Yeah. WHKY could be a monster station.
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Worst TV stations ever
- Thread starter rwells2265
- Start date
M
Marckd
Guest
I nominate a few:
Major Market - 62 WGPR Detroit 1975 to 1995 when CBS began affiliation and purchase cery soon after - That station had started out running Japanese Cartoons like marine Boy and Speed Racor as well as Ultraman and Space Giants along with some low budget westerns, low budget movies, religioius shows and shows aimed at the Black Community - It was hoped they would evolve and they did but for the worse. By 1981 the station had mostl;y religious shows, public affairs shows aimed at the black community, R & B Music shows, very low budget old movies, and rejected network shows from NBC and CBS. By 1990 the station got even worse adding tons of infomercials to the mix.
38 WADL from 1989 to 2006 - Like WGPR only worse - almost no cash programming and mostly shopping, infomercials, rejected network shows, and religious shows. They did run Fox Kids from 1998 to 2002 when it was discontinued nationally and for a time Saturday Morning 4 Kids TV. But nothing else worth watching. Then in 2005 the station added some classic sitcoms. Today the station is decent much of the day but still time periods of the pair programmings hould be pulled back more
50 WFTY Washington DC - 1987-1993; was a Subscription TV and Business News channel and bought by Hill Broadcasting in 1986. COnverted to a decent independent with lots of cartoons, old sitcoms, drama shows, and old movies, mostly stuff other stations passed on but still decent stuff...From there it went downhill instead of uphill. By 1987, the station ran tons of infomercials, some drama shows, some old movies and a few cartoons iin the mornings. By 1991, the station ran religion till 7 AM, Cartoons 7-9 AM and barter and from 9 to Noon religion and infomercials till 5, and low budget movies till 10 PM and then more infomercials and shopping. Finally in the fall of 1993, the station picked up a good selection of cartoons, classic sitcoms and better movies to add to the mix. By 1995 the statoon became a WB affiliate and in 1996 a Tribune owned station.
Small market - 61 WRIP from 1976 to 1982 - Began as an all movie and theatrical cartoon station. Had financial problems so it was sold in 1974 2 years after its sign on. At that point religious shows both syndicated and local were added and movies were gone by 1976. At that point, WRIP was running syndicated religious shows on a weekday 7 hours a day, local religious shows 6 or 7 hours a day aand only a couple hours of secular shows mostly kid's barter shows, hunting shows, and a low budget film or two. By the summer of 81 WRIP was down to one hour of secular shows a day. On Saturdays they ran a few more cartoons but still mostly religion and all religion Sundays. The Fall of 81, they added a couple hours a day of classic sitcoms, some better cartoons, and on weekends some drama shows. The Fall of 82, the station added some more cartoons, sitcoms, and drama shows, and even a movie daily. The station was sold soon after and by 1985 wasa regular independent and a Fox Affiliated station by 1986. So They became WDSI in 1983.
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Major Market - 62 WGPR Detroit 1975 to 1995 when CBS began affiliation and purchase cery soon after - That station had started out running Japanese Cartoons like marine Boy and Speed Racor as well as Ultraman and Space Giants along with some low budget westerns, low budget movies, religioius shows and shows aimed at the Black Community - It was hoped they would evolve and they did but for the worse. By 1981 the station had mostl;y religious shows, public affairs shows aimed at the black community, R & B Music shows, very low budget old movies, and rejected network shows from NBC and CBS. By 1990 the station got even worse adding tons of infomercials to the mix.
38 WADL from 1989 to 2006 - Like WGPR only worse - almost no cash programming and mostly shopping, infomercials, rejected network shows, and religious shows. They did run Fox Kids from 1998 to 2002 when it was discontinued nationally and for a time Saturday Morning 4 Kids TV. But nothing else worth watching. Then in 2005 the station added some classic sitcoms. Today the station is decent much of the day but still time periods of the pair programmings hould be pulled back more
50 WFTY Washington DC - 1987-1993; was a Subscription TV and Business News channel and bought by Hill Broadcasting in 1986. COnverted to a decent independent with lots of cartoons, old sitcoms, drama shows, and old movies, mostly stuff other stations passed on but still decent stuff...From there it went downhill instead of uphill. By 1987, the station ran tons of infomercials, some drama shows, some old movies and a few cartoons iin the mornings. By 1991, the station ran religion till 7 AM, Cartoons 7-9 AM and barter and from 9 to Noon religion and infomercials till 5, and low budget movies till 10 PM and then more infomercials and shopping. Finally in the fall of 1993, the station picked up a good selection of cartoons, classic sitcoms and better movies to add to the mix. By 1995 the statoon became a WB affiliate and in 1996 a Tribune owned station.
