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TBS vs. WGN Which was the better superstation at its peak?

A

Ageofquarrel

Guest
I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but TBS in the 80s was a great channel.
I know alot of you probably have had both for years and wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in the past and even now.
Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer Braves games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over again. But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
 
> I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but TBS in
> the 80s was a great channel.
> I know alot of you probably have had both for years and
> wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in the
> past and even now.
> Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer Braves
> games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over again.
> But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
> WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
>
I liked TBS myself. when I first got cable back in 1980, I
watched TBS pretty much half the time. they had a lot of
shows, some of which were not seen in our area. I also
liked 'Super Station Fun Time' in the mornings and the
Space Giants in the afternoons. also I liked Perry
Mason, the movies, Lost In Space, Flintstones,
Gilligan's Island and many others. WGN was ok
to say the least, but I think TBS was the
better choice.
 
> > I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but TBS
> in
> > the 80s was a great channel.
> > I know alot of you probably have had both for years and
> > wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in the
> > past and even now.
> > Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer
> Braves
> > games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> > endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over again.
> > But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
> > WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
> >
> I liked TBS myself. when I first got cable back in 1980, I
> watched TBS pretty much half the time. they had a lot of
> shows, some of which were not seen in our area. I also
> liked 'Super Station Fun Time' in the mornings and the
> Space Giants in the afternoons. also I liked Perry
> Mason, the movies, Lost In Space, Flintstones,
> Gilligan's Island and many others. WGN was ok
> to say the least, but I think TBS was the
> better choice.
>
Without Question it's TBS.

They had just about everything you wanted back then as a child of the 80's.

Cartoons (Even though they were before my time)
Sports with the exception of the NFL
Wrestling (Enough Said)

It sucks that there will only be so few Braves games on TBS this year and
so fourth. Then again what do you expect when Rupert Murdoch steals you
rights (First SportsSouth and now Turner South)

I like that they have some college football.

They have some good sitcoms on the network.

And I wouldn't be suprised if they make a play for the WWE in 2008.
 
> > > I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but
> TBS
> > in
> > > the 80s was a great channel.
> > > I know alot of you probably have had both for years and
> > > wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in
> the
> > > past and even now.
> > > Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer
> > Braves
> > > games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> > > endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over
> again.
> > > But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
> > > WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
> > >
> > I liked TBS myself. when I first got cable back in 1980, I
>
> > watched TBS pretty much half the time. they had a lot of
> > shows, some of which were not seen in our area. I also
> > liked 'Super Station Fun Time' in the mornings and the
> > Space Giants in the afternoons. also I liked Perry
> > Mason, the movies, Lost In Space, Flintstones,
> > Gilligan's Island and many others. WGN was ok
> > to say the least, but I think TBS was the
> > better choice.
> >
> Without Question it's TBS.
>
> They had just about everything you wanted back then as a
> child of the 80's.
>
> Cartoons (Even though they were before my time)
> Sports with the exception of the NFL
> Wrestling (Enough Said)
>
> It sucks that there will only be so few Braves games on TBS
> this year and
> so fourth. Then again what do you expect when Rupert Murdoch
> steals you
> rights (First SportsSouth and now Turner South)
>
> I like that they have some college football.
>
> They have some good sitcoms on the network.
>
> And I wouldn't be suprised if they make a play for the WWE
> in 2008.
>
Speaking as a person who was in his late teens and early 20s in the 1980s, I'd give the nod to WGN because of one show: WKRP in Cincinnati.

I have about 60 episodes on VHS that I recorded from Chicago's Very Own.
 
> > > > I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but
> > TBS
> > > in
> > > > the 80s was a great channel.
> > > > I know alot of you probably have had both for years
> and
> > > > wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in
> > the
> > > > past and even now.
> > > > Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer
> > > Braves
> > > > games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> > > > endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over
> > again.
> > > > But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine
> ratings.
> > > > WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
> > > >
> > > I liked TBS myself. when I first got cable back in 1980,
> I
> >
> > > watched TBS pretty much half the time. they had a lot of
>
> > > shows, some of which were not seen in our area. I also
> > > liked 'Super Station Fun Time' in the mornings and the
> > > Space Giants in the afternoons. also I liked Perry
> > > Mason, the movies, Lost In Space, Flintstones,
> > > Gilligan's Island and many others. WGN was ok
> > > to say the least, but I think TBS was the
> > > better choice.
> > >
> > Without Question it's TBS.
> >
> > They had just about everything you wanted back then as a
> > child of the 80's.
> >
> > Cartoons (Even though they were before my time)
> > Sports with the exception of the NFL
> > Wrestling (Enough Said)
> >
> > It sucks that there will only be so few Braves games on
> TBS
> > this year and
> > so fourth. Then again what do you expect when Rupert
> Murdoch
> > steals you
> > rights (First SportsSouth and now Turner South)
> >
> > I like that they have some college football.
> >
> > They have some good sitcoms on the network.
> >
> > And I wouldn't be suprised if they make a play for the WWE
>
> > in 2008.
> >
> Speaking as a person who was in his late teens and early 20s
> in the 1980s, I'd give the nod to WGN because of one show:
> WKRP in Cincinnati.
>
> I have about 60 episodes on VHS that I recorded from
> Chicago's Very Own.
>

