Shortest-Lived Cable Channels?

[johnnya2k6]

In 1993, the Family Channel (now ABC Family of course) was planning to launch The Game Channel, featuring interactive game shows and reruns of Face The Music, Let's Make A Deal, and $100,000 Name That Tune (Jim Lange version, not the well-known Tom Kennedy version).

But when Sony's Game Show Network was in its planning stages (with a more vast library (Goodson-Todman's being the big sell) as well as interactive shows of their own), Pat Robertson had no other choice but to throw in the towel.

 

[davalvideo]

Someone had mentioned CBS's Eye on People. Very few cable outlets in Massachusetts carried it at the time, but being a news and history buff, I would have loved it because it showed vintage CBS News programming and original coverage(similar to MSNBC's Time and Again) and documentaries from 50s through the 70s.

 

[azumanga]

In 1993, the Family Channel (now ABC Family of course) was planning to launch The Game Channel, featuring interactive game shows and reruns of Face The Music, Let's Make A Deal, and $100,000 Name That Tune (Jim Lange version, not the well-known Tom Kennedy version).

But when Sony's Game Show Network was in its planning stages (with a more vast library (Goodson-Todman's being the big sell) as well as interactive shows of their own), Pat Robertson had no other choice but to throw in the towel.

Surprised USA Network didn't plan for a game show channel of their own, considering that they had an afternoon block of game shows on weekdays.

 

[blackgold]

Here's a channel that used to be on Cablevision: Biznet, a financial news service of the US Department of Commerce. Can you believe it?

 

[rnigma1]

Another of Ted's failures: the Checkout Channel. shown on monitors hung above checkout lines in supermarkets.

 

[Wright County Guy]

In the Upper Midwest, there was "Victory Sports One", which was meant to be the Twins Channel as "YES" is the Yankees Channel. VS1 lasted 7 months.

 

[sshuffield70]

In the early 80's, cable's original MSN was Modern Satellite Network. It was a daytimer that seemed to emulate the current Discovery or then current The Learning Channel.

 

[willdav713]

KENS II San Antonio makes the list. Along with the Video JukeBox network at least for San Antonio.

Kaleidoscope tops the list. It only lasted less than 5 years.

 

[willdav713]

How about the short-lived shopping network VIA-TV? One of the hosts from QVC used to be a host on it? It was around in the mid 90s and I remember it airing on Channel 59 in New Haven. After it folded Channel 59 switched to Shop-at-Home in the overnight hours.

Then there was another cheap-o shopping network that was around, but I don't think it was ever on in my area - Panda Shopping Network.

And there was a short-lived shopping network run by Carmella formerly of Cable Value Network (and later ValueVision which became ShopNBC). The network was called WSS - Worldwide Shopping Source.

And that channel ValueVision replaced KENS II Cable 24 when Paragon bought out Rogers in San Antonio.

 

[visaman]

In my neck of the woods, Star Channel, an Atlantic Canadian regional pay-TV channel, only lasted a few months in the early 80s. The national C-Channel (think of old-skool A&E and you've got the idea), which launched around the same time, only lasted 17 weeks before going down the tubes.

C channel became Vision Chanel a religious based channel, and one of the hosts David Maines, proclaimed that it was God that caused C Channel to fail.

 

[johnnya2k6]

And in Anchorage in the late '80s, there was this: http://zedorama.blogspot.com/2009/07/alaskas-cartoon-network-channel.html

In other words, they were the original Cartoon Network years before Ted even thought of it!

 

[Legend City]

@Freddy sounds a little like the SCTV bit with "Gerry Todd" (Rick Moranis) playing the videos from the video switcher

And a good, good Saturday morning to you!

"Jerrrrr-e Todd!"

And now, from his new album, "On a new Wavelength"...here is Tom Monroe singing "Turning Japanese"