They preempted that for this?

[Ultimajock]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

God, The Devil & Bob was also rejected by WNDU-TV/16 South Bend, then owned by (Catholic) Notre Dame University, passing it along to a digital sub-channel of CBS affiliate WSBT-TV/22, the CBS affiliate there...

When did WSBT start broadcasting a digital signal? "God, The Devil & Bob" was on the air in 2000; however, WSBT's full-time subchannel, now "SBT2", did not start until 2003.

...you're right; I'd misread the WNDU Wikipedia page, which in fact says that WNDU rejected both God, The Devil & Bob and Coupling from NBC. It was actually Coupling, which ran in 2003, that appeared on WSBT's subchannel...

 

[mleach]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

KMBC (Kansas City) pre-empted American Bandstand, Dick Clark still opened AB in Overland Park years later.

Besides Branson are there any AB Grills left? I did the google thing and even though I did find a lot of stuff about this place, most of them are very dated, some by more than ten years.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Westinghouse owned KPIX in San Francisco (then a CBS affiliate) took a stand against violent content in the mid 1970s. When the CBS network would run violent theatrical movies, KPIX would black them out and insert local programming. The one I recall was the "network television premiere" of Charles Bronson's Death Wish about 1975.

But in those days, whatever CBS network programming was rejected by KPIX, including Death Wish, would be picked up by independent KBHK TV 44, ironically now KPIX's CW sister station. But I guess in those days, Westinghouse felt righteous that they were sticking by their principles.

I've also read that KPIX even turned down "The Price Is Right" (and it may have been bumped to another Frisco indy).

KPIX did turn down "The Price Is Right" in favor of its local "People Are Talking" back in the '80s. I think Ch. 20 picked it up.

 

[LKellerIII]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Westinghouse owned KPIX in San Francisco (then a CBS affiliate) took a stand against violent content in the mid 1970s. When the CBS network would run violent theatrical movies, KPIX would black them out and insert local programming. The one I recall was the "network television premiere" of Charles Bronson's Death Wish about 1975.

But in those days, whatever CBS network programming was rejected by KPIX, including Death Wish, would be picked up by independent KBHK TV 44, ironically now KPIX's CW sister station. But I guess in those days, Westinghouse felt righteous that they were sticking by their principles.

I've also read that KPIX even turned down "The Price Is Right" (and it may have been bumped to another Frisco indy).

KPIX did turn down "The Price Is Right" in favor of its local "People Are Talking" back in the '80s. I think Ch. 20 picked it up.

That's correct - People Are Talking was a local talk show produced by KPIX and wasn't half bad. KPIX was known in those days for being a rather renegade affiliate - causing lots of irritation to the CBS network. They were the first of two affiliates in the Bay Area to try the early prime time (7-10) experiment. So it was interesting to me that when Westinghouse bought CBS in the mid 90s - making KPIX a network O&O - they cleaned up their ways and stopped pre-empting network shows entirely.

 

[jwk1979]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

WBIR-TV 10 in Knoxville was notorious for pre-empting CBS' Prime Time Schedule to air Syndicated Country Music Special such as "The Statler Brothers on the Mississippi River", "A Roy Clark Christmas", "The Mandrell Family Specials" (after their NBC show left the air), etc. What made it so bad was some of those "Special" would be shown four or five time and always pre-empting something that I really wanted to see.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

That must have been when Multimedia owned WBIR; WFBC
(now WYFF) Greenville, SC was also owned by Multimedia and
carried those specials as well. That's probably because they
were produced by...Multimedia!

 

[firepoint525]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Someone in the Memphis area earlier in this thread commented about WHBQ-channel 13 in Memphis, then ABC, pre-empting programming, and then having to watch WBBJ channel 7 in Jackson, TN, or KAIT-8 in Jonesboro, AR, for ABC programming. Can't vouch for KAIT, but I am aware that WBBJ regularly preempted programming. They didn't carry Soap, opting for The Gong Show instead. I kid you not! But I was about 13 or 14 at the time, and couldn't get home from school in time to see Gong Show on NBC, so seeing it on channel 7 was a good fix for me.

I also remember channel 7 preempting prime-time ABC programming to show Solid Gold, which was interesting, since they would show it again five hours later, at midnight or so.

