Stations airing shows not typically seen on affiliates of their network

[PhillyNewsLover]

Technically not weeknights, but WKRG airs back-to-back episodes leading into their 4p news.

 

[mississippi fan]

CBS affiliate WJTV 12 in Jackson, MS. carried The Cosby Show when it came out on syndication.

 

[SteveRichards]

CBS affiliate WJTV 12 in Jackson, MS. carried The Cosby Show when it came out on syndication.

If memory serves, The Cosby Show reruns were primarily seen on network affiliates, except for maybe in the largest markets. Pretty sure The Cosby Show was the most expensive off-net sitcom to hit syndication at that point, and stations had to sign up to air the show for either four or five years (two years was the typical term for an off-net sitcom). It was also the first off-net sitcom to not to be bicycled from station to station. It was distributed via satellite (meaning every station aired the same episode everyday) and included national advertising, which I also believe was a first for an off-net sitcom.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

If memory serves, The Cosby Show reruns were primarily seen on network affiliates, except for maybe in the largest markets. Pretty sure The Cosby Show was the most expensive off-net sitcom to hit syndication at that point, and stations had to sign up to air the show for either four or five years (two years was the typical term for an off-net sitcom). It was also the first off-net sitcom to not to be bicycled from station to station. It was distributed via satellite (meaning every station aired the same episode everyday) and included national advertising, which I also believe was a first for an off-net sitcom.

The Cosby Show was one the sitcoms KMBC delayed Nightline past midnight for, it was replaced by Roseanne a few years later, WCVB aired the 5 weekday episodes of Cosby on the weekends

 

[Ccook55]

When M*A*S*H entered syndication, Atlanta's WSB (NBC, later ABC) aired it weekday afternoons. Laverne and Shirley, an ABC show, aired its syndicated repeats (as Laverne and Shirley & Friends) on NBC affiliate WXIA.

Scooby Doo went into syndication in 1980 with its shows (originally on CBS and ABC) on independent WANX (today CBS affiliate WGCL). They also had the Fun World of Hanna-Barbera package in 1977. It consisted of five shows that ran on CBS and ABC (one show, The Funky Phantom, was bypassed because it went against Pat Robertson's broadcast standards as his CBN owned WANX).

 

[Megatron]

Friends were on Wood TV it's first 8 years in syndie until Fox17 got Friends in June of 06 Wood TV even aired Spin City right before Friends at 7PM. The Bill Cosby Show was on Fox17 that is where a lot of NBC & CBS sitcoms went to in the 80's & 90's was WXMI Fox17. Disney Afternoon was aired on Fox17 they just aired the newer cartoons when Fox Kids added an hour to block in fall of 92. When I went to my dad's house Adlin would be on when I got there as my younger sister was watching that sometimes my younger brother would watch also at 5PM and Full House as well at 5:30PM. My brother would watch Legends Of The Hidden Temple and I'd watch with him in my dad's office. In the late 90's Fox17 aired Disney Afternoon shows in the morning hours Lion King & Mighty Ducks.

 

[Route66Fan]

The Cosby Show was one the sitcoms KMBC delayed Nightline past midnight for, it was replaced by Roseanne a few years later.

I remember, as a kid, being disappointed when that happened. From what I can remember, KMBC replaced Roseanne, temporarily, with Grace Under Fire before moving Roseanne back to the post 10PM news timeslot. Later, in the early 2000's, they put other shows like Seinfeld & Two & a Half Men in that time slot.

 

[danderson6500]

Rob Nelson was a syndicated talk show that aired from 2002-03, but I believe it didn't even last the whole season.
1. KIMA, KEPR and KLEW all air The Simpsons at 7:30. It has aired a majority of the time since September 1994, which makes this even more bizarre, but reruns are popular in Yakima and Tri-Cities. Before CW+ got Family Guy, KIMA was ALSO airing Family Guy five nights a week at one point preceding The Simpsons. Now that's what I call a unique circumstance!
2. Meanwhile, in another state starting with a W, this time West Virginia, WOAY-TV (ABC) in Beckley runs Two and a Half Men every weeknight at 7PM ET, preceding Family Feud. This is a lineup expected of a FOX or CW station, not an ABC! Especially since these reruns are now over 10 years old at the latest, as Charlie's last show aired in January 2011.
3. Years ago, Ellen ran at an awful 6 AM timeslot in Memphis, and it was on a netlet (WLMT)! Or was it Nashville and WUXP? I can't remember. But I heard about it on this board and it just baffled me. Somebody getting ready to go to work already knew what she gave away for 12 Days of Giveaways that day...
4. When Cougar Town was in syndication, KOMO 4 in Seattle ran reruns at 1:05 (or 1:35) AM. This was an unusual timeslot and station for this show, albeit ABC did run Cougar Town to begin with.
5. WJFW ch 12 (NBC) in Rhinelander/Wausau WI aired The Flintstones at 3:00 weekdays during 1987-88 (not unusual for a Big 3 in a small town to run cartoons), but then followed it with The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin. Instead of running Real Ghostbusters or DuckTales, which I have often seen on small-market schedules, WJFW used the 3:30 timeslot for a cartoon based on the talking bear. I have never found another Big 3 station that aired 'Ruxpin'. Guess they thought there were a lot of Northwoods kids who had him. Albeit WAOW did run DuckTales.
6. Going back to aforementioned KIMA, they and their semi-satellites ran Maury at 9 AM until 2003-04. This was well into the 'whose my baby's daddy' and 'lie detector determined...' stage. In St. Louis, I think KDNL still runs Maury to this day.
7. They also aired Cristina Saralegui's short-lived English talk show in the spring-summer of 1992, at 9 AM. Yakima still has a sizable Hispanic population and it's growing.
8. Also in 2003-04, you could turn over to KNDO 23 at 3:00 and watch BACK TO BACK episodes of M*A*S*H. An NBC station, in 2003, running M*A*S*H. And on KAPP 35, the ABC station, Live with Regis & Kelly was nowhere near "live", running hours behind the usual 9 AM timeslot.
9. And a couple more from KIMA. They have often ran syndicated game shows at the noon hour in between soaps. But Funny You Should Ask (prior to 2019-20) and Celebrity Name Game were recent examples and definitely odd on a big 3 network station, especially at a timeslot normally saved for news (albeit KIMA has not aired local news at noon for over 20 years).

