Changing Channels: The Decline And Fall Of Nostalgia Networks - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Sal · 02-21-2019, 10:52 AM

This is one of the best YouTube videos I have ever seen. It's about one of our most common complaints, how your favourite retro channels like Nick At Nite and TV Land have become totally unwatchable and a mere ghost of their former selves. I can tell you from experience that the same problem exists with some Canadian channels as well. Take a look at what they used to be like and what they have shamelessly become today:

Changing Channels

dakert · 02-21-2019, 11:10 AM

FredFlix is a fun youtube channel for nostalgia fans

MA · 02-21-2019, 11:14 AM

I really like how they have the rare promos and intros in there.

AMackII · 02-21-2019, 01:33 PM

Another Cable TV Channel that Fredfilx(user on Youtube) have not been mentioned on the decline of Nostalgic Networks video was the Game Show Network.

LUNCH · 02-21-2019, 02:14 PM

I know I have mentioned what a problem uncontrolled TV advertising is on many occasions.However it really is a big problem in more ways than one.By the later 1990s TV advertising in the US was totally deregulated.A few years later by the early 2000s most of those types of channels and others fell off a cliff.Coincidence,I think not.Unchecked TV advertising is directly responsible because most TV channels in the 21st century are only there to sell advertising and that is it.It is the only thing they care about.

Zoneboy · 02-21-2019, 03:04 PM

stevea · 02-21-2019, 08:07 PM

Changing copyright laws is needed, but cooperation is needed from some of these companies that own older TV shows, such as Sony and CBS. If they're not going to remaster their older properties, they need to make their originals available to companies that will.

Such companies as Shout Factory are laudable, but when you purchase many older shows on their DVDs, it's evident they are (in many cases, [Sony, for example]) supplied with videotape copies probably made in the 1990s. In other cases it's evident the studio has remastered from original elements, such as Leave It To Beaver remastered by Universal and distributed by Shout.

They need to get into their archives and find the original films, and supply them to some company which is willing to remaster them. Then the distribution method needs to be decided. Will that happen? It would seem not.

What I wrote above is slightly off-topic. Back to topic: watching that video is interesting and depressing. I'd add A&E to his list: it used to stand for Arts and Entertainment, with such interesting stuff as Evening at the Improv. The more accurate name now would be J&G: Junk and Garbage.

rcbrad · 02-21-2019, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

It gets into the diginets at the end. Cozi TV has certainly sailed away - it's a companion network for NBC now. Antenna TV doesn't care about either nostalgia or quality - it seems they'll show anything they can get a contract on. I agree that MeTV is "showing cracks," still probably the most quality programming and best presentation, but slowly giving ground on both quality and nostalgia.

As I've mentioned before, the answer to this is that the copyright period should be drastically reduced, so that everything created in the 20th century would enter the public domain in the next couple of years.

I am not sure what you mean that Antenna TV does not care about nostalgia or quality? It is a retro network (nostalgia) and they air many quality shows that have been favorites for decades. Maybe they are not your kind of shows? There are many, many different reasons for which shows they have contracts and reasons why for other shows that they do not have contracts with.

I could be not understanding this correctly, but I had read that copyright protection is good for 75 to 95 years depending on how old the copyrighted work is. Maybe there is something else I am not seeing that you learned, but thanks for the info it was interesting.

favoriteshow · 02-22-2019, 06:31 AM

Regarding TV Land, we know it's not going to be like when it first launched.

I have come to accept that it has to air more current shows, and I enjoy occasionally seeing King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond now there, which what I'd expect on TBS but now it's TV Land. But now, it's airing Two and a Half Men, and that's a new low, in my opinion, but even King of Queens is aging in comparison, so Two and Half Men is the new old that it feels it needs to air, and unfortunately there is less current family friendly programming from 2000 forward.

I like Logo which is more or less TV Land 2 on a LGBT channel. A few shows I like that it airs include Laverne & Shirley, Facts of Life and It's A Living. It's A Living was recently re-added but it seems like Bewitched disappeared. But I get annoyed with the duplication of programming, too much marathon scheduling, and off start times which affect DVR recordings. (For example, Married With Children is too much overplayed across networks currently, as it airs also on getTV and another network I think).

