Did your cable system ever get these superstations? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Frank Gannucci · 08-11-2018, 10:16 PM

...before the FCC made the Sydnex Rule which caused cable systems to black out shows on those stations that could be seen on your local channels?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndication_exclusivity

Basically, the stations I am referring to are WWOR-Tv from NYC, WGN from Chicago and WSBK from Boston.

When I lived in Bergen County, NJ, my candle system (the future Altice USA of Northern, NJ) had WSBK until 1988. I remember it got replaced with the just debuted at the time, TNT. (On a side note, hard to believe that that network just celebrated 30 years on the air). My sister was upset because she liked on their shows and didn't understand for a time why she couldn't watch it. Shortly thereafter, WSBK was started to be dropped from cable systems in the USA outside of New England. As late as 1993, I remember reading from my newspaper TV Guide that one of the cable systems in my area (can't remember which one) was the lone holdout as they still carried WSBK (blackouts and all.)

I was told that this system had the national feed of WGN but I never saw it. It wasn't until 2014 that this cable system finally carried the national feed of WGN (aka WGN America). So if this system dropped the national feed of WGN, it was a whopping 24 plus years before they brought it back. By the time they did, WGN America had long since started having no programs that needed blacking out. The only things that were simulcasted were local sports and news. Now no shows (except for the McDonalds Thanksgivign Parade) are simulcasted on both stations.

This system never carried the now defunct national feed of WWOR because it carried the local feed.

I moved down to southwest Florida in 2006 and my cable provider (Comcast) has carried WGN America ever since I have been down here. I am wondering if this provider (.back when it was owned by a different company) carried the now defunct national feed of WWOR. It would be ironic for me at least if it did.

RetroGuy2000 · 08-12-2018, 01:08 AM

In the 1980s, our local cable company carried WGN in Chicago, WTBS in Atlanta, and (I'm pretty sure) WTTV in Indianapolis and KMSP-TV in Minneapolis.

In the late 1990s, Dish Network carried WGN, KTLA in Los Angeles, WPIX in New York, and the network affiliates in NYC and Los Angeles.

MA · 08-12-2018, 10:28 AM

I have WSBK in New Hampshire.

Mr. Television · 08-12-2018, 01:07 PM

We used to have WGN TV in Chicago in the 80's. Great channel then.

Regulus · 08-12-2018, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

We used to have WGN TV in Chicago in the 80's. Great channel then.

In Redford, Mi. we had WTBS, WOR and WGN in the 1980s. Since it's been nearly 18 years since I moved to Florida I have no idea what they carry today, but I'm pretty certain they probably have fewer customers today than in 2000. In the past three months 750,000 households have cancelled Pay TV across the fruited plain. Cheaper alternatives exist, with NO blackouts to contend with. As for me I watch whatever I want to watch when I want to, and no one tells me I can't watch something because a local station has "rights" to it.

: An added bonus, No commercials!

stevea · 08-12-2018, 02:58 PM

Here in Indy we got WGN. For years it was the local Chicago feed, with the Cubs games and their local Chicago news.

Sal · 08-12-2018, 07:02 PM

Today I get all the standard superstations (WGN, WPIX, WSBK, and KTLA) plus the 4 main networks from both Buffalo and Seattle but in my area I get PeachTree TV in Atlanta instead of TBS. TBS used to be offered in Canada in the 1980s when they used to have good shows on like "The Brady Bunch", "Andy Griffith", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Gilligan's Island", "Bewitched", and "Gomer Pyle", yet sometime during the early 1990s, TBS left for good to be replaced by PeachTree and I can never figure out why that is. I have a very sneaky suspicion that it was because Ted Turner's babies, the Atlanta Braves, were beaten in the 1992 World Series by the Toronto Blue Jays, and Billionaire Ted couldn't let it go, but that reason was never confirmed or denied. I honestly don't see much difference between the 2 stations since PeachTree tends to offer the same types of programs as TBS except that we are spared from watching the Braves every day, so maybe Turner made the right call after all.

bgva · 08-12-2018, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regulus

As for me I watch whatever I want to watch when I want to, and no one tells me I can't watch something because a local station has "rights" to it.