 

[rwells2265]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

And that station covers a four-state area, and used to get mail from two other states!  I was aware of the SNL hour delay, and I thought that that was actually the result of a compromise, and that they originally weren't going to carry it at all!  I don't ever remember them not carrying it in the late '70s, because I was still young, and that would have been past my bedtime, anyway. 

Wow, this is an old thread!

Indeed, WPSD-6/Paducah, Ky. completely preempted SNL, as of June 1978, when we moved to Cape Girardeau, Mo.  One night during their 'viewer mail' segment of the 6 PM newscast, they addressed one viewer's complaint, and their response was to play 'the morality card.'

Odd, as we'd moved from Tupelo, Mississippi -- and if ANY place is rigidly "moral", it's Tupelo!! -- the local station, NBC affil WTWV-9 (now WTVA), picked up SNL when it debuted. 

ANYway, our house in Cape was on a hill - with a nice 30' TV mast and rotor, to boot.  I aimed that puppy to the north, and watched SNL on KSD-TV (KSDK) channel 5 out of St. Louis.  Snowy picture, but still quite watchable. 

I believe it was the beginning of 1979 when WPSD finally added SNL, on the one-hour delay.  I do know they were airing it by February '79, as I clearly remember watching it the night before the big blizzard.   

PS - As for the other two states, one would have to be Arkansas.  WPSD was carried on cable systems in the extreme NE Ark. towns of Corning, Piggott and Rector.  The other state would almost have to be Indiana.  But their main coverage area covered chunks of Ky./Ill./Mo./Tenn.  That market sure is an odd one, isn't it?

--Russell

 

[mleach]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Wow, this is an old thread!

Indeed, WPSD-6/Paducah, Ky. completely preempted SNL, as of June 1978, when we moved to Cape Girardeau, Mo. One night during their 'viewer mail' segment of the 6 PM newscast, they addressed one viewer's complaint, and their response was to play 'the morality card.'

Odd, as we'd moved from Tupelo, Mississippi -- and if ANY place is rigidly "moral", it's Tupelo!! -- the local station, NBC affil WTWV-9 (now WTVA), picked up SNL when it debuted.

Usually when a TV or radio station plays the "morality card", nine times out of ten the reason for the pre-emption is usually over something totally different ( mainly money ) and unrelated to morals. In other words if a station can make more money by airing its own programming rather than SNL, Soap, American Bandstand, ALF or whatever but feels a need to tell the public "something" rather than saying "hey its about the money" , a lot of times they bring up "morality" instead ( sounds better and it won't make them look like a bunch of greedy a-holes to the viewers ) and by playing the "morality card" one can expect at least some publicity to come out of it also.

 

[KS-IL-IA]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

When "Star Trek" premiered, WICS/WICD in Springfield/Champaign, Ill., didn't think much of it and in its place put on reruns of "Wagon Train."

In the mid '70s, KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln/Grand Island, Neb., replaced (I believe) CBS' Wednesday night movie with "Lawrence Welk" at 8 p.m. CST and "Gunsmoke" at 9. I believe at the same time, they booted "Alice" (objecting to the "adult language") to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and, I believe, ran "Hee Haw" from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, with whatever they replaced in the "Alice" spot.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

I could almost write a whole book on WBRC's pre-emptions and
delays just during the four years (1969-73) I lived in Birmingham,
but I'll ask about something that happened after I left, and I think
Russell Wells can answer this: given the powerhouse that was ABC's
Tuesday-night lineup in 1977-78, why did Ch. 6 see fit to air "Gunsmoke"
at 8 PM (CT) and delay "Three's Company" and "Soap"? There's not a
snowball's chance you-know-where that if I had been an ABC affiliate
manager I would have pre-empted any of that block of "Happy Days,"
"Laverne & Shirley," "Three's Company," "Soap," and "Family". Dallas, where
I lived, is pretty conservative but WFAA aired the whole block in pattern
(point now belabored).

 

[ShawnHill1]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

When "Star Trek" premiered, WICS/WICD in Springfield/Champaign, Ill., didn't think much of it and in its place put on reruns of "Wagon Train."

