know what kind of automation system they use?

 

[Mario500]

I wonder if WKRG 5-2 (the 24 hour radar channel) ever shows E/I programming?

If not, they may be breaking the law, as 3 hours of E/I applies to all subchannels. This was the reason why WX+ had special E/I program in its schedule; this was also why some stations gave up on a weather radar channel.

WKRG-TV airs three hours of programming in compliance with the Children's Television Act of 1990 every Wednesday morning on sub-channel 5-2. This unnecessary law has been long overdue for repeal.

 

[Mario500]

As I was typing additional information to my previous post, my computer froze twice. Here is a description of the "E/I" programming WKRG-TV airs on digital sub-channel 5-2:

Weather and science programming provided by other stations owned by Media General, based on the program's graphics. Station identification used during these programs is the same animated station ID WKRG-TV has been using for many years during CBS' Saturday morning programming. It begins with the old TV5 logo and the station's call letters crashing into it with sound effects. As the words "Mobile/Pensacola" make their way on screen before settling under the logo, the call letters change from red to yellow to match the "5". The animation ends with "TV" changing from red to yellow with a sound effect.

There are three different versions of this station ID: the shortest version ends with the sound effect when "TV" changes color, the second longest version ends with a single piano note following the color change sound effect, and the longest version ends with the song "The Entertainer" (used in the movie "The Sting") playing. I still wonder why WKRG-TV continues to use this station ID and who made it.

 

[TexasTom]

Can a station put 6 hours of E/I on their main channel and leave the sub channels alone?

IMHO that certainly *should* be permitted ---

but it isn't. You have to run three hours of E/I on all subchannels. Drives me batty when I want to go riding on Saturday morning & the weather channel is running something else...

This is not correct, since stations can meet the E/I requirement for their subchannels by showing the additional E/I programming on the maint channel. For example, a station can show six hours of E/I on their main channel to cover the requirement for the main channel plus one sub channel, or nine hours of E/I on their main channel to cover that main channel plus two sub channels. What they can't do is to move the E/I programming for the main channel onto one of their sub channels.

But as a practical matter, commercial stations are interested in showing as little children's programming on their main channel as possible -- so I can't imagine that there would be many stations that would be interested in meeting the E/I requirement by covering the requirement for the sub channels on their main channel.

On the other hand, I suspect that their are public TV stations that do exactly that -- since most of them show far more than the minimum amount of E/I programming on their main channels, they don't have to show any additional E/I programming on their sub channels.

 

[nathannah]

RTN Update:

Currently in Atlanta, RTN keeps showing the same 10 second promo back to back since I've tuned in at 6pm. It's suppose to be the "RTN Mystery Movie" but currently the same promo keeps running.

Just curious, since RTN Master Control has moved (no longer part of Equity), anyone know what kind of automation system they use?

Watching on WBAY-DT this morning...for two hours, they looped the RTN promo for two hours (!). Yes, that ten second promo aired if my math is right, 720 times in two hours. Apparently though they're still filling the E/I programming hole with Hip Hop Harry transmitted from Chattanooga, though it came in and out throughout the show with some dead air at times (WBAY hasn't touched the channel at all beyond flashing a 24/7 station ID to soothe the FCC).

ETA - Apparently the national feed is playing the station ID for Pittsburgh's WPXI-DT at the top of the hour now.

 

[Poledo]

If a station is currently broadcasting a blank screen or a slide due to the RTN fiasco, are they still required to carry the 3 hours of E/I? What about a station like WLOX DT-3 (cough) that has had a slide up since the Tube shut down?

 

[w9wi]

This is not correct, since stations can meet the E/I requirement for their subchannels by showing the additional E/I programming on the maint channel. For example, a station can show six hours of E/I on their main channel to cover the requirement for the main channel plus one sub channel, or nine hours of E/I on their main channel to cover that main channel plus two sub channels. What they can't do is to move the E/I programming for the main channel onto one of their sub channels.

I hate being proven wrong but... I've been proven wrong.

You're correct, stations can legally meet the E/I requirements for subchannels by showing additional E/I programming on their main channel.