Worst TV stations ever

[cd637299]

I don't live where WNDS (now WZMY) is, but as long as they had a weekly candlepin bowling show, I give WNDS a pass.

And, its presentation wasn't half bad.

cd

 

[MCarney]

I don't live where WNDS (now WZMY) is, but as long as they had a weekly candlepin bowling show, I give WNDS a pass.

And, its presentation wasn't half bad.

cd

Actually it's WBIN now (after new owner Bill Binnie). They brought Al Kaprilien back this week (he had been let go when then WZMY was LMAed at the start of 2010). I never watched the bowling show so I can't comment on it but I do know that their news set always looked years behind WMUR and the Boston stations.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

I remember in my elementary school days when after lunch outdoor recess was not held due to weather, we'd go back to the classroom, the Sister who taught us would roll out the relic black & white TV on a cart and we'd watch "Password" on WMUR, since it wasn't cleared on WCVB-5 at the time. (I think later at some point either WSBK-38 or then WKBG -56 cleared it in Boston)

"Password" also had an educational component you might not even be aware of (which may be why your teacher turned it on during rainy-day recess): Seeing the "password" on the screen and hearing contestants and celebrities give one-word clues to the password's meaning to their teammates actually reinforced the veiwer's vocabulary.

Many teachers, when giving students reviews of vocabularies prior to tests, actually would use the "Password" format, with students giving clues to vocabulary words to their teammates (and maybe a few still do).

In fact, Milton Bradley (who for years published the "Password" box game) also issued an "educational" version for schools.

 

[Radio-Bored-Op]

this is GOLD.
funny as funny gets.

WNGS, Springville, N.Y. could Make this list -
they had a great start up story and went from Cinderella to crap.

since then, MeTV has consumed most of the time, and I'm certain... not 4 free.
there local hot garbage still makes them
awful by poir standards.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

KNEW-TV, KQEC-TV and KMTP San Francisco all on TV 32 were considered worst TV Stations in the Bay area due to constant budgeting issues.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

KSCH and KRBK Sacramento were the Valley's worst stations at one point because they were always behind in the ratings for independent stations and was beat out by KTXL Sacramento once they got the Fox affiliation.

 

[crainbebo]

Here in Yakima, I wouldn't rank any of the stations as the 'worst' in the country...they are just low-budget. There was a relatively unknown LPTV on channel 60 in the mid-late '90s that carried WB. The calls were 'KEBB', translator calls K60EB. It was operated by Hispanavision which currently owns the Azteca and Estrella TV LDs in town. I found a home-recorded VHS at a rummage sale with 'Miracle on 34th Street' taped off K60EB in 1997. It got taped over and then came back for part of Beverly Hills 90210 and Nick Freno (first-run from WB). The local breaks were the same 8 or 9 direct-response commercials over and over, and a station ID. And they weren't on cable. Terrible-looking station, but amusing to watch that tape today. Once WB 100+ came to cable, channel 60 went to Spanish, carrying CBS TeleNoticias news, and later MUN2 programming. I think channel 60 morphed into either the Azteca or Estrella digital station aforementioned.

KTZZ 22 was the worst indie in Seattle back in the early to mid-1990s. A terrible lineup of programming, being the UHF indie vs. KSTW and KCPQ (Fox).
Their 1992-93 lineup weekdays consisted of paid programming and religion until noon, a low-budget movie at noon, Perry Mason at 2, cartoons until 6 (mostly old Hanna-Barbera shows), Jacques Cousteau at 6, talk shows from 7-10 (including Montel), a KIRO-produced newscast at 10, and Bob Eubanks' ill-fated relationship show 'Infatuation' at 10:30.
Thankfully, they would improve when WB came along. They did air a lot of 1950s and '60s shows when they signed on in the mid-1980s.

 

[crainbebo]

"Password" also had an educational component you might not even be aware of (which may be why your teacher turned it on during rainy-day recess): Seeing the "password" on the screen and hearing contestants and celebrities give one-word clues to the password's meaning to their teammates actually reinforced the veiwer's vocabulary.

Many teachers, when giving students reviews of vocabularies prior to tests, actually would use the "Password" format, with students giving clues to vocabulary words to their teammates (and maybe a few still do).

