WTBS R.I.P. 1979-2007

[tlyle]

To be fair, TBS was really TBS the basic cable network from the moment Turner Time was launched in 1981, to the change in the "local simulcast" in 2007.

TBS had been this way for a long time. The only time there was a "local connection" was in the first five years the channel was beamed through satellite.

The only thing that seperated them was a local Atlanta Show on Sunday Mornings, and having E/I programs.

So I'm just saying, in my opinion, they haven't been a real local channel in years.

But recall that TBS beamed two signals. One for national cable and one for local cable/OTA in the Atlanta area. The Atlanta area still saw local commercials. One of the biggest sponsors was the Wolfman who sold furniture. He was with Turner from the beginning. They were quite colorful commercials up until the Wolfman passed away. Some of these local commercials are what we remember from the old days of WTCG/WTBS. You are correct that most of the programming was the same for both feeds.

Doesn't WGN do the same with their signals in Chicago and a national feed? They air talk shows locally in Chicago, but they air things like the "Beverly Hillbillies" and "Matlock" in the mornings on the national feed. Would Tribune consider splitting WGN superstation and WGN channel 9 in Chicago like TBS did?

 

[radiorob2.0]

Once in a blue moon, even in the last decade, you might catch a local ID or break on the national feed. Part of the charm of the old WTCG as well as the other "Superstations" prior to Syndex were the local commercials. When I first watched TBS on a continual basis 25 years ago it seemed local breaks were passed through on the national feed.