I don't have a problem with Cozi or any of the free over the air diginet subnets. Maybe it's because I start off with a lot lower expectation and take a pleasantly surprised approach, than what I had for TV Land, which started off very high and sunk. GSN is a total waste IMO, although I really haven't tuned in lately to know otherwise.

As for AMC, the same didn't happen to TCM. AMC's woes had somewhat to due with it's parent company losing film library content. In general, I feel there is plenty alternate avenues for movie viewing.

I know a lot of people dislike that HGTV used to be Home and Garden but is no more garden anymore and channels like HGTV and DIY are too focused on house flipping. I'm guilty in that once in a while I will tune into one of those shows. Recently, I was watching Philly Revival on DIY because the show was going into Philly neighborhoods.

omg65 · 02-27-2019, 04:11 PM

The disappearance of the 50's and 60's TV shows from classic channels will continue and in about 10 to 20 years from now, they will be virtually non existent on the air. This has been gradually going on for several years now as we see 50's and 60's shows replaced by 80's and 90's shows.

TSMIV · 02-27-2019, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omg65

The disappearance of the 50's and 60's TV shows from classic channels will continue and in about 10 to 20 years from now, they will be virtually non existent on the air. This has been gradually been going on for several years now as we see 50's and 60's shows replaced by 80's and 90's shows.

You are correct because the people who view the 50's and 60's shows as nostalgia are dying off. The 80's and 90's are nostalgia for Gen X and those on the younger end of the baby boom. It's weird to those of us who grew up on the Ted Turner empire that stuff like Leave it to Beaver, I Love Lucy and TAGS won't be ubiquitous anymore, but I guess it happens to every generation. How many people in their 40s and 50s and even 60s understand references to 30's and 40's radio shows?

stevea · 02-27-2019, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by favoriteshow

...I know a lot of people dislike that HGTV used to be Home and Garden but is no more garden anymore and channels like HGTV and DIY are too focused on house flipping. I'm guilty in that once in a while I will tune into one of those shows. Recently, I was watching Philly Revival on DIY because the show was going into Philly neighborhoods.

HGTV/DIY are pretty good. I like some of these flipping shows like First Time Flippers, and particularly Good Bones which is based here in Indy (it has relatively short seasons on HGTV--season 4 is coming up sometime this year). On DIY I think Mike Holmes does a good job repairing homes, out of Canada. He's had many shows on both networks for years.

stevea · 02-27-2019, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omg65

The disappearance of the 50's and 60's TV shows from classic channels will continue and in about 10 to 20 years from now, they will be virtually non existent on the air. This has been gradually been going on for several years now as we see 50's and 60's shows replaced by 80's and 90's shows.

True. The 50s shows are on only in the early morning hours. Examples are Father Knows Best, Leave It To Beaver, and I Love Lucy. Lucy doesn't even work on MeTV anymore.

favoriteshow · 03-01-2019, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

True. The 50s shows are on only in the early morning hours. Examples are Father Knows Best, Leave It To Beaver, and I Love Lucy. Lucy doesn't even work on MeTV anymore.

Lucy is on Decades though.

One of the first nostalgia tv channels was a channel called Nostalgia TV. It preceded TV Land and even PAX TV.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtoo_America

Look at how many times this channel has changed names, lol!

I just know about it because long time ago, I was able to pull in a low power channel 8 after buying a special antenna, in South Jersey. This channel that would air Nostalgia TV which would air Love Boat reruns.

I think this channel (Nostalgia TV) was available on C-Band for those that had those big satellite dishes as well.

02-21-2019, 10:52 AM	#1
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,175	Changing Channels: The Decline And Fall Of Nostalgia Networks This is one of the best YouTube videos I have ever seen. It's about one of our most common complaints, how your favourite retro channels like Nick At Nite and TV Land have become totally unwatchable and a mere ghost of their former selves. I can tell you from experience that the same problem exists with some Canadian channels as well. Take a look at what they used to be like and what they have shamelessly become today: Changing Channels
	__________________ LIVE TV - Updated By Request - April 2026 ANTENNA TV ME TV ME TV TOONS Zerostream - LIVE TV Guide

02-21-2019, 11:14 AM	#3
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,386	I really like how they have the rare promos and intros in there.
	__________________ ~-Mikaela-~