Small market - 61 WRIP from 1976 to 1982 - Began as an all movie and theatrical cartoon station. Had financial problems so it was sold in 1974 2 years after its sign on. At that point religious shows both syndicated and local were added and movies were gone by 1976. At that point, WRIP was running syndicated religious shows on a weekday 7 hours a day, local religious shows 6 or 7 hours a day aand only a couple hours of secular shows mostly kid's barter shows, hunting shows, and a low budget film or two. By the summer of 81 WRIP was down to one hour of secular shows a day. On Saturdays they ran a few more cartoons but still mostly religion and all religion Sundays. The Fall of 81, they added a couple hours a day of classic sitcoms, some better cartoons, and on weekends some drama shows. The Fall of 82, the station added some more cartoons, sitcoms, and drama shows, and even a movie daily. The station was sold soon after and by 1985 wasa regular independent and a Fox Affiliated station by 1986. So They became WDSI in 1983.
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Martinsburg, West Virginia's WYVN channel 60.
AS FOX 60 ( 1992-1993 )...FOX was still an infant at the time and add that to WYVN's lack of good syndication ( reruns of The Cisco Kid for example ) and their news..spending ( well charging ) way too much to launch and keep a news operation running and of coures in no time WYVN had ran out of money for everything...but their employees kept on working anyway. However towards the end the quality of the station was so bad that the signal would often pop off into b/w and then in color. Story goes that someone at FOX received a tip about WYVN's issues so they decided to get a motel room in Martinsburg one Sunday night and noticed horror of horrors The Simpsons ( the episode where Lisa becomes a beauty queen for Laramie cigarettes ) was airing in BLACK & WHITE ! ! FOX was NOT at all happy and after being told by WYVN that "..we don't even have an engineer.." FOX dropped WYVN as an affiliate and very quickly WYVN went dark. The next few months the local martinsburg Journal reported stories of repo men and lawyers making daily trips to WYVN to take back stuff and how even the owner was forced to file personal bankruptcy..it was a soap opera.
AS WYVN "Television 60".....( 1994 ).WYVN was bought by Green River and returned to the air as a 100% indie...and with news. Low budget local talk and "how to" shows and public domain syndication, and then there was the infamous ( but never aired though some shows were taped "Midday with Gay"..I posted this sometime ago..
However my pick for the most strangest name of a TV show had to be the local West Virginia talk show called "Midday with Gay" that was supposed to air on WYVN-TV ( I explain the "supposed" part in a bit ). The show itself was "normal" just your average local talk show hosted by Gay Dawson ( she was a former weathergal for The Weather Channel ). But the set...between her and the guest were these BIG letters that said "GAY". I remember the promos "...coming soon to WYVN television...Midday with Gay....Gay Dawson will chat with area civic and relgious leaders.." Imagine Ms. Dawson chatting with a preacher of the local baptist church with the word "Gay" behind them. Anyway despite airing the promos "Midday with Gay" never aired a single episode as WYVN ran out of money and went dark very suddenly.
Some years later Martinsburg's channel 60 would come back as part of PAX but by then nobody in the area cared anymore.
AS FOX 60 ( 1992-1993 )...FOX was still an infant at the time and add that to WYVN's lack of good syndication ( reruns of The Cisco Kid for example ) and their news..spending ( well charging ) way too much to launch and keep a news operation running and of coures in no time WYVN had ran out of money for everything...but their employees kept on working anyway. However towards the end the quality of the station was so bad that the signal would often pop off into b/w and then in color. Story goes that someone at FOX received a tip about WYVN's issues so they decided to get a motel room in Martinsburg one Sunday night and noticed horror of horrors The Simpsons ( the episode where Lisa becomes a beauty queen for Laramie cigarettes ) was airing in BLACK & WHITE ! ! FOX was NOT at all happy and after being told by WYVN that "..we don't even have an engineer.." FOX dropped WYVN as an affiliate and very quickly WYVN went dark. The next few months the local martinsburg Journal reported stories of repo men and lawyers making daily trips to WYVN to take back stuff and how even the owner was forced to file personal bankruptcy..it was a soap opera.
AS WYVN "Television 60".....( 1994 ).WYVN was bought by Green River and returned to the air as a 100% indie...and with news. Low budget local talk and "how to" shows and public domain syndication, and then there was the infamous ( but never aired though some shows were taped "Midday with Gay"..I posted this sometime ago..