I find it odd that WJFW ch 12 (NBC) in Rhinelander/Wausau WI aired The Flintstones after the soap Santa Barbara.

 

[NoDakObserver]

I find it odd that WJFW ch 12 (NBC) in Rhinelander/Wausau WI aired The Flintstones after the soap Santa Barbara.

That sounds pretty normal to me. Once the network soaps were over, many switched immediately to kid's programming. I guess you could argue that the Flintstones was getting old (20+ years old) by 1987, but that is one show that kept its popularity much longer than most 1960s cartoons.

 

[ShawnHill1]

That sounds pretty normal to me. Once the network soaps were over, many switched immediately to kid's programming. I guess you could argue that the Flintstones was getting old (20+ years old) by 1987, but that is one show that kept its popularity much longer than most 1960s cartoons.

You also have to consider the situations where smaller-market network stations were the only sources of kids shows, even as late as of 1987; Rhinelander/Wausau was a four-station market (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS) until 1999 when they finally got its own dedicated Fox station (the now-defunct WFXS). When I lived in Rockford, IL in the mid-80s, then-ABC affiliate WREX aired Scooby-Doo after General Hospital, despite already having an independent station in WQRF, where they virtually aired all of the other popular syndicated cartoons of the time, including The Flintstones and The Jetsons (both the original run and the mid-80s revival). Pre-1990s, just going by the old schedules that are posted here, it seemed pretty common (to me) that network affiliates would air some syndicated cartoons on weekdays, particularly in places they lacked a Fox and/or independent station.

 

[crainbebo]

Spokane did the same thing. KXLY had cartoons up until the early '90s. In the late '80s, KREM had Tom & Jerry at 5:30 in the morning, preceding the local 6:30 am news. Talk about a strange timeslot and station, but maybe KAYU couldn't fit it on the schedule for mornings. KXLY aired JEM at 6AM one season.

 

[Route66Fan]

You also have to consider the situations where smaller-market network stations were the only sources of kids shows, even as late as of 1987; Rhinelander/Wausau was a four-station market (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS) until 1999 when they finally got its own dedicated Fox station (the now-defunct WFXS). When I lived in Rockford, IL in the mid-80s, then-ABC affiliate WREX aired Scooby-Doo after General Hospital, despite already having an independent station in WQRF, where they virtually aired all of the other popular syndicated cartoons of the time, including The Flintstones and The Jetsons (both the original run and the mid-80s revival). Pre-1990s, just going by the old schedules that are posted here, it seemed pretty common (to me) that network affiliates would air some syndicated cartoons on weekdays, particularly in places they lacked a Fox and/or independent station.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, KTKA-TV, Ch. 49 (ABC) in Topeka, KS, & KODE-TV, Ch. 12 (ABC) in Joplin, MO, also did this as well (Up into the 90's.). I don't know if the NBC, CBS & ABC affiliates in Columbia\Jefferson City, MO, did this as well. There were also times were TV stations that were Fox affiliates, that had switched to ABC, CBS, or NBC, were still under contract to air some syndicated cartoons.

 

[KTN Corp]

All eight ABC-owned stations air Jeopardy!, with KTRK Houston airing it since 2015; Wheel in Houston still airs on KHOU (CBS)

Also Oprah at 4PM on KHOU was notable despite CapCities acquired ABC the same year. (Jeopardy was also on KHOU for 20 years previous to the move to KTRK.)

It might have something to do with Belo having the Texas major market rights to carry Oprah since their WFAA Dallas flagship also cleared the show for the entire time. KHOU was perpetually on the bottom among the Big 3 network VHF stations under previous owner, Corinthian. Carrying potentially top-rated syndicated shows was key for KHOU's recovery under Belo ownership. (It stayed that way until shortly after Gannett/TEGNA acquired Belo.)

Currently, NBC O&O staple Ellen has been carried for most of its run on KHOU, while CBS O&O staple Dr. Phil is on KPRC-TV (NBC). Also Fox O&O KRIV carries Kelly Clarkson (NBC O&O staple).