They preempted that for this?

[bpatrick]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

"Sportsworld" never aired in Atlanta until WXIA became the
NBC affiliate. WSB pre-empted it for the same reason it pre-
empted the second game of NFL doubleheaders in 1972:
Lawrence Welk. And WAGA was notorious for pre-empting CBS's
NBA coverage in the '70s; the games would invariably air on
WATL/36. Likewise, in the last few years before WAGA became
a Fox o&o it would pre-empt golf, especially on Saturdays, although
it did carry the Masters (can't pre-empt that prestigious event, after
all).

As an ABC affiliate, WXIA stayed pretty close to the network re sports,
although they did pre-empt the "Pro Bowlers Tour," which ended up on
Ch. 36. (WSB never carried it either.)

 

[onairb]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

The network affiliates in the Bay Area all had experience with pre-empting network sports, sometimes for local ones.
KGO (ABC O & O) probably had the fewest pre-emptions, but during the San Jose Sharks' first season in the NHL ('91-92), KGO aired 3 or 4 of their Saturday afternoon games, pre-empting bowling and 'Wide World of Sports', and maybe one college football game. A few years later, KGO used to dump an ABC telecast every November to show the annual Stanford vs. Cal 'Big Game'(usually this meant the USC-UCLA game got pre-empted)
KPIX (Channel 5), the CBS station, was for years owned by Westinghouse, and so it pre-empted shows here and there throughoutt he day. Most of the sports pre-emptions involved PGA golf being dropped for Oakland A's baseball(KPIX carried A's games for most of the '80s and early '90s).
KRON(then NBC) had somewhat of a reputation for being an 'anti-sports' affiliate. They often skipped NBC's second-tier college basketball and golf coverage, sometimes for local news or documentaries, but more often just to sell more ad time and show old movies(or infomercials). At one point about 20 yearsago, they were promoting movies like 'Touch Me in the Morning' with Diana Ross, as 'Couch Potato Classics'(the station's sports guy, Gary Radnich, used to do guest shots on a local sports radio show, and when he would take calls from listeners angry that some ACC hoops game on NBC got pre-empted, he would half-heartedly defend the station's position that 'they feel they can make more money by airing reruns of Cheyenne' ;D)
KTVU(Fox) used to pre-empt Fox shows for SF Giants baseball; their most notorious Fox Sports pre-emption involved dropping Game 4 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals for a Giants game...which had a long rain-delay, allowing KTVU to show the hockey, after all, but the baseball started before the hockey game ended, and KTVU got a lot of complaints, so they re-aired the end of the hockey game the following Saturday!

 

[azumanga]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

Before 13, 33, 40 and 42 became exclusive affiliates of NBC (13) and CBS (everyone else) in '70, 13 carried the CBS NFL package, leaving 33, 40 and 42 to carry the AFL package from NBC, so 13 really didn't punt on the Heidi game. They did, though, carry Heidi at 6:00.

Which, no doubt, left viewers of "Heidi" puzzled when they were seeing tickers on the screen about a game that supposedly aired before "Heidi", but didn't on that particular station.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

One of the dumbest (and shortest-lived) examples of
a network sports pre-emption happened on WLOS
Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville around 1984.
The FCC had just mandated that the individual conferences
could air their games early, and the network games (ABC
and CBS) would air at 3:30 (ET). WLOS's management decided
there was no interest in games from outside the region, so it
picked up SEC football at noon or 12:30; then, when ABC's
game came on at 3:30, it went to syndicated programming
("Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous" was one show I remember)
and local news. Problem: by November there were games from
outside the Southeast with bowl implications, and viewers wanted
to see them. No dice. At the end of the season that little experiment
ended, and WLOS has carried ABC's college football ever since (but not
the SEC package).

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

Before 13, 33, 40 and 42 became exclusive affiliates of NBC (13) and CBS (everyone else) in '70, 13 carried the CBS NFL package, leaving 33, 40 and 42 to carry the AFL package from NBC, so 13 really didn't punt on the Heidi game. They did, though, carry Heidi at 6:00.

Which, no doubt, left viewers of "Heidi" puzzled when they were seeing tickers on the screen about a game that supposedly aired before "Heidi", but didn't on that particular station.

Ordinarily, though, before those stations became one-network affiliates, didn't 13 carry "Lassie" (CBS) at 6, followed by
Disney (NBC) at 6:30, while the others carried "Wild Kingdom" (or whatever NBC was feeding) at 6, followed by the
CBS 6:30 program, and Ed Sullivan at 7? So only the 6 PM programs would have been affected; "The New Adventures
Of Huck Finn" was pre-empted by NBC (33, 42--40 didn't sign on until the fall of 1969) and 13 pre-empted "Lassie". Anyone know what ran on 33 and 42 from 6 to 6:30?