However my pick for the most strangest name of a TV show had to be the local West Virginia talk show called "Midday with Gay" that was supposed to air on WYVN-TV ( I explain the "supposed" part in a bit ). The show itself was "normal" just your average local talk show hosted by Gay Dawson ( she was a former weathergal for The Weather Channel ). But the set...between her and the guest were these BIG letters that said "GAY". I remember the promos "...coming soon to WYVN television...Midday with Gay....Gay Dawson will chat with area civic and relgious leaders.." Imagine Ms. Dawson chatting with a preacher of the local baptist church with the word "Gay" behind them. Anyway despite airing the promos "Midday with Gay" never aired a single episode as WYVN ran out of money and went dark very suddenly.
Some years later Martinsburg's channel 60 would come back as part of PAX but by then nobody in the area cared anymore.
WJIM-TV channel 6 - CBS affiliate, Lansing, Michigan
With one of the worst station owners ever, Harold Gross. The station was named for his estranged son, Jim (back before they were estranged). A revolving door: Gross fired people at a greater rate than George Steinbrenner. Except for the long-standing hostess of the morning Happy Homemaker-type show, she was Gross' mistress for long time and he finally married her. The station served as a conduit for his extreme right-wing politics. He'd pull out of CBS if they were running anything he didn't like and go on the air to blast his own network. He'd have his news director/anchor read his editorials on the air - in the newscast. He was good buddies with the long-time conservative Republican congressman from the district, which may have something to with how he kept a TV monopoly in the market for so long. (ABC came from Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, NBC came from part-time station in Jackson that had to share the channel with a public television station - you needed a good roof antenna for either.) He finally sold the station for big bucks and moved to Arizona with the happy homemaker. They say the good die young: Harold Gross lived to be 100.
With one of the worst station owners ever, Harold Gross. The station was named for his estranged son, Jim (back before they were estranged). A revolving door: Gross fired people at a greater rate than George Steinbrenner. Except for the long-standing hostess of the morning Happy Homemaker-type show, she was Gross' mistress for long time and he finally married her. The station served as a conduit for his extreme right-wing politics. He'd pull out of CBS if they were running anything he didn't like and go on the air to blast his own network. He'd have his news director/anchor read his editorials on the air - in the newscast. He was good buddies with the long-time conservative Republican congressman from the district, which may have something to with how he kept a TV monopoly in the market for so long. (ABC came from Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, NBC came from part-time station in Jackson that had to share the channel with a public television station - you needed a good roof antenna for either.) He finally sold the station for big bucks and moved to Arizona with the happy homemaker. They say the good die young: Harold Gross lived to be 100.
C
cd637299
Guest
@Marckd:
Re WRIP, I never saw it, but, I did see their advertising in the Atlanta TV Guide around 1973 (+/- a year).....it looked like it belonged in one of those free take-home magazines. Artwork was horrendous! Was surprised that TV Guide allowed it. So I figure the programming must be as bad!
@both Marckd & Sheridan:
Segue.....WRIP had a daily "TV Bingo" that one could play at home. WKID "RIPped" the program from WRIP for the South FL market*.....host was Bill Wyler (we remember him here), and his assistant was "Lovely Linda" who I think wore the same outfit every day.....After a while, Wyler was gone, but every day they still used his videotape introducing Linda....the last we saw of Wyler each day. It sure was hard to win Bingo (called "Telebingo" & then "Telybingo" here) when ya had to use a rotary phone. Yes, I played.
[*with WRIP's permission, I am sure]
cd
Re WRIP, I never saw it, but, I did see their advertising in the Atlanta TV Guide around 1973 (+/- a year).....it looked like it belonged in one of those free take-home magazines. Artwork was horrendous! Was surprised that TV Guide allowed it. So I figure the programming must be as bad!
@both Marckd & Sheridan:
Segue.....WRIP had a daily "TV Bingo" that one could play at home. WKID "RIPped" the program from WRIP for the South FL market*.....host was Bill Wyler (we remember him here), and his assistant was "Lovely Linda" who I think wore the same outfit every day.....After a while, Wyler was gone, but every day they still used his videotape introducing Linda....the last we saw of Wyler each day. It sure was hard to win Bingo (called "Telebingo" & then "Telybingo" here) when ya had to use a rotary phone. Yes, I played.
