Cable TV Networks That Sold Out Its Original Purpose/Vision - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 05-16-2007, 04:24 PM

Examples:
The USA Network - Was initially a niche channel that had something for everyone:
*The Cartoon Express in the afternoons/early evenings for kids (coming home from school). There was also the "Calliope" anthology series for kids on Sunday mornings.
*Game shows (e.g. "Press Your Luck") in mid-afternoons.
*Made for TV movies for the Lifetime crowd.
*The old WWF/WWE (e.g. "Prime Time Wrestling", All-American Wrestling", "Tuesday Night Titans", etc.) and "Tuesday Night Fights" for the sports entertainment fan.
*Movies from every genre virtually every night.
*"Night Flight" and "Dance Party USA" for the music crowd.
*Bad B-movies on Friday nights (via "USA Up All-Night" and "Commander USA's Groovie Movies").

Now, USA is composed primarily of countless "Law & Order" and "Walker, Texas Ranger" reruns, the occassional "Monk", and all action/horror flicks.

VH1 - Initially was an adult contemporary variation of MTV with entertaining music related shows like "Pop-Up Video", "Behind the Music", "Rock & Roll Jeopary!" and "The List" thrown in for good measure. Now, VH1 is pretty much a one-dimensional, pop culture, celebrity lifestyle/gossip channel. VH1 pretty much suffered the same fate as MTV, as it relies too heavily now on reality, soap opera-ish programming instead of flat out music oriented programming.

MTV2 - Started off as an answer of sorts to viewers concerns that the regular MTV wasn't showing enough music videos. MTV2 was pretty much at first, what MTV was in its early years. Now, MTV2 is simply a dumping ground for whatever show(s) the regular MTV doesn't have room for on its current schedule.

ESPN2 - Started off as an edgy, hip, "Gen-X" flavored alternative to the regular ESPN. Now, ESPN2 is pretty much a dumping ground for whatever the regular ESPN doesn't have room for.

ESPN Classic - Started off as the Classic Sports Network (before ESPN took over). Its purpose was to show old television broadcasts of legendary games/moments in sports history. Now, it's run on the cheap, with little more than "not so classic" sports (i.e. not involving the NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, or MLB). There's way too much boxing and ESPN produced material (i.e. ESPN produced "classic" broadcasts) to justify the "Classic" label.

FX - Started off as a niche channel (i.e. "something for everyone") that combined rebroadcasts of kitschy shows (e.g. the Adam West Batman series), live, interactive original programming (all from a New York City apartment). Now, FX is pretty much the HBO of basic cable (shows that are deemed "too edgy" for the Fox Broadcasting Company/Fox Network).

The Disney Channel - Pretty much panders exclusively to pre-schoolers and tweens instead of all ages. Hence, virtually anything mildly nostalgic is no were to be found. Apparently, Disney figured that their live-action sitcoms (as well as stuff like "High School Musical") like "That's So Raven", "Lizzie Maguire", "Suite Life of Zack and Cody", "Hannah Montana", etc. were getting better ratings then anything of the classic/vintage Disney material.

Black Entertainment Television - At first, featured numerous public affairs programming, reruns of old (sometimes short-lived) black-centric sitcoms, some sports (typically, historically black college football), and music that normally, MTV wasn't airing at the time. After Viacom takes over, they phase out the public affairs programming (and seemingly, a lot of original programming in general) and in comes crude stuff like "BET Late Night."

Fuse - At first, prided itself into being the "anti-MTV", in that it vowed that it would be about music and not reality-television. Now, Fuse is airing junk like "The Whitest Kids You Now" (I haven't seen it, but it appears like a "Kids in the Hall"/"The State" knock off), "Rad Girls" (the female verison of "Jackass"), movies like "Half Baked" and "Halloween 4", and the topper, "Pants Off Dance Off" (which is music centric, but utter sleeze and exploitation).

EmoJoe · 05-16-2007, 06:46 PM

it's funny how all of the music networks dont show music anymore. lol.

TURBOCSX · 05-16-2007, 07:33 PM

don't forget tvland. They have had a few identities over the years. I recall when I first got TVLand, they were in the "crimestoppers" phase. Mannix, Adam-12, Dragnet, The Rookies, Rockford Files, and Emergency were all on the schedule together. They also had those awesome weekend marathons. Do you remember when Dick Van Dyke was the "chairman"? They were showing true classics all the time. Now their schedule is a hopped up nick at night showing "modern classics" and they seem to be 1 step away from becoming a superstation. Any day now I expect to see a basketball game on there. I also wonder what part of "TVLAND" has the word movie in it. Movies on friday nights? I mean, it would be one thing if they were playing "made for tv" movies. But they aren't. TVLand is a far cry from what they originally came out as. I don't watch them much anymore. I am grateful for DVD releases of the classics. No longer am I held hostage by the program directors whims. Now, if only we could get all the shows we wanted released!