Just as a sideline, here is the Sunday-night schedule as I remember it in the summer of 1969, just months after the
"Heidi" fiasco:

13: 6 PM Lassie (CBS)
6:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color (NBC)
7:30 Gomer Pyle, USMC (CBS, delay from Fri 7:30)
8 PM Bonanza (NBC)
9 PM Mission: Impossible (CBS)

33, 42 6 PM New Adventures Of Huck Finn (NBC)
6:30 Gentle Ben (CBS)
7 PM Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
8 PM The Mothers-In-Law (NBC, delay from 7:30,
same show that had just aired on the network)
8:30 (33) The Big Bands
(42) Truth Or Consequences
9 PM My Friend Tony (NBC)

 

[fortmill]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

All through the 1980s when CBS broadcast NBA basketball games on Sunday afternoons, those games were pretty much a no-show in the Carolinas. WBTV, Charlotte, WFMY, Greensboro, WTVD, Raleigh, WBTW, Florence refused to show ANY of the games opting for old movies, and off-net repeats mostly. WLTX, Columbia did air a full schedule of NBA games and low-powered indie Ch. 62 in Fayetteville did take the games in lieu of WTVD(other indies in the state didn't bother with them though). I don't think WSPA carried the games either. Ironic, especially in Charlotte where various organizations were locked in a successful battle to bring a NBA team to town.

 

[charlestondxman]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

The stations did that because they felt like ACC basketball (which was on WBTV, WFMY and WBTW at the time) should be the only basketball on at the time, and because of the poor ratings that they got in those timeslots when NBA was on.

They also didn't want to lose revenue.

 

[Charles1]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

Before 13, 33, 40 and 42 became exclusive affiliates of NBC (13) and CBS (everyone else) in '70, 13 carried the CBS NFL package, leaving 33, 40 and 42 to carry the AFL package from NBC, so 13 really didn't punt on the Heidi game. They did, though, carry Heidi at 6:00.

Which, no doubt, left viewers of "Heidi" puzzled when they were seeing tickers on the screen about a game that supposedly aired before "Heidi", but didn't on that particular station.

Ordinarily, though, before those stations became one-network affiliates, didn't 13 carry "Lassie" (CBS) at 6, followed by
Disney (NBC) at 6:30, while the others carried "Wild Kingdom" (or whatever NBC was feeding) at 6, followed by the
CBS 6:30 program, and Ed Sullivan at 7? So only the 6 PM programs would have been affected; "The New Adventures
Of Huck Finn" was pre-empted by NBC (33, 42--40 didn't sign on until the fall of 1969) and 13 pre-empted "Lassie". Anyone know what ran on 33 and 42 from 6 to 6:30?

Just as a sideline, here is the Sunday-night schedule as I remember it in the summer of 1969, just months after the
"Heidi" fiasco:

13: 6 PM Lassie (CBS)
6:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color (NBC)
7:30 Gomer Pyle, USMC (CBS, delay from Fri 7:30)
8 PM Bonanza (NBC)
9 PM Mission: Impossible (CBS)

33, 42 6 PM New Adventures Of Huck Finn (NBC)
6:30 Gentle Ben (CBS)
7 PM Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
8 PM The Mothers-In-Law (NBC, delay from 7:30,
same show that had just aired on the network)
8:30 (33) The Big Bands
(42) Truth Or Consequences
9 PM My Friend Tony (NBC)

I can't remember what 33 & 42 showed at 6:00. I was only 8 years old in '68, and usually I spent Sunday nights at my grandparents. My granddad insisted that we watch "The FBI" on Channel 6 at 7:00, and "Bonanza" at 8:00 on Channel 13.

 

[Wright County Guy]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

Here is how the Heidi game played itself out---maybe:
http://www.birminghamrewound.com/features/heidi.htm

 

[jwk1979]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

Back during the early '70's, when NBC carried the AFC games and WATE-TV was the NCB affliate in Knoxville, channel 6 would routinely pre-empt the NBC Pre Game show and the first hour of the 1:00 PM AFC game in order to show the Norte Dame replay at 12:00 PM and the Tennessee Coaches Show (Bill Battle until 1977, the Johnny Majors) at 1:00 PM. This went on until the fall of 1979, when WTVK-26 became the NBC affliate in Knoxville.

The sad thing about this is that WBIR-10 was the CBS affliate during the '70's and the only games they would show at 1:00 were those involving the Washington Redskins (which I despise). So, for those of us that lived and grew up in Knoxville during the '70's , we either had to watch the UT coaches show at 1:00 PM on Sunday (since my family were usually at the games on Saturday, I didn't want to watch a replay of it on Sunday) or the Redskins vs. New Orleans/St. Louis/Detroit/etc. on Sunday afternoons.

 

[LABreeze]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

Another reference that KLTV, Tyler TX (7) and KTRE Lufkin, TX (9) in which both moved their ABC affiliation to primary status in primetime about the mid-late 70s, there was a some pre-emptions concerning their Thursday night programs. When Soap made its debut, both stations refuse to show it due to the adult nature of the show. So instead, they replaced it with two NBC sitcoms and a drama respectively: CPO Sharkey with Don Rickles, the short lived Sanford Arms and later throughout the remainder of Soap's run Quincy, M.E. By about 1978 or 1979, Quincy, M.E. was selected to air on 7 and 9 at 8pm CT since Barney Miller and Soap were competing with at the time. I guess when you are in the Bible Belt, you cannot de-moralize quality programming as it is now happening today.

