I'm referring specifically to prime time access (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Time_Access_Rule) slots.

In the '80s and '90s, when off-network reruns of sitcoms like The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Simpsons and Seinfeld became available to local television stations, a race to become the highest bidder for those shows would ensue between the commercial stations in any given market. ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates would pay top dollar to air reruns of proven prime time network hits. Wherever you lived in the United States, it was common to see sitcom reruns on any local station that wasn't airing Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune or Entertainment Tonight between 6:30 and 8 pm.

These days, shows like The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and Family Guy are hot commodities in syndication, but they're usually only found on Fox, CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates (and independents), while ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates have jettisoned sitcoms in prime time access in favor of game shows and tabloid TV. If a sitcom is going into off-network syndication, it's a pretty safe bet that you won't find it on a "big three" affiliate.

Is there a reason behind this trend? Have big three affiliates across the country found that Extra and The Insider provide better lead-ins for their prime time lineups than sitcom reruns? Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have understandably been syndication powerhouses for nearly three decades, but I find it hard to believe that Inside Edition gets better ratings than Big Bang Theory reruns.

our local affiliates seem to be having a lot of money problems - they even share news teams and broadcasts between our abc and fox affiliates and the cw and nbc affiliates (usually at staggered times) and with local newspaper and radio stations, so I suspect that money is a big part of the picture

- however, our FOX affiliate does show Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons at 7 and 7:30, and the CW shows Everybody Loves Raymond, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, and Two and a Half Men between 5pm and 8pm (they only show the news from the NBC affiliate at 10pm)

My ABC affiliate airs Everybody Loves Raymond weeknights at 7:30 but it's often preempted for local specials. My NBC affiliate airs M*A*S*H weekdays at noon, nothing after that. My CBS affiliate hasn't aired any sitcoms for a long time, however their substation carries Antenna TV now.

My CBS affiliate airs Frasier but its at 2:30am they used to air Coach at 3:00am.

Yeah, I'm referring specifically to prime-time access (6:30-8 pm).

The big 3 networks all have their national newscasts at 6:30 so sitcoms couldn't air then.

The big 3 networks all have their national newscasts at 6:30 so sitcoms couldn't air then.
Not true. It's at the discretion of the station. In the Pacific Time Zone, the local news airs at 5:30 or 6:00 in most markets.

My local CBS affiliate airs Frasier, Matlock, and Hawaii Five-0 (original) on its subchannel (Frasier at 10:30 p.m. I think, the other two around 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.). As catsrule indicated, if your local affiliates have subchannels, like 32.2, maybe you're more likely to see that type of stuff.

In NYC, the big three never aired sitcom reruns in early evenings/access in the '80s and '90s. WNYW, WPIX and WWOR did.

I've noticed this trend too. In my local market, Portland, Maine, the big three don't air sitcom reruns anymore.

WCSH 6 (NBC) used to air Seinfeld at 7:30pm until Fall 2004. WCSH didn't air another sitcom in syndication until they picked up Bewitched in Fall 2010. This only lasted one season. It was replaced with Cash Cab.

WMTW 8 (ABC) hasn't aired a sitcom in syndication since the late 90s. One of the last ones they aired during the daytime was Coach in 1996.

WGME 13 (CBS) aired Friends at 7:00pm from Fall 1998 until Fall 2004 when The Insider began. Frasier and The Nanny aired overnight during that time too if I remember correctly.

WPFO 23 (FOX) airs a lot of the syndicated sitcoms like Big Bang Theory, 2.5 Men, The Office, Seinfeld and Frasier.

WPME 35 (MY) airs 30 Rock, King of Queens, Raymond, Everybody Hates Chris and King of the Hill.

WPXT 51 (CW) airs American Dad, Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother and Friends.

The Bangor, Maine market has two of the big three with sitcoms on their daily schedule.