Ireneparalegal · 05-16-2007, 07:38 PM

VH1 debuted originally with several veejays such as Rosie O'Donnell, Jon "Bowzer" Bowman and a few others who would sit at a desk, talk abt music videos and then show them. In between the music videos they (the veejays) would talk abt music related stuff. It was pretty much a lighter version of MTV. They played videos that were not as popular or not shown at all on MTV. It is WAAAAAAAAAAAAY DIFFERENT NOW. I hate those "Lists shows" that they now show such as 50 worst red carpet moments, blah blah blah.

Mr. Television · 05-16-2007, 07:53 PM

You forgot the biggest sellout of them all...AMC.

BensonFan · 05-16-2007, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TURBOCSX

don't forget tvland. They have had a few identities over the years. I recall when I first got TVLand, they were in the "crimestoppers" phase. Mannix, Adam-12, Dragnet, The Rookies, Rockford Files, and Emergency were all on the schedule together. They also had those awesome weekend marathons. Do you remember when Dick Van Dyke was the "chairman"? They were showing true classics all the time. Now their schedule is a hopped up nick at night showing "modern classics" and they seem to be 1 step away from becoming a superstation. Any day now I expect to see a basketball game on there. I also wonder what part of "TVLAND" has the word movie in it. Movies on friday nights? I mean, it would be one thing if they were playing "made for tv" movies. But they aren't. TVLand is a far cry from what they originally came out as. I don't watch them much anymore. I am grateful for DVD releases of the classics. No longer am I held hostage by the program directors whims. Now, if only we could get all the shows we wanted released!

I hear you loud and clear!

snl 70s show fan · 05-16-2007, 07:54 PM

how about the game show network once the home of endless game show classics like the jokers wild whats my line and reruns of the price is right these days has become a home for endless poker shows and retality reruns .oh sure we still get the reruns of some good show like password plus the newlywed game and of course match game but it seemes like rich cronin the guy in charge these days wants to demphisise the classic shows and is selling out by making it look like every other cable channel instead of letting it be a niche channel with real game show classics

MikeLutton · 05-16-2007, 08:55 PM

dont forget

Tbs

Nick at Nite

wgn

wwor

Fox

clj2 · 05-16-2007, 09:06 PM

TV Land. What a disappointment! I don't even watch them anymore. Their moves and decisions are so ridiculous it's distressing to even think about. The schedule switching, adding/removal of shows overnight, etc is just frusturating. They can have their Cosby, played-out over-hyped movies that don't even fit the network, worthless originals, Just Shoot Me, Scrubs, etc. I don't care about them or what they do anymore....I have my DVDs and tapes of when they were actually a decent network.

Ireneparalegal · 05-16-2007, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

You forgot the biggest sellout of them all...AMC.

Add Bravo and A&E (Arts & Entertainment) to that list.

catlover79 · 05-16-2007, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BensonFan

I hear you loud and clear!

dawsongirl · 05-17-2007, 01:19 AM

Pretty much all of them. VH1, AMC, A&E, and TVLand/Nick at Nite being the worst, imo.

dawsongirl · 05-17-2007, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snl 70s show fan

how about the game show network once the home of endless game show classics like the jokers wild whats my line and reruns of the price is right these days has become a home for endless poker shows and retality reruns .oh sure we still get the reruns of some good show like password plus the newlywed game and of course match game but it seemes like rich cronin the guy in charge these days wants to demphisise the classic shows and is selling out by making it look like every other cable channel instead of letting it be a niche channel with real game show classics

Yes! Why didn't I think of that?? GSN used to be awesome. Then all these crappy originals came. Cram?? God, that show was so bad, it probably killed 4 networks and wounded 3 others.

treky · 05-17-2007, 02:14 AM

pretty much ALL of them!!!

