Usage History of Cable Channels 2-13 on Your Local Cable Systems

[ShawnHill1]

One of the threads on the National TV thread had me thinking about this...this is the channel lineup (all from memory) from American Cable Systems/Continental Cablevision's South Los Angeles lineup from the late '80s to the about the mid-90s.

2 KCBS
3 KCET (then part of PBS)
4 KNBC
5 KTLA
6 ESPN
7 KABC
8 USA Network
9 KHJ/KCAL
10 CNN
11 KTTV
12 MTV
13 KCOP

Today, now with the area serviced under Time Warner Cable, ESPN is now on 64 (analog), 252 (digital) and 424 (HD); USA is on 40 (analog), 105 (digital), and 441 (HD); CNN on 37 (analog), 206 (digital), and 432 (HD), and MTV is on 58 (analog), 117 (digital), and 493 (HD). They are suppose to implement their national lineups for their Southern California customers between now and the end of July, so these current channel slots won't be around for much longer.

 

[thomwim]

One of the threads on the National TV thread had me thinking about this...this is the channel lineup (all from memory) from American Cable Systems/Continental Cablevision's South Los Angeles lineup from the late '80s to the about the mid-90s.

2 KCBS
3 KCET (then part of PBS)
4 KNBC
5 KTLA
6 ESPN
7 KABC
8 USA Network
9 KHJ/KCAL
10 CNN
11 KTTV
12 MTV
13 KCOP

Today, now with the area serviced under Time Warner Cable, ESPN is now on 64 (analog), 252 (digital) and 424 (HD); USA is on 40 (analog), 105 (digital), and 441 (HD); CNN on 37 (analog), 206 (digital), and 432 (HD), and MTV is on 58 (analog), 117 (digital), and 493 (HD). They are suppose to implement their national lineups for their Southern California customers between now and the end of July, so these current channel slots won't be around for much longer.

Hey, soul brother. That was my line up too.

For me Channel 6 was ESPN until 1998, when it traded places with Nickelodeon (16).

I only remember that KCET (PBS) was channel 28, and I never dared to access channel 3.

 

[dave73]

At least on Gary TCI, then AT&T, & maybe Comcast, this was what I last remembered the channel lineup for 2 - 13

2 WBBM-TV (CBS)

3 Public affairs

4 C-Span

5 WMAQ-TV (NBC)

6 WCIU (Ind)

7 WLS-TV (ABC)

8 WPWR-TV (both 60 & 50)

9 WGN-TV

10 WGBO (Univision)

11 WTTW (PBS)

12 WFLD (Fox)

13 WSNS (Telemundo)

I forgot what was originally on 13, but when the Must carry ruling went into effect back in 1992, WSNS was forced to be added, despite a low Hispanic population in Gary in the 90's. WGBO was English language independent until 1/01/1995, when Univision took over WGBO. WCIU was forced to be added around the same time, & that time, they aired multi-ethnic programming on a brokered basis. That ended on WCIU when it went to English Independent programming, while the ethnic brokered programming moved over to WFBT-CA 23 (not yet added to cable until years later).

 

[thomwim]

My 90s lineup was the same as Shawn Hill's, but I have better memories of Nick on Channel 6.

2005-2007 (Champion Broadband):
2. CBS
3. KCET (then PBS)
4. NBC
5. KTLA (the WB, now the CW)
6. Educational Access
7. ABC
8. KPXN (then i, now ion)
9. KCAL
10. KDOC
11. Fox
12. Univision
13. KCOP (UPN, now MyNetworkTV)

My current lineup (Charter) is:
2 CBS
3 P.E.G. (no idea what this is)
4 NBC
5 KTLA (The CW)
6 Univision
7 ABC
8 QVC
9 KCAL
10 KDOC
11 Fox
12 HSN
13 MyNetworkTV

 

[willdav713]

Sunday October 12th 1986 Warner Cable Houston, Texas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1lh5ysxleM

January 1989, Warner Cable Houston, Texas cable lineup changes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGksya0nur4

 

[Unregistered]

I was not born in 1997, but this is how the old Time Warner Cable (FL) lineup looked like in Tampa Bay (South Pinellas County), when our neighbors first subscribed 16 years ago:

**1998**
2-WCLF, channel 22, Clearwater (Ind.)
3-WEDU, channel 3, Tampa (PBS)
4-WTOG, channel 44, St. Petersburg (UPN)
5-WBHS, channel 50, Tampa (HSN)
6-WTTA, channel 38, St. Petersburg (Ind./WB)
7-Local Programing (Unknown)
8-WFLA, channel 8, Tampa (NBC)
9-Bay News 9
10-WTSP, channel 10, St. Petersburg (CBS)
11-WFTS, channel 28, Tampa (ABC)
12-WWWB/WMOR, channel 32, Lakeland (WB/Ind.)
13-WTVT, channel 13, Tampa (FOX)

Since then, the lineup hasn't changed that much, only the affiliates did.
2-Still home to WCLF, except on analog.