In fact, Milton Bradley (who for years published the "Password" box game) also issued an "educational" version for schools.

And so does Jeopardy!, which is why they have marketed a 'classroom Jeopardy!' program in the schools for many years. Meanwhile, I've always believed that Wheel of Fortune is beneficial for children to learn consonants and vowels. If I was teaching, I would use elements from the show so students could divide the 21 consonants and 5 vowels, and learn new words and phrases (phrase is often a category on Wheel).

Way off-topic. Back to the thread discussion.

 

[TexasTom]

Regarding KTZZ in the early nineties, they were in a tough spot as a mainstream independent station competing against five VHF commercial stations, so I'm not surprised that they struggled. I don't think that station ever did well in its pre-WB years, but they did manage to sort of hang on during their first several years by being the only other stations (aside from KSTW) with weekday children's programming. During that period, KCPQ was largely out of the children's TV business -- but once Fox entered that business, KCPQ jumped in and KTZZ just couldn't compete. It's hard to imagine it now, but that children's TV programming really was key to the success of most independent stations in the seventies, eighties, and first half of the nineties.

 

[crainbebo]

Yup. Once The Disney Afternoon ended and Rugrats mania took over on cable, it was all downhill for the syndicated/network weekday cartoons. Sure, Power Rangers kept Fox Kids profitable on Saturday mornings, but eventually the audience went to cable.
Not to mention the higher numbers of kids in after-school programs and sports leagues, which took away any chance of watching afternoon cartoons (unless Kindercares had TVs and turned them on for the school-age program). I found it baffling that cartoon blocks began at 3:00, when 80% of the audience was either wrapping up the school day or still on the bus! Of course, a child in one state may get out of school half an hour earlier than a child in another state, so I guess the '3 to 5' was customary across the board. At summer vacation time, it didn't matter...

*ALSO way off-topic...

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Yup. Once The Disney Afternoon ended and Rugrats mania took over on cable, it was all downhill for the syndicated/network weekday cartoons. Sure, Power Rangers kept Fox Kids profitable on Saturday mornings, but eventually the audience went to cable.
Not to mention the higher numbers of kids in after-school programs and sports leagues, which took away any chance of watching afternoon cartoons (unless Kindercares had TVs and turned them on for the school-age program). I found it baffling that cartoon blocks began at 3:00, when 80% of the audience was either wrapping up the school day or still on the bus! Of course, a child in one state may get out of school half an hour earlier than a child in another state, so I guess the '3 to 5' was customary across the board. At summer vacation time, it didn't matter...

*ALSO way off-topic...

Age 1-5 possibly before schooling?

 

[TVCOOL]

> WURD 40 (Ind) / Indianapolis (1970)
>
> Owned by a local minister Dr. Wendell Hansen. Better known
> for his performing "Bible Birds." Search roadsideamerica.com
> for more.
>
> Christian programming. Does anyone remember "Mac & Myer?"
> Well that was the one syndicated program I recall them
> airing. The broadcast day was only 4:30 to 10pm.
>
> It seemed like everything was locally produced. One camera.
> One set. Spray painted egg cartons. Cinder block walls were
> visible through cracks in the seams.
>
> News was the classic announcer off camera voiceover with an
> on screen slide that read "TV 40 News." Dropped when they
> defaulted on the teletype.
>
> Their crowning achievement? Live and late breaking coverage
> of the installation of a microwave receiver to carry Chicago
> White Sox baseball. Their one camera aimed at the crew
> installing the dish on the tower. With Hansen doing
> narration.
>
> I doubt if they ever aired a full game. A few days later
> they signed the station off permanently. Sold to Pentecostal
> preacher Lester Sumrall.
>

To this day, WHMB TV 40 in Indianapolis is horrible. Whenever I pass by the station, I see either old westerns, a couple 60s comedys, dated preaching programs (including those from Lester Sumrall, whose been dead for years), or infomercials. I'm not sure if all of LeSea's stations are like this, but listings for their flagship station in South Bend (WHME 46) seems to have more of a broader family appeal.

Worst station ever nominations...

