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TV Land Vs. Chicago's Me-TV

D

D1075

Guest
Since the beginning of the year, WWME-CA Channel 23 in Chicago has been running a classic TV format with shows from the 50s through the 80s. WWME airs a whole lot of shows that TV Land I believe doesn't air like "The Jack Benny Show", "Burns & Allen", "Eight is Enough", "Barney Miller", "Baretta", "Kojak", "Quincy", "Facts of Life", and I could keep listing shows, but you get the point. So, how can a small company like Weigel Broadcasting get the rights to all these shows, but a big company like Viacom can't.
 
> Since the beginning of the year, WWME-CA Channel 23 in
> Chicago has been running a classic TV format with shows from
> the 50s through the 80s. WWME airs a whole lot of shows
> that TV Land I believe doesn't air like "The Jack Benny
> Show", "Burns & Allen", "Eight is Enough", "Barney Miller",
> "Baretta", "Kojak", "Quincy", "Facts of Life", and I could
> keep listing shows, but you get the point. So, how can a
> small company like Weigel Broadcasting get the rights to all
> these shows, but a big company like Viacom can't.
>

I'm sure they CAN, but don't want to...the justification being from Viacom's standpoint, infinite reruns of "Cheers", "The Cosby Show", "Three's Company" and the like draw stronger ratings than shows like "Quincy". I don't like it either, how many good and popular shows are there that some companies are apparently just sitting on the rights to and not showing at all? Best examples I can think of are "Hill Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" which Bravo got the rights to around 2001 and reran for awhile, but haven't been seen anywhere in at least a couple of years.
 
> I'm sure they CAN, but don't want to...the justification
> being from Viacom's standpoint, infinite reruns of "Cheers",
> "The Cosby Show", "Three's Company" and the like draw
> stronger ratings than shows like "Quincy". I don't like it
> either, how many good and popular shows are there that some
> companies are apparently just sitting on the rights to and
> not showing at all? Best examples I can think of are "Hill
> Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" which Bravo got the rights
> to around 2001 and reran for awhile, but haven't been seen
> anywhere in at least a couple of years.
>

TV Land has had the tendency in recent years to get shows, run them for a short time, and then just sit on them. Sometimes I wonder if they do it just to keep other networks from getting them.
 
> TV Land has had the tendency in recent years to get shows,
> run them for a short time, and then just sit on them.
> Sometimes I wonder if they do it just to keep other networks
> from getting them.

I have noticed this with The Carol Burnett Show,Flip Wilson,and The Addams Family. They returned to the lineup(also they were in the original lineup back in 1996) and showed them on weekdays only to relegate them to weekends within a few months.

Also they treat What's Happening like it was nothing and show it late at night. Why I don't really know,but they do.

I don't really know how much shows like One Day At A Time,Trapper John MD,Family,Family Affair,That Girl,Room 222,Love American Style,and The Odd Couple cost to show on TV but I would like to see these shows once again.

Guess possibly the only way to see them once again on TV is to get them on DVD. And speaking of which,why doesn't Warner Brothers pull out season sets of the first seasons of Chico and the Man and Welcome Back Kotter instead of just best of episodes. Maybe when they get through with The Dukes Of Hazzard and The Flintstones,they will concentrate on these shows.
 
And speaking of which,why doesn't
> Warner Brothers pull out season sets of the first seasons of
> Chico and the Man and Welcome Back Kotter instead of just
> best of episodes. Maybe when they get through with The Dukes
> Of Hazzard and The Flintstones,they will concentrate on
> these shows.
>
>>>Bottom line, it's all about how much money they THINK they can make. Too bad.
 
> >>>Bottom line, it's all about how much money they THINK
> they can make. Too bad.

This is absolutely true. Now you have to make THE MOST money, not must make money. If you spend $100 make $150. You made money. In the old days this was good.

Not now. If you made $50 (from that example) when you could've made $51 you are considered a failure.

Look at ONE very important thing about ME-TV. It is being run on an LPTV and more importantly it is being run on a sub carrier of WCIU-TV. (Also on the digital tier of Comcast, but it's free if you can get the digital tier w/o paying for the box).

WCIU-TV ISN'T broadcasting these old shows. Even WCIU sees no reason to. BUT by using a low cost LPTV and the digital subcarrier, (does this cost anymore? Or much more? Engineers let me know?) they are making ADDITIONAL profit.

ME-TV wouldn't exist as a stand alone station.

Finally to a LESSER degree DVD sales make these reruns less important.

I love "The Simpsons" and pick them up on sale at used CD stores.



<P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>
 
> So, how can a
> small company like Weigel Broadcasting get the rights to all
> these shows, but a big company like Viacom can't.

Perhaps because Weigel just has to clear local broadcast rights for a single market (Chicago), whereas TV Land has to clear national cable rights in order to carry anything.
 
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