The 20 Biggest Mess-Ups/Mistakes in CBS History

[bgva]

Originally Posted by bmasters9

It's not just on Sundays. It's also on SEC broadcasts on Saturdays.

Come to think of it, they do it during the NCAA Tournament as well. Ugh.

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by James28

Another potential mess-up mistake that CBS could be committing: Reducing their comedy hours to just two going forward (all on a single night - Thursday, especially after Thursday Night Football is over).

Believe me, the two new single-cams debuting in fall of 2015, Life in Pieces and Angel from Hell, are going to be even worse than 2BG and M&M.

life in pieces looks really stupid based on the promos that I have seen

[danderson400]

Originally Posted by LETTERL

Yup...being a huge, "Murder, She Wrote" fan, I always found it a treat to hear Summerall belt out the promo for "Murder, She Wrote". Sometimes, the games would run really late (until almost 8 pm), and MSW would get pre-empted; I was visiting my sister one time when that happened and Summerall did his 60 Minutes promo, followed by the one for the movie...and my sister looked at me like I was going to explode and said "Uh, oh...no "Murder, She Wrote" tonight!"

I especially remember the very last NFL telecast for CBS. Summerall waxed nostalgic, going on and on for what seemed like several minutes about leaving CBS and all the memories and finished his spiel by saying "...and I'm going to miss saying 'Stay tuned for 60 Minutes and Murder, She Wrote after that". I loved every second of his little soliloquy -- a piece of television history that would never be repeated.

I don't know if that little speech can be found on YouTube or not but I'm gonna go look right now!

i remember that happening once during a ABC college football game between
UCLA and Oregon State with Steve Alvarez and Dick Vermeil and they were talking about The Young Riders, China Beach, and Twin Peaks and the game was long running or was close and just ran late they actually thought about the possibility that one of the shows would be preempted Dick Vermell said something about that he was fine about preempting The Young Riders but not China Beach or Twin Peaks! id wished i had that on tape it was back when Saturday night programming was really good(the Michgan Iowa game which was the main game had ended early or was a blowout and ABC had switched to the UCLA Oregon State game)

[TMC]

CBS' treatment of the NBA during the 1970s through 1986 can be considered.

[treky]

cancelling the revival of THE FUGITIVE in 2000.

[mets82]

"Up next, Murder...She Wrote."

[Jamey Greek]

Buying Wink Martindale's game show Top Secret and pulling it at the last minute.

[JSP]

Originally Posted by mets82

"Up next, Murder...She Wrote."

[bmasters9]

Originally Posted by mets82

"Up next, Murder...She Wrote."

I remember when it was that, Crazy Like a Fox, and Trapper John, M.D. on Sundays (that was when CBS was with the NFC). Now, you don't get anything like that anymore after CBS' current AFC coverage.

[danderson400]

Originally Posted by TMC

I'm pretty sure that Vin Scully would've just gone back to doing Dodgers games like he actually still does today despite being in his late 80s. Scully didn't do NFL games when he was at NBC (when baseball season was over, he did golf for NBC w/ Lee Trevino) and that was it. From my understanding, the main factor for why he left CBS in the first place was that he didn't like the fact that CBS was promoting Pat Summerall to be the main NFL play-by-play man (to work w/ John Madden). CBS as a compromise (and perhaps in hopes of softening Scully's bruised ego), allowed him along w/ Hank Stram, to call the NFC Championship Game between San Francisco and Dallas (the game in which Dwight Clark made the legendary "catch", which was the launching pad for the 49ers' '80s dynasty) while Pat Summerall called the game on CBS Radio w/ Jack Buck.

Meanwhile, here's some insight on CBS Sports' overspending during the late '80s-early '90s:
CBS' dream season turned to nightmare on W. 52nd St.

it makes me wonder who would have ABC or NBC used in 1990 on MLB while ABC had Al Michaels i wonder who ABC would have used for the backup game and the "other LCS"? id say it would have been Gary Throne of course NBC would have used Scully and Costas but what if Vin decided to do just the Dodgers games who did they have to do the backup game then i was thinking they would pull Marv Albert from the pregame show but.. they also had Hammond and even Enberg

[TMC]

Originally Posted by danderson400

it makes me wonder who would have ABC or NBC used in 1990 on MLB while ABC had Al Michaels i wonder who ABC would have used for the backup game and the "other LCS"? id say it would have been Gary Throne of course NBC would have used Scully and Costas but what if Vin decided to do just the Dodgers games who did they have to do the backup game then i was thinking they would pull Marv Albert from the pregame show but.. they also had Hammond and even Enberg

In 1989 (the last time that ABC had the baseball package before it moved to CBS), Gary Throne was the #2 play-by-play man (working w/ Joe Morgan) behind Al Michaels (who worked w/ Tim McCarver and Jim Palmer on the "A-Team"). So it would be easy to assume that Throne and Morgan would've called the other League Championship Series had ABC maintained baseball going into 1990.

The one problem though is that in 1990, Joe Morgan moved over to ESPN to start his 2 decade long stint on Sunday Night Baseball w/ Jon Miller. Would Morgan have still split duties on network TV like he would eventually do on NBC from 1994-2000 (granted, NBC didn't broadcast regular season games beginning in 1996 when The Baseball Network dissolved).

As for NBC, I'm highly confident that had they not lost the MLB package after 1990, then Vin Scully would've continued in the role as the lead play-by-play announcer alongside Tom Seaver (w/ Bob Costas and Tony Kubek backing them up). I mean, it would be pretty stupid to try to chase off arguably the best to ever broadcast the game in Vin Scully.

Here's a database of literally every national television Major League Baseball broadcast ever:
http://sabrmedia.org/databases/netwo...tv-broadcasts/

[danderson400]

if Brent isnt fired by CBS in 90 who owuld have done CFB behind Keith Jackson? my guess would have been Bender but..

[TMC]

Originally Posted by danderson400

if Brent isnt fired by CBS in 90 who owuld have done CFB behind Keith Jackson? my guess would have been Bender but..

By this time, Jim Nantz was I believe, CBS' main college football play-by-play man. So even if Musburger had stayed around, I wouldn't be hard pressed to assume that he would've given up his former role in that capacity.

[mets82]

TMC, two great links about CBS Dream season and about the announcers. I think the baseball package could've worked but the fact that CBS schedule was somewhat inconsistent didnt help.

[bmasters9]

Originally Posted by TMC

By this time, Jim Nantz was I believe, CBS' main college football play-by-play man. So even if Musburger had stayed around, I wouldn't be hard pressed to assume that he would've given up his former role in that capacity.

Jim Nantz had become the lead PBP on college football for the 1989 season, having come off of a four-season run in the New York studio with The Prudential College Football Report.