One poster mentioned the NYPD Blue fiasco in which throughout the last quarter of 1993, KLTV and KTRE would not air the series. So instead, they aired a newsmagazine alternative called The Crusaders. The other ABC defaults to watch from are either from Shreveport (KTBS-TV 3) or Dallas (WFAA-TV 8) until KFXK picked up the ABC pre-emption from 7 and 9. Halfway into the season later and I believe it was pressure from ABC for both of the East Texas affiliates, KFXK won the Tuesday night Blue showings against KLTV's weak substitute. So waving the white flag of surrender and probably after hate mail being flooded to their mailbag, KLTV knew that they were licked. They had no choice but to honor all ABC programming including the airing of NYPD Blue. I learned about this that when a show is critically acclaimed and the audience has yet seen it, let them see it for themselves before they can switch the channel.

I'm quite sure that other ABC affiliates back then has gone through the same dilemma.

 

[Ultimajock]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

At one point about 20 yearsago, they were promoting movies like 'Touch Me in the Morning' with Diana Ross

...no such movie exists. "Touch Me in the Morning" was the title of one of Diana Ross' hit records. Perhaps you're confusing it with Mahogany?...

 

[onairb]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

At one point about 20 yearsago, they were promoting movies like 'Touch Me in the Morning' with Diana Ross

...no such movie exists. "Touch Me in the Morning" was the title of one of Diana Ross' hit records. Perhaps you're confusing it with Mahogany?...

Thanks, that's the one I meant('Touch...' was the film's theme song); Obviously, I STILL have never seen it! ;D

 

[radiorob2.0]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

Evansville, Indiana has a problem during March Madness if UK, IU and/or Purdue are playing at the same time. Then it become a battle on who can melt down the station's switchboard first. WEVV once aired the Purdue game over UK. By halftime the UK fans were rather verbal so WEVV switched the feed by the second half and aired UK.

 

[firepoint525]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

At one point about 20 yearsago, they were promoting movies like 'Touch Me in the Morning' with Diana Ross

...no such movie exists. "Touch Me in the Morning" was the title of one of Diana Ross' hit records. Perhaps you're confusing it with Mahogany?...

Thanks, that's the one I meant('Touch...' was the film's theme song); Obviously, I STILL have never seen it! ;D

Actually, "Theme from Mahogany" was the theme song. (But don't feel too bad. I've never seen it either. ;D) It had the cumbersome subtitle, "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" I'm usually not a stickler about ending questions with a preposition, but that one was bad!

 

[cd637299]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

^^^ Remember, never use a preposition to end sentences with.

(from funny2.com)

cd

 

[onairb]

Re: Nationally Televised Network Sporting Events that were Pre-empted in your market

At one point about 20 yearsago, they were promoting movies like 'Touch Me in the Morning' with Diana Ross

...no such movie exists. "Touch Me in the Morning" was the title of one of Diana Ross' hit records. Perhaps you're confusing it with Mahogany?...

Thanks, that's the one I meant('Touch...' was the film's theme song); Obviously, I STILL have never seen it! ;D

Actually, "Theme from Mahogany" was the theme song. (But don't feel too bad. I've never seen it either. ;D) It had the cumbersome subtitle, "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" I'm usually not a stickler about ending questions with a preposition, but that one was bad!

OK, thanks for clearing up my 'senior moment'! ;D The 'Mahogany' song was SO bad, I must have 'transformed' it into the only slightly less terrible 'Touch Me...'

 

[newsmark]

Re: Most Inexplicable Network Program Pre-Emption

I'm quite sure that other ABC affiliates back then has gone through the same dilemma.

Including WFAA, which did not air NYPD Blue for the first season, instead producing the news show Prime Time Texas to air in its place. Independent KTXA aired NYPD Blue in pattern in DFW, but KTXA was not on cable in East Texas.

Cable viewers in Tyler could watch on KTBS in Shreveport, although the signal was crummy. Longview recevied a good KTBS signal on cable and over the air. Lufkin could see the show on KTRK from Houston via cable.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

When was the last time a station willingly pre-empted an NFL game?

Some times will pre-empt the first or second game of a doubleheader day for an infomercial when the home team has a game scheduled on the network with a singleheader day.

 

[dhett]

Re: When was the last time a station willingly pre-empted an NFL game?

I'm not sure you're describing a willing pre-emption. In a team's home market, you don't always get both games of the doubleheader when your team is at home. In the playoffs, if the home team doesn't sell out in time, no game on TV. I seriously doubt that any station would intentionally not show an NFL regular-season or post-season game.

An example from Phoenix: the Cardinals games are usually on Fox local O&O KSAZ-TV 10, or on CBS affiliate KPHO-TV 5 if the Cards are hosting an AFC team. If the network showing the Cards game doesn't have the doubleheader, then there's no doubleheader. The other network is not allowed to schedule a game against the Cards. That only applies to the team's primary home market. Tucson and Yuma, secondary markets, get to show the doubleheader game.