The Big CBS-FOX Switch of 1994

[CleveFan]

With the conversation of WJW likely to be sold, I thought of the big switch that took place leading to the eventual ownership from Fox.

The first time I remember seeing anything related to a network change, I saw a promo on WOIO where CBS stars (Jane Seymour, Fran Drescher, etc.) were hyping the news that CBS was coming to 19. At that time, it was Fox 19. I was stunned to see such a change taking place.

Then on 8, I saw Clevelanders at Tower City talking about Fox coming to the station. It was a big deal back then, but I would adjust to the change fine.

Another big surprise was seeing Fox Kids on WBNX and away from the Fox primetime programming as I saw a lineup of cartoons previously seen on 19, now advertised on 55.

What does anyone else remember of that big TV event taking place and changing local television forever.

 

[vjm]

With the conversation of WJW likely to be sold, I thought of the big switch that took place leading to the eventual ownership from Fox.

The first time I remember seeing anything related to a network change, I saw a promo on WOIO where CBS stars (Jane Seymour, Fran Drescher, etc.) were hyping the news that CBS was coming to 19. At that time, it was Fox 19. I was stunned to see such a change taking place.

Then on 8, I saw Clevelanders at Tower City talking about Fox coming to the station. It was a big deal back then, but I would adjust to the change fine.

Another big surprise was seeing Fox Kids on WBNX and away from the Fox primetime programming as I saw a lineup of cartoons previously seen on 19, now advertised on 55.

What does anyone else remember of that big TV event taking place and changing local television forever.

There was also a big anchor shuffle around that same time.

Wilma Smith, Lou Maglio, and David "Mossman" Moss all going from 5 to 8 almost in a package deal.

Denise Dufala going from 8 to become the lead anchor of 19's then brand new 6 and 11 p.m. newscast.

Lee Jordan becoming Ted Henry's main co-anchor after being transferred from "The Morning Exchange".

Channel 3 had just brought back Judd Hambrick to try to stablize their then floundering evening newscasts.

 

[michael hagerty]

What started it all was FOX getting the rights to NFL football. Someone brave within News Corp. told Rupert Murdoch that his lineup of stations was weak in key markets and he could expect a replay of FOX's Oscars experience...one contract, and then lost to another network because of poor performance.

Rupert took it to heart, and found a chain made up of strong VHF stations in markets where he was on weaker UHFs...New World....and he bought all New World's stations, most of which were CBS affiliates.

That sent CBS scrambling to fill the holes. In some markets, they simply grabbed FOX's old affiliate. In others, they went after multi-market group deals, causing stations to defect from ABC and NBC affiliations.

By the time it was over, more than two dozen markets saw affiliate swaps (In Phoenix, only the NBC station remained unchanged as FOX displaced CBS, Scripps, which lost FOX, in a multi-market deal involving Cleveland, Detroit and Tampa, took ABC from a local owner who'd had the affiliation for 40 years, and CBS did a multi-market deal with Meredith, which flipped their indie to CBS).

 

[mavtv]

What started it all was FOX getting the rights to NFL football. Someone brave within News Corp. told Rupert Murdoch that his lineup of stations was weak in key markets and he could expect a replay of FOX's Oscars experience...one contract, and then lost to another network because of poor performance.

Rupert took it to heart, and found a chain made up of strong VHF stations in markets where he was on weaker UHFs...New World....and he bought all New World's stations, most of which were CBS affiliates.

That sent CBS scrambling to fill the holes. In some markets, they simply grabbed FOX's old affiliate. In others, they went after multi-market group deals, causing stations to defect from ABC and NBC affiliations.

By the time it was over, more than two dozen markets saw affiliate swaps (In Phoenix, only the NBC station remained unchanged as FOX displaced CBS, Scripps, which lost FOX, in a multi-market deal involving Cleveland, Detroit and Tampa, took ABC from a local owner who'd had the affiliation for 40 years, and CBS did a multi-market deal with Meredith, which flipped their indie to CBS).