WGN also had Welcome Back Kotter, Good Times, The Bozo Show, the Pink Panther, Scooby Doo, the Cubs, Bulls, DePaul (when they were good), Notre Dame basketball, the Big Ten game of the week.

But TBS did have the Flintstones, Brady Bunch, Munsters, Addams Family, Sanford & Son and wrestling.



Both channels had Andy Griffith and Leave It To Beaver.
 
> And I wouldn't be suprised if they make a play for the WWE
> in 2008.
>

Nope. Time Warner doesn't want wrestling (or whatever you call the WWE's product) on its channels..their cancellation of WCW programming was the final nail in that company's coffin.
 
> I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but TBS in
> the 80s was a great channel.
> I know alot of you probably have had both for years and
> wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in the
> past and even now.
> Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer Braves
> games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over again.
> But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
> WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
>
do anyone else remember WWOR as a superstation out of NYC
and the short-lived superstation KTVU out of San Francisco?
and WYAH-TV from Portsmouth, VA (before it became CBN Cable
Network)? this was back in the very early 1980's
 
TBS vs. WGN, 1-19-1987

> I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but TBS in
> the 80s was a great channel.
> I know alot of you probably have had both for years and
> wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in the
> past and even now.
> Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer Braves
> games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over again.
> But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
> WGN vs. TBS Who wins?>

I dug into my <u>TV Guide</u> collection and came up with this random day, so judge for yourself!! These schedules are from the Chicago Metropolitan edition for the week of January 17-23, 1987:

<u>WGN-TV 9 Chicago</u> (in Central Time)
5:00 am - informercial: "Keys to Success"
5:30 - Faith 20
6:00 - The Muppet Show
6:30 - MASK (cartoon)
7:00 - The Bozo Show
8:30 - Heathcliff
9:00 - Falcon Crest
10:00 - The Beverly Hillbillies
10:30 - The Odd Couple
11:00 - Hogan's Heroes
11:30 - The Twilight Zone
Noon - WGN News at Noon (or whatever it was called back then)
1:00 - The Dick Van Dyke Show
1:30 - The Andy Griffith Show
2:00 - Leave it to Beaver
2:30 - Bugs Bunny
3:00 - (Filmation's) Ghost Busters
3:30 - Smurfs' Adventures
4:00 - G.I. Joe
4:30 - The Transformers
5:00 - The Facts of Life
5:30 - WKRP in Cincinnati
6:00 - Barney Miller
6:30 - The Jeffersons
7:00 - Hogan's Heroes
7:30 - College Basketball: Indiana State at DePaul
9:30 - The Nine O'Clock News
10:00 - USA Tonight
10:30 - Magnum, P.I.
11:30 - part one of "King", starring Paul Winfield as Martin Luther King Jr.
1:30 am - Hogan's Heroes
2:00 - The Odd Couple
2:30 - USA Tonight (repeat)
3:00 - Movie: "Lawless Range" (1935)
4:30 - The Odd Couple


<u>WTBS 17 Atlanta</u> (in Eastern Time)
5:00 am - The Beverly Hillbillies
5:30 - The Andy Griffith Show
6:00 - CNN Headline News
6:30 - Tom and Jerry
8:05 - I Dream of Jeannie
8:35 - Bewitched
9:05 - Down to Earth
9:35 - I Love Lucy
10:05 - Movie: "The Promise of Love" (1980)
12:05 am - Perry Mason
1:05 - Movie: "Six Bridges to Cross" (1955)
3:05 - Tom and Jerry
4:05 - Scooby-Doo
4:35 - The Flintstones
5:05 - Gilligan's Island
5:35 - Rocky Road (comedy)
6:05 - The New Leave it to Beaver
6:35 - Down to Earth
7:05 - Sanford and Son
7:35 - The Honeymooners
8:05 - NBA Basketball: Atlanta Hawks at Detroit Pistons
10:20 - Movie: "The Great Missouri Raid" (1950)
12:05 am - National Geographic Explorer
2:05 - Movie: "Fortunes of Captain Blood" (1950)
4:05 - World at Large
4:30 - Get Smart
<P ID="signature">______________
"Good luck and be well" -- Bill Beutel</P>
 