AMC
TV LAND
NICK AT NITE
THE DISNEY CHANNEL (those are the 4 worst ones!!!)
TNT
TBS
GSN

thank god TCM hasn't changed-but I know they, unfortunately, will one of these days

bencasey · 05-17-2007, 02:35 AM

I think you should start a list of networks that don't suck:

Good Life TV now know as American Life. Started as the Nostalgia channel and while they let an occasional recent show like China Beach on, they are still true to their baby boomer heritage. Something that cannot be said of any of the other networks. Maybe TCM also hasn't been screwed up yet but that's about it. The rest of them all suck.

05-16-2007, 04:24 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,800	Cable TV Networks That Sold Out Its Original Purpose/Vision Examples: The USA Network - Was initially a niche channel that had something for everyone: The Cartoon Express in the afternoons/early evenings for kids (coming home from school). There was also the "Calliope" anthology series for kids on Sunday mornings. Game shows (e.g. "Press Your Luck") in mid-afternoons. Made for TV movies for the Lifetime crowd. The old WWF/WWE (e.g. "Prime Time Wrestling", All-American Wrestling", "Tuesday Night Titans", etc.) and "Tuesday Night Fights" for the sports entertainment fan. Movies from every genre virtually every night. "Night Flight" and "Dance Party USA" for the music crowd. Bad B-movies on Friday nights (via "USA Up All-Night" and "Commander USA's Groovie Movies"). Now, USA is composed primarily of countless "Law & Order" and "Walker, Texas Ranger" reruns, the occassional "Monk", and all action/horror flicks. VH1* - Initially was an adult contemporary variation of MTV with entertaining music related shows like "Pop-Up Video", "Behind the Music", "Rock & Roll Jeopary!" and "The List" thrown in for good measure. Now, VH1 is pretty much a one-dimensional, pop culture, celebrity lifestyle/gossip channel. VH1 pretty much suffered the same fate as MTV, as it relies too heavily now on reality, soap opera-ish programming instead of flat out music oriented programming. MTV2 - Started off as an answer of sorts to viewers concerns that the regular MTV wasn't showing enough music videos. MTV2 was pretty much at first, what MTV was in its early years. Now, MTV2 is simply a dumping ground for whatever show(s) the regular MTV doesn't have room for on its current schedule. ESPN2 - Started off as an edgy, hip, "Gen-X" flavored alternative to the regular ESPN. Now, ESPN2 is pretty much a dumping ground for whatever the regular ESPN doesn't have room for. ESPN Classic - Started off as the Classic Sports Network (before ESPN took over). Its purpose was to show old television broadcasts of legendary games/moments in sports history. Now, it's run on the cheap, with little more than "not so classic" sports (i.e. not involving the NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, or MLB). There's way too much boxing and ESPN produced material (i.e. ESPN produced "classic" broadcasts) to justify the "Classic" label. FX - Started off as a niche channel (i.e. "something for everyone") that combined rebroadcasts of kitschy shows (e.g. the Adam West Batman series), live, interactive original programming (all from a New York City apartment). Now, FX is pretty much the HBO of basic cable (shows that are deemed "too edgy" for the Fox Broadcasting Company/Fox Network). The Disney Channel - Pretty much panders exclusively to pre-schoolers and tweens instead of all ages. Hence, virtually anything mildly nostalgic is no were to be found. Apparently, Disney figured that their live-action sitcoms (as well as stuff like "High School Musical") like "That's So Raven", "Lizzie Maguire", "Suite Life of Zack and Cody", "Hannah Montana", etc. were getting better ratings then anything of the classic/vintage Disney material. Black Entertainment Television - At first, featured numerous public affairs programming, reruns of old (sometimes short-lived) black-centric sitcoms, some sports (typically, historically black college football), and music that normally, MTV wasn't airing at the time. After Viacom takes over, they phase out the public affairs programming (and seemingly, a lot of original programming in general) and in comes crude stuff like "BET Late Night." Fuse - At first, prided itself into being the "anti-MTV", in that it vowed that it would be about music and not reality-television. Now, Fuse is airing junk like "The Whitest Kids You Now" (I haven't seen it, but it appears like a "Kids in the Hall"/"The State" knock off), "Rad Girls" (the female verison of "Jackass"), movies like "Half Baked" and "Halloween 4", and the topper, "Pants Off Dance Off" (which is music centric, but utter sleeze and exploitation).