In the case of Cleveland, WOIO had both a strong signal and was one of their strongest affiliates in addition to having cable coverage in the Youngstown market.

Both Detroit (owned by Paramount ch 50), and Tampa were also strong performers and was considered the top of the FOX network. In Atalanta, FOX owned WATL and in Dallas they owned KDFI so it was not really dealing with a weak affiliate base it was the NFL wanting VHF affiliates as it did not want to go from a heritage network to a small upstart which FOX was in 1993-94.

 

[mavtv]

With the conversation of WJW likely to be sold, I thought of the big switch that took place leading to the eventual ownership from Fox.

The first time I remember seeing anything related to a network change, I saw a promo on WOIO where CBS stars (Jane Seymour, Fran Drescher, etc.) were hyping the news that CBS was coming to 19. At that time, it was Fox 19. I was stunned to see such a change taking place.

Then on 8, I saw Clevelanders at Tower City talking about Fox coming to the station. It was a big deal back then, but I would adjust to the change fine.

Another big surprise was seeing Fox Kids on WBNX and away from the Fox primetime programming as I saw a lineup of cartoons previously seen on 19, now advertised on 55.

What does anyone else remember of that big TV event taking place and changing local television forever.

Right after the announcement WOIO "stripped" themselves of for nineteen and went back to being just 19. In this video from JULY 1994 (after the announced switch) noticed this FOX network promo during prime time 2:02 in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0U2G8mLoA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmQ0EurmUVU

.I remember the first CBS produced spot for WOIO in which the old ninteen logo had a CBS Logo next to it as people were looking into the stars at night.

This is a sign on from right after the switch to CBS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y0Vy8hXIS8


One of the first CBS 19 bumpers from 1994:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moebukmzErU

 

[CleveFan]

You mean they stripped themselves of the FOX branding between the announcement and before CBS arrived. That was a weird period, but I am glad it was a straight switch between 8 and 19.

Do you have more videos of the switch?

 

[CleveFan]

With the conversation of WJW likely to be sold, I thought of the big switch that took place leading to the eventual ownership from Fox.

The first time I remember seeing anything related to a network change, I saw a promo on WOIO where CBS stars (Jane Seymour, Fran Drescher, etc.) were hyping the news that CBS was coming to 19. At that time, it was Fox 19. I was stunned to see such a change taking place.

Then on 8, I saw Clevelanders at Tower City talking about Fox coming to the station. It was a big deal back then, but I would adjust to the change fine.

Another big surprise was seeing Fox Kids on WBNX and away from the Fox primetime programming as I saw a lineup of cartoons previously seen on 19, now advertised on 55.

What does anyone else remember of that big TV event taking place and changing local television forever.

There was also a big anchor shuffle around that same time.

Wilma Smith, Lou Maglio, and David "Mossman" Moss all going from 5 to 8 almost in a package deal.

Denise Dufala going from 8 to become the lead anchor of 19's then brand new 6 and 11 p.m. newscast.

Lee Jordan becoming Ted Henry's main co-anchor after being transferred from "The Morning Exchange".

Channel 3 had just brought back Judd Hambrick to try to stablize their then floundering evening newscasts.

Don't forget Connie Dieken also left 3 and would later jump to 5 to replace Lee Jordan on "The Morning Exchange." It was around the same time "MX" moved from 8AM to 9AM to accommodate "Good Morning America" for two hours instead of one. That started a five-year downfall period for "MX" until its 1999 cancellation. Liz Claman filled in before Connie arrived. Liz, who's now at the FOX Business Channel after several years at CNBC, would leave 5 later that year for a different market.

Lee was actually moved to "Live on Five" as Roy Weissinger's co-anchor. Lorna Barrett became Ted's co-anchor on both the 6PM and 11PM news, and co-anchoring the Noon and 6PM for almost two years. Both ladies were filling the voids left by Wilma after her move to 8.

Dawn Stensland would replace Connie as Judd's co-anchor on both the 6PM and 11PM news on 3 after an extensive search. She also came in when 3 went from being last behind 5, 8 and even 43 to second or close to first.

