Affiliates preempting network programming, why are they allowed?

[Yong Fang]

I am from Memphis, and while I wasn't there, I heard online from people on social media that the CBS affiliate pre-empted the finale of Survivor for a news story about a removal of a Civil War statute which has been there for a hundred years, and it took an hour to do the story, and they kicked Survivor to the middle of the night. The CBS affiliate trips all over themselves with constant local news (and Channel 3 is obnoxious).

This really annoyed them no end and I don't blame them. My question is why network affiliates can decide not to show network programming? Aren't these stations basically franchises of the network? Not owned by the network but have an agreement to show their programming and not their own?

In the 1990's I enjoyed the Monday CBS shows, King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond and Becker (skipped Yes Dear for That 70's Show). Jackass affiliate had a telethon for their charity "Kids Count". Can't care less about your charity, I get to miss Leah Remeni, Patricia Heaton and especially Savannah Smith. Infuriating. Don't the affiliates realize this angers their viewers?

[BigManMike]

I remember in the summer of 2016, one Sunday night all stations in Memphis preempted programming for news on some Black Lives Matter March and protest on the bridge downtown and on 24, it preempted the Sunday night game shows. I was not happy about that at all.

[broadmoor]

Back in the 1950s and 1960s (and even 1970s), affiliates often declined to air some of the networks' offerings. Usually because some of the network series might be particularly low-rated in the area, and the channels raked in better numbers airing some syndicated fare. I remember also how our ABC affiliate for years did not run the first 90-minutes of Monday night programs, in order to run their own 'movie time' in that slot. Which was likely sponsored by some major local business. Occasionally these 'displaced' network shows were taped, and then re-aired at some oddball time, like after the 10:30pm news, or maybe on some Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Other times, these network series didn't get aired at all, so the entire viewership area never had a chance to watch them. But again, it was usually marginal, low-rated shows (especially during summer), which were already tagged for cancellation, that were most apt to be replaced by the affiliates' opting for something else.

[treky]

I don't know if this is still the reason, but I remember reading somewhere back in the 70s that it was because the station gets more money when they pre-empt a network show.

[Hawkee]

If there's one thing I dislike about TV I dislike when my shows get preempted by breaking news or sporting events and I cannot figure out why TV stations do this? For example when Who Wants To Be A Millionaire gets preempted on my ABC station the breaking news that usually preempts it is either news reports or a celebrity death and sometimes the game shows or talk shows never get shown. My CBS station does this same habit when they have breaking news and sometimes Let's Make A Deal is not shown at all due to breaking news. Why I think TV stations do this is because it's a cheap way for them to attract a wider audience and the stations preempt talk shows and game shows for events such as breaking news or sporting events and charity events as ways of getting a successful TV station. But I do wish that someday preempting shows could magically go away so that people could watch their talk shows soap operas and game shows without preempting the shows for breaking news and events
Bestie

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by broadmoor

Back in the 1950s and 1960s (and even 1970s), affiliates often declined to air some of the networks' offerings. Usually because some of the network series might be particularly low-rated in the area, and the channels raked in better numbers airing some syndicated fare. I remember also how our ABC affiliate for years did not run the first 90-minutes of Monday night programs, in order to run their own 'movie time' in that slot. Which was likely sponsored by some major local business. Occasionally these 'displaced' network shows were taped, and then re-aired at some oddball time, like after the 10:30pm news, or maybe on some Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Other times, these network series didn't get aired at all, so the entire viewership area never had a chance to watch them. But again, it was usually marginal, low-rated shows (especially during summer), which were already tagged for cancellation, that were most apt to be replaced by the affiliates' opting for something else.

Stations would do this become they could make more money selling their commercials for the show when they aired their own shows instead of the network's offering. People in the Detroit area didn't get to see the first year of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE because the affiliate station (WDIV) opted to shoe movies instead. Diehards would tune to Toledo's NBC affiliate station and watch it "through the snow". A year later WDIV caved in and aired SNL. This isn't the only case of something going on. Detroit's CBS Station knocked of CBS's Josie and the Pussycats and replaced it with Timmy and Lassie. I could go on and on. For those of you who missed the first season of SNL, Josie and the Pussycats both of them are available on DVD. For those of you who yearn for Timmy and Lassie (as well as the "Jeff's Collie" and "Ranger" versions) send a PM to Y2K3 Joker. he'll take care it.

[tlc38tlc38]

I absolutely hate when they preempt my soap (DAYS) for a new story that could've easily waited til the 5 o'clock news.

[stevea]

Preempting network fare was rampant years ago. WFIL/WPVI in Philadelphia did a lot of preempting of ABC. I can remember watching through snow by tuning in WABC in New York, which was network-owned.

When they regularly preempted game shows like the Dating Game, they would get poor-quality black and white kinescope copies to show, in whatever graveyard time slot they finally showed it in.