WTJC 26 in Springfield, Ohio in the early to mid 90s. This was the time when they dropped their relgious programming in favor of the Home Shopping Club and later In-TV (the infomercial network). Now the station is an affiliate of the WB. This station is finally something worth watching...kind of.

WMCC 23 in Marion, Indiana from sign-on (around 1987) to the mid 90s. This station operated (and still operates) as an Indianapolis station, even though their city of license is 60 miles away from Indianapolis. Until the Hulman family bought the station and changed it to Indy-TV (WNDY), their programming pretty much consisted of infomercials as well as cartoon and sitcom scraps that the other Indy stations left behind. During it's Indy-TV days, 23 was a pretty interesting little independent station. They became home of the state lottery's TV show, the flagship station for high school football and basketball championship games (the latter two programs taken from rival independent WTTV 4), and better syndicated sitcoms, movies, and weekend dramas. Even though the quality of 23 has went down over the last couple years, it's nowhere near where it was back in the WMCC days.

Aside from WHMB in Indianapolis, WTTV 4 Bloomington/Indianapolis has really gone downhill since Tribune took over the station. What was once thee independent station for Indiana (They once boasted about being on nearly all the cable systems in Indiana at one time) is now nothing more than the bastard stepchild of WXIN 59. Programming either consists of the programs that 59 couldn't add to their own line-up or the underperforming programming that 59 once had on its line-up. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of good syndicated programs on 4 and they still air Indiana Pacers games, but what was once the place to watch great movies, top-notch syndicated and local programming, syndicated and local children's shows, and sports (carrying the Pacers and IU, Purdue, and high school sports) is now a shell of it's old self.

I also second the other poster's vote for WJYS 62 in Chicagoland.

I'm surprised WTTV 4 didn't become a Fox channel.

 

[Route66Fan]

I'm surprised WTTV 4 didn't become a Fox channel.

They didn't because, at the time, they had statewide cable TV coverage & were, from what I've heard, carried on cable in other states as well.

 

[ftballfan]

WATM-TV - Wikipedia - Especially in their WOPC days. I saw a newspaper article that showed that WOPC had fewer viewers in Blair County than KDKA, which had only part-time cable carriage in Altoona and shared an affiliation with WTAJ, the long-dominant CBS affiliate in Altoona.

 

[Evan Stripes Carr]

I'm surprised WTTV 4 didn't become a Fox channel.

I think they were offered Fox first and turned it down.

 

[Jman8606]

What are the worst television stations you've ever seen?

By "worst" I mean stations which, now or then, set low standards ... i.e., bad production values, terrible newscasts, subpar technically, those defined by weird and/or flamboyant personalities, poor or dated graphics, bizarre programming choices, etc.

My nominations for the Anti-Emmy (or Antie Em?) awards:

WSIL 3 (ABC) / Harrisburg, Illinois (1978-82, when I lived in the market)
About as bargain-basement low-budget as it got for television of the late '70s. At least the people on-air *knew* they were outflanked and outclassed by the other stations in the market; you could see they were having a ball "playing TV"

Station back then was defined by sports director Briggs Gordon's alter ego UNCLE BRIGGS, who hosted a late afternoon 'kiddie show'; the guy literally had just minutes to get out of costume and into a regular attire to do the sportscast.

WSLA 8 (ABC, later CBS) / Selma, Ala. (1960s-1970s)
Low-power station went on the air as an ABC affiliate, owned by the Brennan family (a Deep South radio dynasty back in the day - owned several top-40 stations). Operated out of a Jim Walter home on the outskirts of town.

Had no network line. ABC programs came not via kine ... they made arrangements with WBRC-TV 6, 90 miles away in Birmingham to air ABC matter RIGHT OFF THEIR SIGNAL! If the engineer wasn't paying attention, local WBRC breaks and IDs would air on WSLA. And, more than a few times, they did. Also, when they got ready to 'join the network', fingers would be crossed that ABC would come up -- that WBRC hadn't preempted something at the last minute!

And during times of temp inversion or e-skip, WSLA would magically transform itself into a CBS station; the antenna sometimes picked up WCTV, channel 6 out of Thomasville, Ga.-Tallahassee, Fla.

I'm told one of their program hosts kept a (loaded) gun with him on set, and would sometimes wave it around as he talked.