: An added bonus, No commercials!

We know.

I think my area had just about all the superstations: WDCA out of DC, WGN, (W)WOR, and (W)TBS. IIRC, WGN is the only one that remains on our local cable system.

icecream · 08-13-2018, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal

I honestly don't see much difference between the 2 stations since PeachTree tends to offer the same types of programs as TBS except that we are spared from watching the Braves every day, so maybe Turner made the right call after all.

I don't think TBS airs Braves baseball nationwide anymore, just some playoff rounds.

opus · 08-13-2018, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catsrule

I don't think TBS airs Braves baseball nationwide anymore, just some playoff rounds.

TBS definitely doesn't carry the Braves anymore. They have some playoff games as you mentioned, and during the regular season they have a package of Sunday afternoon games.

Tubehead · 08-14-2018, 10:30 PM

we also had wgn!! then we got upn now know as cw!!

factsoflife · 08-18-2018, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Gannucci

...before the FCC made the Sydnex Rule which caused cable systems to black out shows on those stations that could be seen on your local channels?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndication_exclusivity

Basically, the stations I am referring to are WWOR-Tv from NYC, WGN from Chicago and WSBK from Boston.

When I lived in Bergen County, NJ, my candle system (the future Altice USA of Northern, NJ) had WSBK until 1988. I remember it got replaced with the just debuted at the time, TNT. (On a side note, hard to believe that that network just celebrated 30 years on the air). My sister was upset because she liked on their shows and didn't understand for a time why she couldn't watch it. Shortly thereafter, WSBK was started to be dropped from cable systems in the USA outside of New England. As late as 1993, I remember reading from my newspaper TV Guide that one of the cable systems in my area (can't remember which one) was the lone holdout as they still carried WSBK (blackouts and all.)

I was told that this system had the national feed of WGN but I never saw it. It wasn't until 2014 that this cable system finally carried the national feed of WGN (aka WGN America). So if this system dropped the national feed of WGN, it was a whopping 24 plus years before they brought it back. By the time they did, WGN America had long since started having no programs that needed blacking out. The only things that were simulcasted were local sports and news. Now no shows (except for the McDonalds Thanksgivign Parade) are simulcasted on both stations.

This system never carried the now defunct national feed of WWOR because it carried the local feed.

I moved down to southwest Florida in 2006 and my cable provider (Comcast) has carried WGN America ever since I have been down here. I am wondering if this provider (.back when it was owned by a different company) carried the now defunct national feed of WWOR. It would be ironic for me at least if it did.

Yes, in Rhode Island we got WSBK and WLVI from Boston, WPIX from New York and WGN from Chicago. I was pretty sad when the Syndex Rules began blocking out these stations because they were near and dear to my heart; especially WSBK and WLVI from Boston.

MrCleveland · 08-18-2018, 10:40 AM

I got WTBS and WGN, I never got WWOR.

Cleveland almost had a superstation...WUAB. But now that station is just an infomercial station.

If Superstations had a comeback in multiples cities, I can see Cleveland's CW Affiliate WBNX make a Superstation.

installLSC · 08-19-2018, 11:32 AM

Lived in eastern Washington state. My hometown had WGN, WWOR, and KSTW (Seattle station). All three were local feeds, at least until we dropped cable in 1992. By the time I went to college in Spokane in 1994, the local system only had KSTW--and it got blocked out so often there was barely any point in airing it. Interestingly, both systems also carried CBC (Canadian TV) affiliates.

