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Superstation WGN...what are you thinking?!?!

fybush

fybush

Administrator
Staff member
I suppose there's nothing wrong, per se, with the Superstation feed of WGN blowing out the Nine O'Clock News to run a 3-hour movie ("The Horse Whisperer," tonight) - but it kinda stinks that they're doing it on a night when the rest of the country might be especially interested in seeing the day's events from Chicago.

(And while I'm on the topic...why do the national Superstation IDs, which aren't seen over channel 9 in Chicago, still include a "WGN-TV CHICAGO" legal ID in the corner?)<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2006 JUST RELEASED! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>
 
> Is WGN Superstation carrying the Sox' victory parade
> tomorrow?

According to the e-mail I just got back from the WGN webmaster (and kudos to them for replying so fast!), yes, the parade will be carried on both WGN-TV and the Superstation at 11 ET/10 CT.<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2006 JUST RELEASED! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>
 
Whoever programs the Superstation version of WGN should never pre-empt the 9 P.M. (CT) news unless for some reason, WGN-9's local broadcast station bumps it to a later time period due to some special or sports event.
 
> Whoever programs the Superstation version of WGN should
> never pre-empt the 9 P.M. (CT) news unless for some reason,
> WGN-9's local broadcast station bumps it to a later time
> period due to some special or sports event.
>
WGN-TV was airing news coverage of the White Sox winning the world series WELL after 9:00 was over. Don't know about WGN Superstation because they only carry WGN-TV on cable here.<P ID="signature">______________

AIM: JeremyA1069</P>
 
> > Whoever programs the Superstation version of WGN should
> > never pre-empt the 9 P.M. (CT) news unless for some
> reason,
> > WGN-9's local broadcast station bumps it to a later time
> > period due to some special or sports event.
> >
> WGN-TV was airing news coverage of the White Sox winning the
> world series WELL after 9:00 was over. Don't know about WGN
> Superstation because they only carry WGN-TV on cable here.

Wednesday night/early Thursday the entire nation got coverage of the White Sox's series victory from about 11:05 to around 12:30 a.m. CDT (all times from here will be Central, just to keep things on the same track). These other posts were referring to Thursday night. WGN aired a movie from 7-9:30 p.m., cutting into the first 30 minutes of the news on its national signal, instead of from 6:30-9 p.m.
I grew up watching WGN when the true Chicago signal was still available nationwide (I'm 27 now). I had (and still have) a lot of family in Chicagoland, and over the last 15 years it's been disheartening to see WGN move from a real Chicago station into a fairly sterile national signal. I'd think - and know, to an extent, that many others with Chicago ties feel the same way. In many respects it's just another cable station, which makes me afraid that someday it will be pulled from national distribution. What does WGN really have - except for the Cubs, WGN news and occasional other Chicago-related programming (i.e. the Bulls, Bud Billiken's parade and today's Sox celebrations) - that other broadcast or cable stations can't offer?
When WGN shows those things, that's what makes it a service. Ad nauseum repeats of the Rockford Files and blacking out the 9:00 news on occasion doesn't.
My hope is that someday WGN will become a regional superstation for those of us in the Midwest, offering its full Chicago lineup to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, etc. (and, like WPIX, it could be carried by some cable systems elsewhere if they so choose). For those of you who've seen the local signal, you know it offers programming, news, commercials, etc. that apply to the Midwest but not the rest of the country. That would make as much sense as anything. I highly doubt most folks on the West Coast would miss it.
Thanks for letting me vent.
 
> Wednesday night/early Thursday the entire nation got
> coverage of the White Sox's series victory from about 11:05
> to around 12:30 a.m. CDT (all times from here will be
> Central, just to keep things on the same track). These other
> posts were referring to Thursday night. WGN aired a movie
> from 7-9:30 p.m., cutting into the first 30 minutes of the
> news on its national signal, instead of from 6:30-9 p.m.
> I grew up watching WGN when the true Chicago signal was
> still available nationwide (I'm 27 now). I had (and still
> have) a lot of family in Chicagoland, and over the last 15
> years it's been disheartening to see WGN move from a real
> Chicago station into a fairly sterile national signal. I'd
> think - and know, to an extent, that many others with
> Chicago ties feel the same way. In many respects it's just
> another cable station, which makes me afraid that someday it
> will be pulled from national distribution. What does WGN
> really have - except for the Cubs, WGN news and occasional
> other Chicago-related programming (i.e. the Bulls, Bud
> Billiken's parade and today's Sox celebrations) - that other
> broadcast or cable stations can't offer?
> When WGN shows those things, that's what makes it a service.
> Ad nauseum repeats of the Rockford Files and blacking out
> the 9:00 news on occasion doesn't.
> My hope is that someday WGN will become a regional
> superstation for those of us in the Midwest, offering its
> full Chicago lineup to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin,
> Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, etc. (and, like WPIX,
> it could be carried by some cable systems elsewhere if they
> so choose). For those of you who've seen the local signal,
> you know it offers programming, news, commercials, etc. that
> apply to the Midwest but not the rest of the country. That
> would make as much sense as anything. I highly doubt most
> folks on the West Coast would miss it.
> Thanks for letting me vent.
>
Though it hurts to say it there is a "conflict of interest" here.