The Brennans put the station on the air in the hopes that they could secure a power boost, and then sell the station at a good profit. Problem was, Montgomery (50 miles to the east) was a mostly-UHF market and the Us vigorously protested any such move.

The studio and transmitter went up in flames in 1968 ... Brennans chose to walk. Station was dark until another concern put it back on the air in 1973 as a CBS. Things were a bit better, but the station was still a joke.

Dereg in the '80s allowed 8 to go full-tilt ... today it's in Montgomery as the market's CBS, WAKA.

WTVY 4 (CBS) / Dothan, Ala. (pre-1998)
Launched and for years owned by perennial fringe presidential candidate and disfigured war hero Charles Woods. The first station in the South to go 24/7 (early '70s), but aside from that it was defined by two personalities: Farm director Gene Ragan, who for decades hosted the noon farm report. The opening theme and set were practically unchanged from the '60s -- same recorded theme and V/O, and same wood-paneling background and desk mic. This was the case well into the '90s, until after Woods lost the station amidst financial difficulties.

Then there was RED HOLLAND, who hosted a weekend hunting/fishing show Outdoors With Red, and his weekday early-morning show Good Morning Tri-States was a spectacle of bad television. Red didn't talk, he SCREAMED. Imagine Crazy Eddie with a "John Deere" cap and a redneck accent. Did most all sponsors' commercials himself. And the rural trailer-dwellin' folk worshipped him.

WTVY's graphics were pathetic -- just two (2) fonts. Picture wasn't very crisp, and audio was muffled.

When WTVY transferred to new ownership late in 1997, their first order of business was to axe Red.

WDHN 18 (ABC) / Dothan, Ala.
Dothan, Alabama was (and probably still is) bad TV capital of the world. 18 made WTVY above look major-market. Had a very cheap Chyron-esque device - one font. SAME as the one used most by WTVY. Newscast in the early '90s was done by the News Director - who had a pronounced lisp and a HEAVY Southern accent. Intro was done by someone trying to imitate the 'voice-of-God' guy who used to do rock concert promos in the '80s.

WLBT 3 (NBC) / Jackson, Miss. (prior to 1971)
Station Manager for years was a guy named Fred Beard. Fred was very tight with the White Citizens' Council of Mississippi (little more than a country-club level k lan), and his practices caused WLBT to have its license ordered vacated. On the fly preemptions - plenty of anecdotal evidence point to a common practice of interrupting network programming with a TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY slides whenever NBC did anything remotely advocating for integration. Whenever a black leader appeared on camera, suddenly WLBT would have "cable trouble."

A disclaimer was broadcast prior to the Today show: "The following program contains biased, managed Northern news. Be sure to stay tuned at 7:25 for your LOCAL news."

Oh, and a "Freedom Bookstore" operated in the lobby of WLBT -- selling white supremacist literature.

A black church organization challenged the station's license ... toward the late '60s, Lamar Life Insurance (WLBT's parent company) got nervous and fired Beard. But it didn't stop WLBT's license from getting yanked, and Lamar Life (while by then a bit subdued in its racism) cleaned out their desks in 1971.

My librarian and I were talking about the "COME ON IN SATTELITE!" commercials that Red did back in the day. I used to hate the wiregrass because of the lack of professionalism in their TV stations. Dothan !at have sucked when it came to TV and Red may have been loud and obnoxious but his "COME ON IN SATTELITE" commercials were memorable. Those along with the King's Furniture commercials. "You get a $20 bill!"

"Hey Howard! Whatcha doin' up there?"

 

[Jman8606]

What are the worst television stations you've ever seen?

By "worst" I mean stations which, now or then, set low standards ... i.e., bad production values, terrible newscasts, subpar technically, those defined by weird and/or flamboyant personalities, poor or dated graphics, bizarre programming choices, etc.

My nominations for the Anti-Emmy (or Antie Em?) awards:

WSIL 3 (ABC) / Harrisburg, Illinois (1978-82, when I lived in the market)
About as bargain-basement low-budget as it got for television of the late '70s. At least the people on-air *knew* they were outflanked and outclassed by the other stations in the market; you could see they were having a ball "playing TV"

Station back then was defined by sports director Briggs Gordon's alter ego UNCLE BRIGGS, who hosted a late afternoon 'kiddie show'; the guy literally had just minutes to get out of costume and into a regular attire to do the sportscast.