05-16-2007, 06:46 PM	#2
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	it's funny how all of the music networks dont show music anymore. lol.
	__________________ "I know the difference between TV and reality, Jeff. TV has structure, it makes sense, there are likable leading men. In real life, we have this. We have you." - Abed Nadir, Community www.sitcomsarestupid.blogspot.com

05-16-2007, 07:38 PM	#4
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	VH1 debuted originally with several veejays such as Rosie O'Donnell, Jon "Bowzer" Bowman and a few others who would sit at a desk, talk abt music videos and then show them. In between the music videos they (the veejays) would talk abt music related stuff. It was pretty much a lighter version of MTV. They played videos that were not as popular or not shown at all on MTV. It is WAAAAAAAAAAAAY DIFFERENT NOW. I hate those "Lists shows" that they now show such as 50 worst red carpet moments, blah blah blah.
	__________________ DALLAS COWBOYS ARE HERE AT TRAINING CAMP!!!

05-16-2007, 07:53 PM	#5
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	You forgot the biggest sellout of them all...AMC.
	__________________ Sonny

05-16-2007, 09:06 PM	#9
clj2 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2005 Location: SC Posts: 3,501	TV Land. What a disappointment! I don't even watch them anymore. Their moves and decisions are so ridiculous it's distressing to even think about. The schedule switching, adding/removal of shows overnight, etc is just frusturating. They can have their Cosby, played-out over-hyped movies that don't even fit the network, worthless originals, Just Shoot Me, Scrubs, etc. I don't care about them or what they do anymore....I have my DVDs and tapes of when they were actually a decent network.
	__________________ -Chris

05-16-2007, 07:33 PM	#3
TURBOCSX Arnold Ziffel Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 06, 2007 Location: NY Posts: 109	don't forget tvland. They have had a few identities over the years. I recall when I first got TVLand, they were in the "crimestoppers" phase. Mannix, Adam-12, Dragnet, The Rookies, Rockford Files, and Emergency were all on the schedule together. They also had those awesome weekend marathons. Do you remember when Dick Van Dyke was the "chairman"? They were showing true classics all the time. Now their schedule is a hopped up nick at night showing "modern classics" and they seem to be 1 step away from becoming a superstation. Any day now I expect to see a basketball game on there. I also wonder what part of "TVLAND" has the word movie in it. Movies on friday nights? I mean, it would be one thing if they were playing "made for tv" movies. But they aren't. TVLand is a far cry from what they originally came out as. I don't watch them much anymore. I am grateful for DVD releases of the classics. No longer am I held hostage by the program directors whims. Now, if only we could get all the shows we wanted released!

05-16-2007, 07:54 PM	#7
snl 70s show fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 14, 2005 Location: in the forman basment Posts: 2,454	how about the game show network once the home of endless game show classics like the jokers wild whats my line and reruns of the price is right these days has become a home for endless poker shows and retality reruns .oh sure we still get the reruns of some good show like password plus the newlywed game and of course match game but it seemes like rich cronin the guy in charge these days wants to demphisise the classic shows and is selling out by making it look like every other cable channel instead of letting it be a niche channel with real game show classics

05-16-2007, 08:55 PM	#8
MikeLutton Mike Lutton DVD Legend! Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 05, 2005 Location: usa pennsyvania Posts: 6,887	dont forget Tbs Nick at Nite wgn wwor Fox

05-17-2007, 01:19 AM	#12
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,140	Pretty much all of them. VH1, AMC, A&E, and TVLand/Nick at Nite being the worst, imo.

05-17-2007, 02:14 AM	#14
treky star trek fan Eternal Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Feb 25, 2002 Location: Conshohocken, pennsylvania Posts: 14,490	pretty much ALL of them!!! AMC TV LAND NICK AT NITE THE DISNEY CHANNEL (those are the 4 worst ones!!!) TNT TBS GSN thank god TCM hasn't changed-but I know they, unfortunately, will one of these days
	__________________ the Clampetts are in a fancy Beverly Hills jewelry store. Granny points to a tray of rubies. Granny: "How much fer one o' them red diamonds?" clerk: "Madam, those are rubies." Granny: "OK ask her kin we buy one offa her." clerk: " The ruby I am talking about is not a lady." Granny: "Lissen, how she got them diamonds is her business. I'm just sayin' ask her kin we buy one from her."

05-17-2007, 02:35 AM	#15
bencasey Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: Long Beach Posts: 1,692	I think you should start a list of networks that don't suck: Good Life TV now know as American Life. Started as the Nostalgia channel and while they let an occasional recent show like China Beach on, they are still true to their baby boomer heritage. Something that cannot be said of any of the other networks. Maybe TCM also hasn't been screwed up yet but that's about it. The rest of them all suck.