> > And I wouldn't be suprised if they make a play for the WWE
>
> > in 2008.
> >
>
> Nope. Time Warner doesn't want wrestling (or whatever you
> call the WWE's product) on its channels..their cancellation
> of WCW programming was the final nail in that company's
> coffin.
>

Actually, WWE SmackDown will be on the Time Warner/CBS co-owned CW come fall. I think it was the head programmer at the time that didn't want wrestling on TBS...
 
> > > > > I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them
> but
> > > TBS
> > > > in
> > > > > the 80s was a great channel.
> > > > > I know alot of you probably have had both for years
> > and
> > > > > wanted to get your opinion on which one was better
> in
> > > the
> > > > > past and even now.
> > > > > Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has.
> Fewer
> > > > Braves
> > > > > games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and
> the
> > > > > endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over
> > > again.
> > > > > But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine
> > ratings.
> > > > > WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
> > > > >
> > > > I liked TBS myself. when I first got cable back in
> 1980,
> > I
> > >
> > > > watched TBS pretty much half the time. they had a lot
> of
> >
> > > > shows, some of which were not seen in our area. I also
>
> > > > liked 'Super Station Fun Time' in the mornings and the
>
> > > > Space Giants in the afternoons. also I liked Perry
> > > > Mason, the movies, Lost In Space, Flintstones,
> > > > Gilligan's Island and many others. WGN was ok
> > > > to say the least, but I think TBS was the
> > > > better choice.
> > > >
> > > Without Question it's TBS.
> > >
> > > They had just about everything you wanted back then as a
>
> > > child of the 80's.
> > >
> > > Cartoons (Even though they were before my time)
> > > Sports with the exception of the NFL
> > > Wrestling (Enough Said)
> > >
> > > It sucks that there will only be so few Braves games on
> > TBS
> > > this year and
> > > so fourth. Then again what do you expect when Rupert
> > Murdoch
> > > steals you
> > > rights (First SportsSouth and now Turner South)
> > >
> > > I like that they have some college football.
> > >
> > > They have some good sitcoms on the network.
> > >
> > > And I wouldn't be suprised if they make a play for the
> WWE
> >
> > > in 2008.
> > >
> > Speaking as a person who was in his late teens and early
> 20s
> > in the 1980s, I'd give the nod to WGN because of one show:
>
> > WKRP in Cincinnati.
> >
> > I have about 60 episodes on VHS that I recorded from
> > Chicago's Very Own.
> >
>
> WGN also had Welcome Back Kotter, Good Times, The Bozo Show,
> the Pink Panther, Scooby Doo, the Cubs, Bulls, DePaul (when
> they were good), Notre Dame basketball, the Big Ten game of
> the week.
>
> But TBS did have the Flintstones, Brady Bunch, Munsters,
> Addams Family, Sanford & Son and wrestling.
>
>
>
> Both channels had Andy Griffith and Leave It To Beaver.

Don't forget that WGN also picked up 50 or so White Sox games a year starting in 1990. I'd give WGN the nod on baseball broadcasts.....although the Braves certainly put out a better on-field product in the 90's than either the Cubs or Sox, both the Cubs and Sox had vastly more entertaining announcers (Harry Caray and Hawk Harrelson) than the Braves, whose announcers I've always found quite vanilla.

I think WGN was slightly better before it was WB-ized, but TBS is certainly the better superstation today.
 
> I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them but TBS in
> the 80s was a great channel.
> I know alot of you probably have had both for years and
> wanted to get your opinion on which one was better in the
> past and even now.
> Its too bad TBS has taken the direction it has. Fewer Braves
> games, no Hawks games, and played out sitcoms and the
> endless reruns of the same 10 movies over and over again.
> But i guess they are doing ok and getting fine ratings.
> WGN vs. TBS Who wins?
>
For the memories of "Starcade" alone back when I was a pre-teen, I vote for TBS. And that was back when the shows ran to :05 and :35, so it made my mom miss the first five minutes of the local news....darn, that ticked her off!
 
i loved watching wrestling on tbs....gordon solie was the greatest wrestling announcer, and i loved ole anderson doing color commentary (i missed those years when roddy piper was on it...didn't get cable until 1983). i watched more of the NWA on wtbs than the WWF on usa. later when WWF was on tbs (black saturday to us wrestling fans), i watched mid south wrestling with an unknown jim ross doing play by play.
 