02-21-2019, 08:07 PM	#7
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,534	Changing copyright laws is needed, but cooperation is needed from some of these companies that own older TV shows, such as Sony and CBS. If they're not going to remaster their older properties, they need to make their originals available to companies that will. Such companies as Shout Factory are laudable, but when you purchase many older shows on their DVDs, it's evident they are (in many cases, [Sony, for example]) supplied with videotape copies probably made in the 1990s. In other cases it's evident the studio has remastered from original elements, such as Leave It To Beaver remastered by Universal and distributed by Shout. They need to get into their archives and find the original films, and supply them to some company which is willing to remaster them. Then the distribution method needs to be decided. Will that happen? It would seem not. What I wrote above is slightly off-topic. Back to topic: watching that video is interesting and depressing. I'd add A&E to his list: it used to stand for Arts and Entertainment, with such interesting stuff as Evening at the Improv. The more accurate name now would be J&G: Junk and Garbage.
	Last edited by stevea; 02-27-2019 at 10:04 PM. Reason: corr.

02-27-2019, 04:11 PM	#10
omg65 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 05, 2006 Location: hilliard oh Posts: 403	The disappearance of the 50's and 60's TV shows from classic channels will continue and in about 10 to 20 years from now, they will be virtually non existent on the air. This has been gradually going on for several years now as we see 50's and 60's shows replaced by 80's and 90's shows.
	Last edited by omg65; 02-28-2019 at 02:01 PM.

02-21-2019, 11:10 AM	#2
dakert Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Location: Altoona PA Posts: 3,411	FredFlix is a fun youtube channel for nostalgia fans

02-21-2019, 01:33 PM	#4
AMackII Member Forum Star Join Date: Oct 23, 2015 Location: St. Louis Posts: 17,215	Another Cable TV Channel that Fredfilx(user on Youtube) have not been mentioned on the decline of Nostalgic Networks video was the Game Show Network.

02-21-2019, 02:14 PM	#5
LUNCH Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 23, 2010 Location: New York State Posts: 1,304	I know I have mentioned what a problem uncontrolled TV advertising is on many occasions.However it really is a big problem in more ways than one.By the later 1990s TV advertising in the US was totally deregulated.A few years later by the early 2000s most of those types of channels and others fell off a cliff.Coincidence,I think not.Unchecked TV advertising is directly responsible because most TV channels in the 21st century are only there to sell advertising and that is it.It is the only thing they care about.

02-21-2019, 03:04 PM	#6
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,365

02-22-2019, 06:31 AM	#9
favoriteshow Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2018 Posts: 587	Regarding TV Land, we know it's not going to be like when it first launched. I have come to accept that it has to air more current shows, and I enjoy occasionally seeing King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond now there, which what I'd expect on TBS but now it's TV Land. But now, it's airing Two and a Half Men, and that's a new low, in my opinion, but even King of Queens is aging in comparison, so Two and Half Men is the new old that it feels it needs to air, and unfortunately there is less current family friendly programming from 2000 forward. I like Logo which is more or less TV Land 2 on a LGBT channel. A few shows I like that it airs include Laverne & Shirley, Facts of Life and It's A Living. It's A Living was recently re-added but it seems like Bewitched disappeared. But I get annoyed with the duplication of programming, too much marathon scheduling, and off start times which affect DVR recordings. (For example, Married With Children is too much overplayed across networks currently, as it airs also on getTV and another network I think). I don't have a problem with Cozi or any of the free over the air diginet subnets. Maybe it's because I start off with a lot lower expectation and take a pleasantly surprised approach, than what I had for TV Land, which started off very high and sunk. GSN is a total waste IMO, although I really haven't tuned in lately to know otherwise. As for AMC, the same didn't happen to TCM. AMC's woes had somewhat to due with it's parent company losing film library content. In general, I feel there is plenty alternate avenues for movie viewing. I know a lot of people dislike that HGTV used to be Home and Garden but is no more garden anymore and channels like HGTV and DIY are too focused on house flipping. I'm guilty in that once in a while I will tune into one of those shows. Recently, I was watching Philly Revival on DIY because the show was going into Philly neighborhoods.