"Sesame Street" airing on other stations besides PBS ones

[KeithE4]

There are currently no "vacant" DTV channel allocations (except for those two recently assigned to NJ and DE to fulfill the outdated law mandating one VHF channel in every state), and the FCC is letting the interference and coverage issues of the existing stations get sorted out before accepting any applications for new full-power DTV stations. Unlike the analog era, where channels were pre-assigned to various markets and locations, the way it will work now (as I understand it) is: you want to build a new station serving (insert name of city here); your engineers do a study to find what channel and power level will work without causing interference to other stations; you apply to the FCC, and their engineers either agree with the proposed channel/power, or suggest alternatives; when both parties are happy, the CP is issued.

In other words, it'll be a big cluster-you-know-what, just like AM radio. :

 

[RyanHoward]

Another non-PBS station carrying "Sesame Street" in the early '70s was WKPT Tri-Cities, TN-VA (ABC). No network pre-emptions here, since ABC didn't come up until 11:30 AM.
[/quote]

In the early 70's, WSJK-TV(now WETP) in nearby Sneedville, TN was around for PBS, but I think it was
more targeted for Knoxville back then, since that area didn't get their own PBS until around 1987, when
WKOP/15 signed on.

 

[RyanHoward]

Another non-PBS station carrying "Sesame Street" in the early '70s was WKPT Tri-Cities, TN-VA (ABC). No network pre-emptions here, since ABC didn't come up until 11:30 AM.

In the early 70's, WSJK-TV(now WETP) in nearby Sneedville, TN was around for PBS, but I think it was
more targeted for Knoxville back then, since that area didn't get their own PBS until around 1987, when
WKOP/15 signed on.

 

[Stanislav]

Another non-PBS station carrying "Sesame Street" in the early '70s was WKPT Tri-Cities, TN-VA (ABC). No network pre-emptions here, since ABC didn't come up until 11:30 AM.

In the early 70's, WSJK-TV(now WETP) in nearby Sneedville, TN was around for PBS, but I think it was
more targeted for Knoxville back then, since that area didn't get their own PBS until around 1987, when
WKOP/15 signed on.

WSJK, as originally envisioned, was designed to serve both Knoxville and the Tri-Cities (Bristol/Kingsport/Johnson City), with the transmitter situated midway between. In reality, it was a problematic signal in both markets, especially Knoxville (and the allocation hemmed in by the need to protect adjacent channel 2's, some short-spaced, to the extent that they literally could not move the transmitter a mile in any direction); eventually, WKOP signed on and WSJK was oriented more towards the Tri-Cities (in programming, if not transmitter site).

 

[RyanHoward]

Correction: WKOP/15 in Knoxville signed on in 1990, not 1987.

 

[hubcity]

Correct my memory on this - I was five when this happened, but I was so attuned to television back then that oddities like "one station's show airing on another station" attracted my attention...

I'm pretty sure that the Sunday afternoon before the premiere of Sesame Street on WNET-13 in New York, WNBC-4 aired a preview show, called "How To Get To Sesame Street", calling peoples' attention to the fact that it would be airing on Channel 13. Is there anyone anywhere that can corroborate that? Did the preview show air anywhere else?

EDIT: Heh, I knew I should have checked Wikipedia before asking! Sayeth the wiki:

"Two days before the premiere of Sesame Street, a thirty-minute preview entitled This Way to Sesame Street was shown on NBC. The show was financed by a $50,000 grant from Xerox. Written by Stone and produced by CTW publicist Bob Hatch, it was taped the day before it aired. Newsday called the preview 'a unique display of cooperation between commercial and noncommercial broadcasters'."

Of course, that means it aired on Saturday - eh, okay, so my memory's not *that* good, I coulda sworn it was Sunday afternoon.