The Cubs are owned by Tribune. And of course you want to carry the White Sox victory, but at a corporate level, I have learned, said corporate officers are very funny about promoting anything that can even be precieved as competition.

Also though it bills itself as a <a target="_blank" href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstation>"Superstation"</a> the FCC considers WGN and TBS as cable stations not "superstations" <P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>
 
> The Cubs are owned by Tribune.

So why would Tribune Co. televise the Chicago baseball team that's *not* owned by Tribune? As I said elsewhere on R-I, maybe phrased differently, the Chisox look out of place on WGN.

ixnay
 
> > The Cubs are owned by Tribune.
>
> So why would Tribune Co. televise the Chicago baseball team
> that's *not* owned by Tribune? As I said elsewhere on R-I,
> maybe phrased differently, the Chisox look out of place on
> WGN.
>
> ixnay


I wouldn't say they look out of place, WGN TV does carry several White Sox games during the regular season so I see nothing wrong with them carrying the perade.
>
 
> > > The Cubs are owned by Tribune.
> >
> > So why would Tribune Co. televise the Chicago baseball
> team
> > that's *not* owned by Tribune? As I said elsewhere on
> R-I,
> > maybe phrased differently, the Chisox look out of place on
>
> > WGN.
> >
> > ixnay
>
>
> I wouldn't say they look out of place, WGN TV does carry
> several White Sox games during the regular season so I see
> nothing wrong with them carrying the perade.
> >
>
Guess a clarification is in order. I imagine most people *associate* WGN with the Cubs, not the Sox. I'm one of those people. BTW how long has WGN had the Sox? I've had WGN as long as I've had DirecTV (going on 6 years).

ixnay
 
The Sox on WGN

> Guess a clarification is in order. I imagine most people
> *associate* WGN with the Cubs, not the Sox. I'm one of
> those people. BTW how long has WGN had the Sox? I've had
> WGN as long as I've had DirecTV (going on 6 years).

WGN has carried 30-40 Sox games a year since 1990. They also carried the Sox from 1948 to 1967 and 1981.

Most younger fans associate WGN with the Cubs because of the Tribune Company ownership of the team since 1982 and the fact that they've been on WGN since Day One in 1948. Jack Brickhouse did games on both sides of town through 1967, after which the Sox moved to WFLD for a few years, then to WSNS. Harry Caray did the games in '81, his last year with the team.
 
WGN vs. WGN superstaton?

> > Whoever programs the Superstation version of WGN should
> > never pre-empt the 9 P.M. (CT) news unless for some
> reason,
> > WGN-9's local broadcast station bumps it to a later time
> > period due to some special or sports event.
> >
> WGN-TV was airing news coverage of the White Sox winning the
> world series WELL after 9:00 was over. Don't know about WGN
> Superstation because they only carry WGN-TV on cable here.
>

Just out of curiosity, what's the main difference between the two? Is it the preemption of WB programming that makes the superstation different, or is there more than that?
 
> Also though it bills itself as a "Superstation" the FCC
> considers WGN and TBS as cable stations not "superstations"

Actually... WGN is, WTBS is not

From fcc.gov:
13. In the Notice, we stated that the television broadcast stations that meet the foregoing criteria are
limited to KTLA-TV (Los Angeles), WPIX-TV (New York), KWGN-TV (Denver), WSBK-TV (Boston),
WWOR-TV (New York) and WGN-TV (Chicago). We also stated that since no other station could meet
these criteria in the future due to the date-specific conditions set forth in the definition, the foregoing
constitutes a finite list of the nationally distributed superstations covered by the statute. Commenters
directly addressing this issue generally agree with our conclusion that this list of nationally distributed
superstations is complete and finite.

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2000/fcc00388.txt>http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2000/fcc00388.txt</a>

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: WGN vs. WGN superstaton?

> Just out of curiosity, what's the main difference between
> the two? Is it the preemption of WB programming that makes
> the superstation different, or is there more than that?

WGN Superstation doesn't run many of the talk shows that WGN-TV runs in the daytime, the WB or WGN Morning News. The WB one was at the request of the network and the others are due to SYNDEX.

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Hi everyone:

> My hope is that someday WGN will become a regional
> superstation for those of us in the Midwest, offering its
> full Chicago lineup to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin,
> Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, etc. (and, like WPIX,
> it could be carried by some cable systems elsewhere if they
> so choose). For those of you who've seen the local signal,
> you know it offers programming, news, commercials, etc. that
> apply to the Midwest but not the rest of the country. That
> would make as much sense as anything. I highly doubt most
> folks on the West Coast would miss it.
> Thanks for letting me vent.