5 also became stronger after the switch between 8 and 19 as they became the most dominated station ratings-wise for the rest of the 90's. 8 and 5 had an intense rivalry from the 80's until '94. 8 would struggle right after the switch with its news, hence the change from TV8 and "Newscenter 8" to "FOX is ei8ht" and "ei8ht is News" and later "FOX 8" and "FOX 8 News." The station did use "FOX 8 is News," but that was for like only five minutes.

 

[landtuna]

By the time it was over, more than two dozen markets saw affiliate swaps (In Phoenix, only the NBC station remained unchanged as FOX displaced CBS, Scripps, which lost FOX, in a multi-market deal involving Cleveland, Detroit and Tampa, took ABC from a local owner who'd had the affiliation for 40 years, and CBS did a multi-market deal with Meredith, which flipped their indie to CBS).

Phoenix is still suffering from that debacle.

 

[mavtv]

You mean they stripped themselves of the FOX branding between the announcement and before CBS arrived. That was a weird period, but I am glad it was a straight switch between 8 and 19.

Do you have more videos of the switch?

Sadly I cannot find any videos but I have alot of tapes from 1994 when I lived in Youngstown and when i can find them I will upload them as i have ep of the simpsons when it was ch 19 and then when Youngstown got the FOxnet/WYTV NFl on fox as well.

from my memory ch 19 never really advertised they were fox as I have seem a lot of content form the 1990-1992 where they were WOIO nineteen and i remember when they aired the CAVS in 1989 and a game was on TNT there was no fox in front of the logo. it seems like by 1993 they were ready to brag about being a fox affiliate and by then they lost it.

As for WJW, they too were more non branding as they were either TV-8, newscenter 8 as I hardly ever remember seeing a CBS eye near the 1993 8 logo that lasted until 1995 when it became ei8ht is news. They only re branded to "fox 8" in 1997 after being brought by fox.

 

[74WIXYGrad]

I remember this promo: "Don't say channel, say Fox Nineteen." Can remember Jeff Kinzbach saying it like it was yesterday.

 

[CleveFan]

We're FOX Nineteen, WOIO, Shaker Heights, Cleveland! A Malrite Communications Group station.

I miss those. Jeff really helped make WOIO come alive between 1985 and '94.

Here's a what if...What would happen if 19 remained with FOX and WJW still carried CBS? If the deal between FOX and New World Communications never happened?

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

What started it all was Fox getting the rights to NFL football. Someone brave within News Corp. told Rupert Murdoch that his lineup of stations was weak in key markets and he could expect a replay of Fox's Oscars experience...one contract, and then lost to another network because of poor performance.

I think you meant Emmys. Fox aired the Emmy Awards from 1987 through 1992, and we all know how that turned out...

In Atlanta, Fox owned WATL and in Dallas they owned KDFI so it was not really dealing with a weak affiliate base it was the NFL wanting VHF affiliates as it did not want to go from a heritage network to a small upstart which Fox was in 1993-94.

KDAF (channel 33) was the first Fox O&O in Dallas, and one of the network's Original Six.

 

[mavtv]

In Atlanta, Fox owned WATL and in Dallas they owned KDFI so it was not really dealing with a weak affiliate base it was the NFL wanting VHF affiliates as it did not want to go from a heritage network to a small upstart which Fox was in 1993-94.

KDAF (channel 33) was the first Fox O&O in Dallas, and one of the network's Original Six.
[/quote]

that is right as Argyle Television,programmed KDFI as they owned KDFW which joined New world in 93-94.

 

[michael hagerty]

What started it all was Fox getting the rights to NFL football. Someone brave within News Corp. told Rupert Murdoch that his lineup of stations was weak in key markets and he could expect a replay of Fox's Oscars experience...one contract, and then lost to another network because of poor performance.

I think you meant Emmys. Fox aired the Emmy Awards from 1987 through 1992, and we all know how that turned out...

Brain cramp. Thanks for catching it!