WSLA 8 (ABC, later CBS) / Selma, Ala. (1960s-1970s)
Low-power station went on the air as an ABC affiliate, owned by the Brennan family (a Deep South radio dynasty back in the day - owned several top-40 stations). Operated out of a Jim Walter home on the outskirts of town.

Had no network line. ABC programs came not via kine ... they made arrangements with WBRC-TV 6, 90 miles away in Birmingham to air ABC matter RIGHT OFF THEIR SIGNAL! If the engineer wasn't paying attention, local WBRC breaks and IDs would air on WSLA. And, more than a few times, they did. Also, when they got ready to 'join the network', fingers would be crossed that ABC would come up -- that WBRC hadn't preempted something at the last minute!

And during times of temp inversion or e-skip, WSLA would magically transform itself into a CBS station; the antenna sometimes picked up WCTV, channel 6 out of Thomasville, Ga.-Tallahassee, Fla.

I'm told one of their program hosts kept a (loaded) gun with him on set, and would sometimes wave it around as he talked.

The Brennans put the station on the air in the hopes that they could secure a power boost, and then sell the station at a good profit. Problem was, Montgomery (50 miles to the east) was a mostly-UHF market and the Us vigorously protested any such move.

The studio and transmitter went up in flames in 1968 ... Brennans chose to walk. Station was dark until another concern put it back on the air in 1973 as a CBS. Things were a bit better, but the station was still a joke.

Dereg in the '80s allowed 8 to go full-tilt ... today it's in Montgomery as the market's CBS, WAKA.

WTVY 4 (CBS) / Dothan, Ala. (pre-1998)
Launched and for years owned by perennial fringe presidential candidate and disfigured war hero Charles Woods. The first station in the South to go 24/7 (early '70s), but aside from that it was defined by two personalities: Farm director Gene Ragan, who for decades hosted the noon farm report. The opening theme and set were practically unchanged from the '60s -- same recorded theme and V/O, and same wood-paneling background and desk mic. This was the case well into the '90s, until after Woods lost the station amidst financial difficulties.

Then there was RED HOLLAND, who hosted a weekend hunting/fishing show Outdoors With Red, and his weekday early-morning show Good Morning Tri-States was a spectacle of bad television. Red didn't talk, he SCREAMED. Imagine Crazy Eddie with a "John Deere" cap and a redneck accent. Did most all sponsors' commercials himself. And the rural trailer-dwellin' folk worshipped him.

WTVY's graphics were pathetic -- just two (2) fonts. Picture wasn't very crisp, and audio was muffled.

When WTVY transferred to new ownership late in 1997, their first order of business was to axe Red.

WDHN 18 (ABC) / Dothan, Ala.
Dothan, Alabama was (and probably still is) bad TV capital of the world. 18 made WTVY above look major-market. Had a very cheap Chyron-esque device - one font. SAME as the one used most by WTVY. Newscast in the early '90s was done by the News Director - who had a pronounced lisp and a HEAVY Southern accent. Intro was done by someone trying to imitate the 'voice-of-God' guy who used to do rock concert promos in the '80s.

WLBT 3 (NBC) / Jackson, Miss. (prior to 1971)
Station Manager for years was a guy named Fred Beard. Fred was very tight with the White Citizens' Council of Mississippi (little more than a country-club level k lan), and his practices caused WLBT to have its license ordered vacated. On the fly preemptions - plenty of anecdotal evidence point to a common practice of interrupting network programming with a TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY slides whenever NBC did anything remotely advocating for integration. Whenever a black leader appeared on camera, suddenly WLBT would have "cable trouble."

A disclaimer was broadcast prior to the Today show: "The following program contains biased, managed Northern news. Be sure to stay tuned at 7:25 for your LOCAL news."

Oh, and a "Freedom Bookstore" operated in the lobby of WLBT -- selling white supremacist literature.