> do anyone else remember WWOR as a superstation out of NYC
> and the short-lived superstation KTVU out of San Francisco?
> and WYAH-TV from Portsmouth, VA (before it became CBN Cable
> Network)? this was back in the very early 1980's
>

We had WOR when we first got cable in '81, however it was taken off the cable system sometime in '82.
 
> and WYAH-TV from Portsmouth, VA (before it became CBN Cable
> Network)? this was back in the very early 1980's

WYAH didn't become the CBN Cable Network...both coexisted as separate (but commonly owned) entities until CBN decided to get out of the local TV broadcast business in the mid-eighties and put all of its stations (including WYAH) up for sale.
 
in terms of stronger shows WGN wins. They had more ratings winners. They purchased shows for the local Chicago market and bid for shows as they became available. WGN therefore had a stronger lineup of more recent cartoons, sitcoms and movies.

Personally WTBS had more of the shows I like. WGN had some as well. WTBS though stopped bidding for new shows by 1980. Theyd ecided instead to renew the classic sitcoms they had the rights to and also aqcuired more classic shows. By the mid 80's though they began mixing in 70's and early 80's sitcoms but these were also second hand shows that WGNX or WSB TV or WAGA did not renew.

So all in all I liked WTBS better while I believe WGN had a stronger lineup.
 
WOR TV in late 1986/early 1987

WOR TV was the also ran of the New York market but known for alot of sports in the 70's and 80's. They were also big on public affairs shows and religious shows.

WOR TV December 29, 1986
5 AM JOR FRANKLIN
6 AM JIMMY SWAGGART
6:30 700 CLUB
7:30 STRAIGHT TALK
8:30 ROMPER ROOM
9:30 ZOOBILEE ZOO
10 AM MY FAVORITE MARTIAN
10:30 ABBOTT & COSTELLO
11 AM PARTRIDGE FAMILY
11:30 I DREAM OF JEANNIE
12 NOON NEWS
1 PM MOVIE 9 - Bus Stop (1956)
3 PM CANNON
4 PM HAWAII FIVE O
5 PM HART TO HART
6 PM MAGNUM PI
7 PM ONE MILLION DOLLAR CHANCE OF A LIFETIME
7:30 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
8 PM NEWS NINE PRIME TIME
8:30 100,000 DOLLAR PYRAMID
9 PM MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE - Lost Horizon (1973)
11 PM BIZARRE
11:30 POLICE WOMAN
12:30 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
1 AM JOE FRANKLIN
2 AM HOLLYWOOD DOCUMENTRY
3 AM HOLLYWOOD DOCUMENTRY
4 AM JACKIE GLEASON
4:30 BURNS & ALLEN
 
A suggestion

Listings in all capital letters are hard to read (and hurt the eyes) in the typeface the board uses.

> 6 AM JIMMY SWAGGART
> 6:30 700 CLUB
> 7:30 STRAIGHT TALK
> 8:30 ROMPER ROOM
> 9:30 ZOOBILEE ZOO
> 10 AM MY FAVORITE MARTIAN
> 10:30 ABBOTT & COSTELLO<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Another suggestion

> > > > > > I never had WGN so i cant say anything about them

When the quote arrows go six deep, it is a definite indication that posters are not properly trimming their quotes.

Please, per the sticky about the posting guidelines for Classic TV, edit the quotes so it doesn't become necessary to scroll waaaaaay down the page just to get a few lines of response ...

Thanks.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: A suggestion

> >

I was always used to all Capital Letters for TV listings because TV Guide listed this way until 1996. That was the main reason I used them. But they listed the type of show in small letters.

8:30 ROMPER ROOM-Children
10 AM MY FAVORITE MARTIAN-Comedy

I will try the other way in other posts.
 
Re: A suggestion

> I was always used to all Capital Letters for TV listings
> because TV Guide listed this way until 1996. That was the
> main reason I used them. But they listed the type of show in
> small letters.
>
> 8:30 ROMPER ROOM-Children
> 10 AM MY FAVORITE MARTIAN-Comedy

I remember that as well, but what worked in print doesn't necessarily work online.

Thanks for the response to my suggestion.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
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