Ironically enough, when Star Trek hit off-network syndication, was a daily staple of the area's CBS affiliate WCIA for years, either late nights (often bumping CBS' late night shows) or late afternoons.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Speaking of Birmingham, WBRC seemed to have a particular
bias against "Room 222". I don't know if it's because two of
the lead actors (Lloyd Haynes and Denise Nicholas) were
African-American, but Ch. 6 could always find a reason to run
that show in some out-of-the-way timeslot like Sunday afternoons.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Dec. 18, 1970: outgoing Georgia governor Lester Maddox
walks off "The Dick Cavett Show" after a confrontation
with football great Jim Brown over race relations. Atlanta's
Ch. 11 (then ABC) leads its 11 PM news with the story, then
anchor Bob Neal says "you can see it Sunday night at 11:30".

True, Ch. 11 delayed Cavett's Friday show to Sunday and aired
movies at 11:30 on Friday night, and I suppose they had the
commercials sold for the movie that night. And maybe there
wasn't time to contact advertisers and tell them the situation and
that the station was going to air Cavett instead (the show was taped
earlier that evening), but I think that, given the timeliness, somehow
Cavett should have aired in Atlanta that Friday night. Of course, it wasn't.

 

[mleach]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Dallas, where
I lived, is pretty conservative but WFAA aired the whole block in pattern
(point now belabored).

Actually Dallas is no longer ( if it ever was ) as conversative as if one is to believe back in the day. For starters Dallas still allows gay bathhouses to exist within city limits , good luck finding such places in other cities like Baltimore or even New York City for example. Also Dallas was the home of porno actor Boyd Somers who for years who had filmed many of his movies right in Dallas and not too mention back in the 70's Dallas was quite well known around the US as a "town for swingers" such as wife swapping and group sex..Hogans Heroes' Bob Crane in the book which led to the movie "Auto-Focus" had said once said that Dallas was "..one hell of a swingers town..yeah baby"..I have doubts that if Dallas is really all that conversative past or present, well Dallas would never allow any of this. My guess is that WFAA knew that Dallas really wasn't THAT conservative so..well what would be point for them to not air such shows as Three's Company or even Soap? Had they done so that would left WFAA with egg on their face.

 

[MattParker]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

As I read through this thread, it seems most of the preemptions are very explicable. However, those explanations don't reflect well on the broadcasters involved.

Back to the topic, a friend of mine in the DFW Metroplex told me at the time that the local ABC was not running NYPD Blue (this was early in the series when the show got attention by actors displaying their tokus').

 

[Ultimajock]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

...for much (most?) of its run, The Monkees was moved from its Monday 6:30 CT slot to, IIRC, 4:00 or 4:30 Saturday afternoon by WTMJ-TV/4 Milwaukee. I forget what they ran at 6:30 Monday -- perhaps The Vince Lombardi Show from Green Bay's WBAY-TV/2?...

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Most or all of The Monkees' first season ('66-'67, Monday 7:30/6:30) was not aired by
KVOA-TV Tucson.

As the story goes, the station offered 4:30 PM Saturdays but it was rejected by NBC.
A delayed broadcast offer of 5 PM Saturdays for Jeannie was accepted. Can't remember
if Jeannie aired 5 or 12 days late, but I'm pretty sure it was on 16mm film (not tape).

KVOA cleared only Roger Miller (6:30) and Road West (7) on Mondays; Run For Your Life
was DBed to Sundays at 9. All this for a crummy local movie from 8-10.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Many stations pre-empted the original Star Trek but some pre-empted a low rated time on their network to run Star Trek: TNG (WCVB pre-empted ABC on Friday in Star Trek:TNG's first season).A lot of stations probably pre-empted stuff with syndicated reruns of a show they might have pre-empted in it's original network (like the Brady Bunch). A low rated infomercial will generate more revenue than a decently rated network show for a station because they can keep all they can sell more ad space and keep all the revenue. This seems to be less common since the affiliate switches of the mid-90s. Sinclair seems to be the worst offender

 

[Charles1]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Everyone familiar with Birmingham's preemption history has talked at length about WBRC-6. However, WAPI-13 (now WVTM) was guilty of a few of their own. The first two years of Saturday Night Live weren't seen in Birmingham. If you lived "over the mountain" (Hoover, Vestavia, etc.) and had a rooftop aerial, you could watch SNL on WSFA-12 from Montgomery. Also, Channel 13 didn't carry the first couple of years of Late Night with David Letterman. When they finally started carrying Letterman, it was on a one-hour delay. Then again, Carson was on a one-hour delay as well, since Channel 13 carried M*A*S*H at 10:30 and either Carol Burnett and Friends, All in the Family, Barney Miller or Taxi at 11:00.