08-11-2018, 10:16 PM	#1
Frank Gannucci Member Forum Star Join Date: Mar 05, 2007 Posts: 15,988	Did your cable system ever get these superstations? ...before the FCC made the Sydnex Rule which caused cable systems to black out shows on those stations that could be seen on your local channels? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndication_exclusivity Basically, the stations I am referring to are WWOR-Tv from NYC, WGN from Chicago and WSBK from Boston. When I lived in Bergen County, NJ, my candle system (the future Altice USA of Northern, NJ) had WSBK until 1988. I remember it got replaced with the just debuted at the time, TNT. (On a side note, hard to believe that that network just celebrated 30 years on the air). My sister was upset because she liked on their shows and didn't understand for a time why she couldn't watch it. Shortly thereafter, WSBK was started to be dropped from cable systems in the USA outside of New England. As late as 1993, I remember reading from my newspaper TV Guide that one of the cable systems in my area (can't remember which one) was the lone holdout as they still carried WSBK (blackouts and all.) I was told that this system had the national feed of WGN but I never saw it. It wasn't until 2014 that this cable system finally carried the national feed of WGN (aka WGN America). So if this system dropped the national feed of WGN, it was a whopping 24 plus years before they brought it back. By the time they did, WGN America had long since started having no programs that needed blacking out. The only things that were simulcasted were local sports and news. Now no shows (except for the McDonalds Thanksgivign Parade) are simulcasted on both stations. This system never carried the now defunct national feed of WWOR because it carried the local feed. I moved down to southwest Florida in 2006 and my cable provider (Comcast) has carried WGN America ever since I have been down here. I am wondering if this provider (.back when it was owned by a different company) carried the now defunct national feed of WWOR. It would be ironic for me at least if it did.

08-12-2018, 01:08 AM	#2
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	In the 1980s, our local cable company carried WGN in Chicago, WTBS in Atlanta, and (I'm pretty sure) WTTV in Indianapolis and KMSP-TV in Minneapolis. In the late 1990s, Dish Network carried WGN, KTLA in Los Angeles, WPIX in New York, and the network affiliates in NYC and Los Angeles.
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08-12-2018, 10:28 AM	#3
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,343	I have WSBK in New Hampshire.
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08-12-2018, 01:07 PM	#4
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,129	We used to have WGN TV in Chicago in the 80's. Great channel then.
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08-12-2018, 07:02 PM	#7
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,172	Today I get all the standard superstations (WGN, WPIX, WSBK, and KTLA) plus the 4 main networks from both Buffalo and Seattle but in my area I get PeachTree TV in Atlanta instead of TBS. TBS used to be offered in Canada in the 1980s when they used to have good shows on like "The Brady Bunch", "Andy Griffith", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Gilligan's Island", "Bewitched", and "Gomer Pyle", yet sometime during the early 1990s, TBS left for good to be replaced by PeachTree and I can never figure out why that is. I have a very sneaky suspicion that it was because Ted Turner's babies, the Atlanta Braves, were beaten in the 1992 World Series by the Toronto Blue Jays, and Billionaire Ted couldn't let it go, but that reason was never confirmed or denied. I honestly don't see much difference between the 2 stations since PeachTree tends to offer the same types of programs as TBS except that we are spared from watching the Braves every day, so maybe Turner made the right call after all.
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08-12-2018, 02:58 PM	#6
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,494	Here in Indy we got WGN. For years it was the local Chicago feed, with the Cubs games and their local Chicago news.

08-14-2018, 10:30 PM	#11
Tubehead Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 12, 2007 Location: chattanooga.tn Posts: 5,139	we also had wgn!! then we got upn now know as cw!!

08-18-2018, 10:40 AM	#13
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,222	I got WTBS and WGN, I never got WWOR. Cleveland almost had a superstation...WUAB. But now that station is just an infomercial station. If Superstations had a comeback in multiples cities, I can see Cleveland's CW Affiliate WBNX make a Superstation.
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08-19-2018, 11:32 AM	#14
installLSC Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 19, 2013 Location: United States Posts: 271	Lived in eastern Washington state. My hometown had WGN, WWOR, and KSTW (Seattle station). All three were local feeds, at least until we dropped cable in 1992. By the time I went to college in Spokane in 1994, the local system only had KSTW--and it got blocked out so often there was barely any point in airing it. Interestingly, both systems also carried CBC (Canadian TV) affiliates.