A black church organization challenged the station's license ... toward the late '60s, Lamar Life Insurance (WLBT's parent company) got nervous and fired Beard. But it didn't stop WLBT's license from getting yanked, and Lamar Life (while by then a bit subdued in its racism) cleaned out their desks in 1971.

Don't get me started on Gene Reagan! That theme was overly bombastic!

 

[Jman8606]

WIRB in Melbourne Florida-in the mornings reruns of Laverne and Shirley as well as Richard Dawson's ill-fated return to Family Feud. But other than that, infomercials and NBC shows says that WESH would not carry.

 

[Jman8606]

Joseph Gallant's nomination of the pre-1981 WMUR brought back some more memories I'd like to share:

On weekdays prior to when ABC's "Good Morning America" premiered (1975 or 76?) WMUR didn't sign on until 11 AM, which is when ABC progarmming started. Actually, I think they signed on with a 10 minute reading of wire copy news sports & weather by the booth announcer while a slide reading "News" was shown on screen. I believe they did this at sign off as well, and IIRC they used to do the rip & read news at sign on & sign off 7 days a week. On weekends, WMUR signed on earlier, 8 AM on Sat. when ABC cartoons started, and Sundays at 7 or 8 AM with paid religious programs and/or public domian movies.

With very few exceptions (usually telethons or local election coverage) the pre-1981 WMUR carried everything ABC fed. I remember in my elementary school days when after lunch outdoor recess was not held due to weather, we'd go back to the classroom, the Sister who taught us would roll out the relic black & white TV on a cart and we'd watch "Password" on WMUR, since it wasn't cleared on WCVB-5 at the time. (I think later at some point either WSBK-38 or then WKBG -56 cleared it in Boston) or I also recall watching around 1974-ish an ABC game show "The Money Maze" hosted by Nick Clooney (George's uncle) which WCVB did not clear in Boston either. WMUR was the only station I could watch "American Bandstand" on Saturdays, as WCVB never aired it, instead airing "Candlepin Bowling" in it's 12 Noon slot where it had been in it's WHDH-5 days. I think for a short time WSBK ran "AB" but if they did, it wasn't for long.

The pre-1981 WMUR newscast was quite a simple 1 studio camera production with little or no graphics and formal opening/closing. After the legal ID, the anchor appeared on screen, introduced himself, and started reading the news. The news set was a table with a desk microphone, anchor sitting in front of a dark blue curtain. During the first commercial break, the camera was turned to face the weather map. After the weather, another commercial break while the camera was turned back on the anchor table, where the sports reporter appeared for his segment. After sports, another commercial break while the sports anchor got out of the seat and the news anchor came back to close out the newscast.

For telethons and election coverage they somehow managed to have at least 2 cameras. I recall one election night they were showing the election results written in chalk on blackboards. For the Jerry Lewis telethon local segments I remember they had a round dial with a Jerry Lewis picture or drawing in the middle, surrounded by incadescent (sp?) light bulbs, just like you'd use in a home or desk lamp. As the number of calls coming in increased, another bulb would light up, starting at 12 o'clock. The goal was to light up the whole circle of lights during the local breaks.

Mark

Actually Nick is George's father.

 

[Jman8606]

Historically, in 1960s Southern California, the worst was KCOP, Channel 13, (a "Chris-Craft station").

Let me count the ways: prime time consisted of multiple Bill Burrud travelogues ("as the sun sets slowly to the west, we bid aloha to the tropical breezes...").

The worst "C" quality late night movies from the 1940s. The LA based comedy group Credibility Gap (Harry Shearer, now of Simpsons fame) produced a parody of KCOP late night commercials, which were basically slide shows of local small businesses..."Come to Ramone's Beauty Salon in downtown Carson..."

Also of note: A half decade worth of Munsters and Patty Duke reruns...26 or 39 episodes over and over. The worst Hanna-Barbera cartoons that nobody else would buy (Touche Turtle, Wally Gator). Not to mention Dialing for Dollars - no movie or interviews, just Alan Sloane talking to the camera for an hour, and making phone calls to people who could win the prize jackpot of around $25 if they could tell Alan the "count and the amount." Problem is, they usually weren't home, or if they did answer - they had never heard of his show.

Speaking of Carson, it became fodder for his monologues. (over on Channel 13)