To some extent, sister KWGN 2 here in Denver has done just that by landing on cable systems in Pueblo, Colorado Springs and (I assume) the Grand Junction area and have even go so far as to label themselves "WB2 Colorado" (why they have the "2" in their name when in fact they may not even BE on Channel 2 in certain places is beyond me, but it's also besides the point).

I think they also have a host of translator stations that reach in areas where not even cable can as well (if I'm not mistaken).

Are they anything like WGN or WPIX? Certainly not. In fact, they not anything like KTLA either (Then again WHO is besides another L.A. TV station anyway? :) *LOL!*). But, whether they admit it or not, the fact remains they are, in essence, a regional station. Maybe not a "superstation". But a station nevertheless.

Just my opinion :)

Cheers for now :)
<P ID="signature">______________
patspodcast03a.jpg

http://patspodcast.blogspot.com/
Radio? Uhh.....What's THAT?? :)</P>
 
Re: WGN vs. WGN superstaton?

> WGN Superstation doesn't run many of the talk shows that
> WGN-TV runs in the daytime, the WB or WGN Morning News. The
> WB one was at the request of the network...

WB was on the superstation for the first few years of The WB, but it was only until The WB was available in more homes (especially through the later 100+ feed). This was planned ever since The WB started.

> ...and the others are due to SYNDEX.

Which was why a separate superstation feed originally existed in the first place -- so cable systems wouldn't have to blackout any shows (other than sports in some areas). WWOR also had a separate feed for the same reason, except that that feed closed down by the end of 1996.
 
Re: WGN vs. WGN superstaton?

> > Just out of curiosity, what's the main difference between
> > the two? Is it the preemption of WB programming that makes
>
> > the superstation different, or is there more than that?
>
> WGN Superstation doesn't run many of the talk shows that
> WGN-TV runs in the daytime, the WB or WGN Morning News. The
> WB one was at the request of the network and the others are
> due to SYNDEX.

To expand on Adam's answer, here is today's schedule for both WGN-TV and Superstation WGN, so you can get the idea. Programming is simulcast except when a different program is listed in parentheses, which indicates the program fed to the satellite:

5:00am WGN Morning News (5:00 Religious Programming, 7:00 Happy Days x2, 8:00 Beverly Hillbillies x2)
9:00 Regis and Kelly (Rockford Files)
10:00 Maury (Matlock)
11:00 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire x2 (Magnum P.I.)
12:00pm WGN News at Noon
1:00 Maury (Magnum P.I.)
2:00 (DaVinci's Inquest)
3:00 WB Kids (3:00 Cosby Show x2, 4:00 Moesha x2)
5:00 My Wife and Kids x2 (Home Improvement x2)
6:00 Friends (America's Funniest Home Videos)
6:30 Everybody Loves Raymond (Videos cont'd)
7:00 WB Programming (Movie: Mystic Pizza)
9:00 WGN News at Nine
10:00 Sex and the City
10:30 Everybody Loves Raymond (Becker)
11:00 Will and Grace (DaVinci's Inquest)
11:30 Friends (Inquest cont'd)
12:00am Will and Grace (America's Funniest Home Videos)
12:30 Drew Carey (Videos cont'd)
1:00 Infomercials (1:00 Freedom Music, 2:00 Ultimate Poker Challenge)
3:00 Home Improvement
3:30 Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Matlock)
4:00 Andy Griffith (Matlock cont'd)
4:30 Infomercials

So, as you can see, the Superstation is WGN practically in name only.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: WGN vs. WGN superstaton?

The "Superstation" blacks out Andy Griffith and runs Matlock!
Ironic.

Is channel 9 WGN also fed to the satellite (for smaller markets without a WB affiliate)?
 
Re: WGN vs. WGN superstaton?

> Is channel 9 WGN also fed to the satellite (for smaller
> markets without a WB affiliate)?
>
No -- ch.9 is strictly for Chicagoland. It is on the small dishes, but only if you live in Chicago, or have ExpressVu in Canada (they carry ch.9, while Star Choice and cable carry the Superstation). Most smaller markets have the "100+" WB feed, made specifically for them.
 
Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray (Was: Re: The Sox on WGN)

Didn't Jack Brickhouse continue to call Cubs' games on WGN-9 through 1981 and retire at the end of that season??

I had always thought that WGN transferred Caray from their White Sox telecasts to their Cubs' games when Brickhouse retired.

While Caray had decades of experience calling baseball, it seems to me that he became a nationally-known figure only after he started doing the Cubs.

Didn't Caray and Steve Stone do a TV/radio simulcast of Cubs' games for years in the 1980's and early 1990's??
 
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