[*with WRIP's permission, I am sure]
cd
MattParker said:
Kansas City- KEKR/KZKC 62 (now KSMO), probably bought their equipment from Fred Sanford's Junkyard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTJ_CsWI3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNyQDwbrkII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjgQnVVJ8s&feature=related
KCIT, the little station that couldn't, employed Johnny Rowlands as an intern where kidnapped Ol Gus for ransom
http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/kcit50/index.html
Worst large market network affiliate: Sinclair's KDNL St Louis(ABC), no in-house local news
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTJ_CsWI3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNyQDwbrkII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjgQnVVJ8s&feature=related
KCIT, the little station that couldn't, employed Johnny Rowlands as an intern where kidnapped Ol Gus for ransom
http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/kcit50/index.html
Worst large market network affiliate: Sinclair's KDNL St Louis(ABC), no in-house local news
I feel bad for ripping on small-market TV, because of their limited resources, but the former KUSK (Channel 7) in Prescott, Arizona has to be somewhere on the list. The original owners had a vision of building an LPTV network with the full-service Prescott station serving as flagship. That didn't take off, so it limped along as a small-market independent with some A- and B-grade first-run syndicated programming. After purchasing a translator in the Phoenix metro area (Prescott is 90 miles north of Phoenix), it became the small-town station with major-market coverage (basically it operated as an LPTV with a full-service license). Programming consisted of public-domain movies and old '50s shows played back on what looked like fourth-generation VHS recordings from a consumer-grade VCR. Local programs consisted of two daily talk shows - one hosted by a former state senator who responded to viewer calls that were recorded. His show was taped in front of what appeared to be the master control room. Today, the station is KAZT-TV "AZ-TV" targeting the entire Phoenix market, and the programming and equipment has improved hundred-fold.
As an honorable mention, I also remember KFBT 33 in Las Vegas being low-budget, airing the leftover syndicated programming the other stations didn't want with questionable technical quality prior to Sinclair taking over the station. The family that owned the station sold it and the former weekend horror movie host (who was the son of the owner) went on to become a well-known car restorer/motorcycle builder, and is occasionally featured on the show "Pawn Stars."
As an honorable mention, I also remember KFBT 33 in Las Vegas being low-budget, airing the leftover syndicated programming the other stations didn't want with questionable technical quality prior to Sinclair taking over the station. The family that owned the station sold it and the former weekend horror movie host (who was the son of the owner) went on to become a well-known car restorer/motorcycle builder, and is occasionally featured on the show "Pawn Stars."
Eric Stein said:
I recall seeing a list of translators in a 1983 "Television and Cable Factbook", and I noticed that KUSK practically had translators nationwide; I read somewhere else that their intent was to build a nationwide subscription LPTV network, but no doubt the expansion of cable and the offerings of HBO and Showtime via microwave scotched that idea.
bpatrick said:
My thought on that...better no local news than badly done, low budget local news. Even our NBC affiliate WPCQ-36 owned by Westinghouse at the time had no 6pm local news. They are doing better now under Belo as WCNC but it's been a bumpy ride. The station was even feature in a PBS documentary on local TV news and the coverage showed all the warts!
Mike Sheridan said:
Though even with no news, Group W practically treated WPCQ as if it was the proverbial red-headed stepchild -- in addition to no news, Group W's best syndicated programs, such as Hour Magazine and PM Magazine, landed on other stations instead, and the station had no local talk show, such as the "People are Talking" franchise used that its other stations.
Practically, the station under Group W was pretty much like it was under Turner -- an independent station that happened to be a network affiliate.
Mike Sheridan said:
I have to agree with you there. Example..Baltimore's WMAR ABC 2. Such a horrible newscast that WMAR just might as well show old black & white tapes of the late Stu Kerr doing his Professor Kool gig....and chances are I bet they will get higher ratings that what their news is currently getting.
WMAR is proof that the bigger the market is doesn't always mean the higher in quality.
KMRichards said:
That sounds almost like KVST/68 in L.A. 1974-75.
Ok two shoe string budget tv station come to mind .When local station CH 26 WTWS I think the calls were . in New London CT first when on the air,the technical quality of the programming was horrible.the shows looked like they were mastered on vhs recorded in ep mode. the sound was in the mud.I figure when PAX Net took over .I figure they would clean up the channel .but they didn't.another local was the original WHCT ch 18 in Hartford CT .they were alittle better then ch 26.Both channels had excellent programming of old tv shows.
Yeah, the mistake was about the radio station, not the TV station.
azumanga said:
Doing some research using the online library of early-'80s Broadcasting magazines (thanks David Eduardo), KUSK's planned national LPTV operation was dubbed the "Neighborhood TV Network." Allstate Insurance, then owned by Sears, was to be the major financial backer. From what I read, its programming was to be similar to today's "RFD-TV" cable/satellite network (rural-themed programs, country music, etc.).