WABI 5 (CBS)
Weeknight Schedule:

7:00pm Big Bang Theory
7:30pm How I Met Your Mother
1:35am My Name is Earl
2:00am Two and a Half Men
2:30am Family Guy
3:00am King of the Hill

WVII 7 (ABC)
Weeknight Schedule:

12:30pm Frasier

Infomercials. I sorta miss the days where the locals would show movies on the weekends.

Here's what the CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates from my hometown looked liked for a twenty-year span beginning in 1988 and ending in 2008. Sitcoms are in bold.

KREM (CBS)
1998-1992:
6:30 - The Cosby Show
7:00 - Cheers
7:30 - Night Court

1992-Spring, 1993:
6:30 - Murphy Brown
7:00 - Designing Women
7:30 - Cheers

Spring-Fall, 1993:
6:30 - Murphy Brown
7:00 - Cheers
7:30 - Designing Women

1993-1994:
6:30 - Murphy Brown
7:00 - Coach
7:30 - Cheers

1994-1995:
6:30 - Extra
7:00 - Coach
7:30 - The Simpsons

1995-1997:
6:30 - Extra
7:00 - Seinfeld
7:30 - The Simpsons

1997-1998:
6:30 - Extra
7:00 - Seinfeld
7:30 - Grace Under Fire

1998-1999:
6:30 - Extra
7:00 - Seinfeld
7:30 - Friends

1999-2004:
6:30 - Hollywood Squares
7:00 - Seinfeld
7:30 - Friends

2004-2006:
6:30 - Access Hollywood
7:00 - Seinfeld
7:30 - Friends

2006-2008:
6:30 - Access Hollywood
7:00 - Friends
7:30 - Scrubs

KXLY (ABC)
1988-1989:
6:30 - USA Today
7:00 - M*A*S*H
7:30 - Newhart

1989-1990:
6:30 - Entertainment Tonight
7:00 - Who's the Boss?
7:30 - M*A*S*H

1990-1991:
6:30 - Perfect Strangers
7:00 - Who's the Boss?
7:30 - M*A*S*H

1991-Spring, 1993:
6:30 - Full House
7:00 - Who's the Boss?
7:30 - M*A*S*H

Spring, 1993-Fall, 1995:
6:30 - Full House
7:00 - Roseanne
7:30 - M*A*S*H

1995-1997:
6:30 - Roseanne
7:00 - Home Improvement
7:30 - M*A*S*H

1997-1999:
6:30 - Entertainment Tonight
7:00 - Home Improvement
7:30 - M*A*S*H

1999-2003:
6:30 - Entertainment Tonight
7:00 - The Drew Carey Show
7:30 - Home Improvement

2003-2004:
7:00 - Entertainment Tonight
7:30 - The Drew Carey Show

2004-present:
7:00 - Entertainment Tonight
7:30 - The Insider

KHQ (NBC):
1988-1989
6:30 - NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
7:00 - Relatively Speaking
7:30 - Win, Lose or Draw

1989-1990:
6:30 - A Current Affair
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Family Feud

1990-1992:
6:30 - Wheel of Fortune
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Family Feud

1992-1996:
6:30 - Inside Edition
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Wheel of Fortune

1996-1997:
6:30 - Mad About You
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Wheel of Fortune

1997-2001:
6:30 - Frasier
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Wheel of Fortune

2001-2008:
6:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Wheel of Fortune

Here's what the stations look like today, including the Fox and CW affiliates:

KREM (CBS)
7:00 - Inside Edition
7:30 - Access Hollywood

KXLY (ABC)
7:00 - Entertainment Tonight
7:30 - The Insider

KHQ (NBC)
6:30 - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
7:00 - Jeopardy!
7:30 - Wheel of Fortune

KSKN (CW)
5:00 - Seinfeld
5:30 - Seinfeld
6:00 - Dr. Phil
7:00 - The Dr. Oz Show

KAYU (Fox)
5:00 - The Simpsons
5:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond
6:00 - The Big Bang Theory
6:30 - Two and a Half Men
7:00 - The Big Bang Theory
7:30 - Two and a Half Men

I noticed that too. CBS and ABC air reruns of their own dramas on weekend nights...but I've never seen them air sitcoms. (Actually, I think ABC airs Scrubs late at night.)