3-Still home to WEDU.

4-Still WTOG, which became CW in 2006 and now is a CW O&O.

5-WBHS became WFTT in 2002 and became Telefutura, and is now UniMas.

6-Still WTTA, which became MNTV in 2006, and in 2013, changed it's name to Great 38, like in 1998.

7-Univision moved here in 2001, as WVEA-LP, now a full-powered station.

8-Still home to WFLA.

9-Still Bay News 9, but it's Sports Connection was moved to Channel 47, now BHSN.

10-Still home to WTSP.

11-Still home to WFTS.

12-WWWB changed from WB to an independent, thus now becoming WMOR.

13-Still home to WTVT.


**2014**
2-WCLF, channel 22, Clearwater (Ind.) Digital only.
3-WEDU, channel 3, Tampa (PBS)
4-WTOG, channel 44, St. Petersburg (CW)
5-WFTT, channel 50, Tampa (UniMas)
6-WTTA, channel 38, St. Petersburg (MyTV)
7-WVEA, channel 62, Tampa (Univision)
8-WFLA, channel 8, Tampa (NBC)
9-Bay News 9.
10-WTSP, channel 10, St. Petersburg (CBS)
11-WFTS, channel 28, Tampa (ABC)
12-WMOR, channel 32, Lakeland (Ind.)
13-WTVT, channel 13, Tampa (FOX)

 

[Unregistered]

Sumter SC--Community Cable TV of SC (owned by partnership of Cox and Cosmos)
1975-75
2--WBTW/13 cbs-abc Florence SC (CBS programs were blocked and replaced with the same CBS programs from WNOK, Columbia)
3--WIS/10 NBC Columbia SC (owned by Cosmos Broadcasting, a partner in the cable system)
4--WCBD/2 ABC Charleston SC*
5--WCIV/4 NBC Charleston SC*
6--WOLO/25 ABC Columbia SC
7--WNOK (now WLTX) 19 CBS Columbia SC
8--WRET (now WCNC)/36 IND Charlotte NC via microwave
9--WCSC/5 CBS Charleston SC*
10-blank
11-WRLK/35 PBS Columbia SC
12-local weather/time/community info---yes they used the old gauges with a b&w camera scanning.
13-blank
* I can't account for the weird dial placement of the Charleston stations. Charleston is about 100 miles from Sumter so interference wouldn't have been the issue. Two other points--CBS programing was not blocked on WCSC as it was on WBTW. Also, one of SC's heritage stations, WCIV, (now ABC) will soon be history, as Sinclair has pledged to shut the station down and turn in it's license to facilitate it's purchase of WJLA. Truly sad.

 

[mvcg66b3r]

2--WBTW/13 cbs-abc Florence SC (CBS programs were blocked and replaced with the same CBS programs from WNOK, Columbia)

Kind of like how simultaneous substitution works in Canada.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

What has been the usage history of channels 2-13 on your local cable systems, and how has it evolved over the years in terms of channels/networks/local affils offered on those channels?

Springfield, IL channels 2-13 (Comcast, formerly Insight, AT&T, and Dimension among others here) from Dec. 2005-present:

9--WGN America

Plus local MyNet WCIX (formerly WCFN) 49.1 here in Springfield is at cable channel 19. (Channel 49 began as a Springfield-area repeater for WCIA-3 from 1967-2002 before becoming a standalone UPN Apr. 2, 2002, and My in 2006). Plus all the subchannels and 3rd PBS station WEIU-51.1 Charleston sprinkled in the "Hundreds Neverland" in the lineup.

Since my initial post back in Oct. 2013, WGN America was bumped from its longtime spot on channel 9 and is instead only carried on channel 115 as of last December (first Insight, then local Comcast, had dual carried WGN America on both channels 9 and 115 for SD), as well as HD on channel 913. However, channel 9 remains unused, and the forementioned WCIX (My) is still on cable 19. It would still make more sense to move up WCIX from 19 to fill that 9 spot and have all the local OTA networks on 2-13--or since WCIX's RF channel is 13 (and everything is encrypted/all-digital here so no worries of OTA interference on cable anymore), move QVC from 13 to 9 and match WCIX with its RF channel by having them on cable 13.