It doesn't really bother me too much because FOX, My Network TV and CW are filled with sitcom re-runs.

Here's what the stations where I currently live look like today. Again, no sitcoms on the "big three" affiliates in prime time access.

KRCR (ABC)
7:00 - Entertainment Tonight
7:30 - The Insider

KHSL (CBS)
7:00 - Inside Edition
7:30 - Extra

KCVU (Fox)
5:00 - Family Guy
5:30 - The Simpsons
6:00 - 30 Rock
6:30 - How I Met Your Mother
7:00 - Two and a Half Men
7:30 - The Big Bang Theory

KZVU (MyNetworkTV)
5:00 - America's Funniest Home Videos
6:00 - KTVU Channel Two News at Six
6:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond
7:00 - The Office
7:30 - The Office

KHSL-DT2 (CW+)
5:00 - Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns
5:30 - Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns
6:00 - The King of Queens
6:30 - The King of Queens
7:00 - Seinfeld
7:30 - Seinfeld

I noticed that too. CBS and ABC air reruns of their own dramas on weekend nights...but I've never seen them air sitcoms. (Actually, I think ABC airs Scrubs late at night.)

It doesn't really bother me too much because FOX, My Network TV and CW are filled with sitcom re-runs.

Yep, you're from NY market. Big three have not aired sitcoms here in evening/access ever. WABC airs Scrubs right now late at night. WCBS used to air Becker late at night.

I think the big markets never had sitcoms in the evening/access on the big three, like NY, LA and Chicago. WNYW (Fox5) was the big sitcom get in the '80s and early '90s (I was in heaven with Three's Company, Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, What's Happening/What's Happening Now, Small Wonder, Night Court, Golden Girls, Married with Children, etc). WPIX and WWOR were secondary and had some good sitcoms too, but now all three are about the same in getting sitcoms.

Yep, you're from NY market. Big three have not aired sitcoms here in evening/access ever.
Yeah, I get that. In the larger markets, there are plenty of commercial broadcast stations, so the prime time access programming on "big three" O&Os is usually first-run syndicated fare or even original programming.

In Spokane, the 75th largest market in the United States, all we had for most of the '80s and '90s was four commercial stations: CBS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KREM_(TV)), ABC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KXLY-TV), and NBC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KHQ-TV) affiliates, and one Fox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAYU-TV) (originally independent) station. We had a second independent station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSKN) for a brief period in the '80s that went dark for over ten years after its slightly older competitor was awarded the Fox affiliation. It was resurrected in the late '90s as a UPN (and later WB and CW) affiliate under a duopoly with our CBS affiliate.

Back then, it seemed the "big three" affiliates got the more popular off-network reruns (Cheers, The Cosby Show and Home Improvement), while the Fox station got "lesser" fare, such as Saved By the Bell and ALF.

Now, the Fox and CW stations get all the off-network syndicated reruns, and the "big three" affiliates opt for first-run shows such as game shows and tabloids.

(I was in heaven with Three's Company, Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, What's Happening/What's Happening Now, Small Wonder, Night Court, Golden Girls, Married with Children, etc). WPIX and WWOR were secondary and had some good sitcoms too, but now all three are about the same in getting sitcoms.
I would have loved to have lived in a bigger market back then. You guys were lucky to have so much programming to choose from. Still are, in fact!

My ABC affiliate airs 30 Rock reruns back-to-back at 7 & 7:30pm, but aside from that (not counting the Raymond reruns at 6pm on the same channel), the only sitcom reruns on local TV are on my local FOX, MyNetwork, and CW stations, and of course Me-TV, which is on my FOX station's subchannel.
As far as my CBS and NBC, it's been many years since either one aired sitcoms in that slot. I believe Cosby Show and M*A*S*H were the last on my CBS affiliate, circa 1989-90, and WKRP and Hogan's Heroes were among the last on my NBC according to old TV Guides, and that was 1983.