Who remembers...

[treky]

...when TBS started in the 80s and they used to start their shows and movies at 5 minutes past the hour and half hour? I remember reading somewhere that they used to do that because they thought that it would somehow guarantee that viewers would watch them. (I know, I know-it doesn't make sense to me either)

[MikeLutton]

i miss old tbs schedule and shows it was fun to come home to and watch when u come home from school.

[Bonniegirl]

Yeah, I remember that .Never knew why they did that but it kinda makes sense .If you are a little late tuning in say at noon to watch something, switch to TBS and the show would just be starting at 12:05 !

[RetroGuy2000]

I wonder when they discontinued the five-minute-late practice? I certainly remember it as being one of the distinctive things about TBS.

The Straight Dope says it was called Turner Time. Wiki says it was done because TV Guide and other program guides would list a show at 5 minutes and 35 minutes past the hour separately, giving TBS an advantage.

Wikipedia also says this was introduced in 1981, so I actually remember a time before this was being done on TBS (I remember watching Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, and possibly The Addams Family on TBS in the afternoons after school).

Wikipedia says they started phasing out Turner Time in 1997, and it left around 2000.

[LUNCH]

I remember. They also did that so people would not switch to another channel when the program ended. Since each program ended 5 minutes later, if you switched to another channel you would miss the first 5 minutes of the program on the other channel. That was back in the days when there was true competition between channels. No synchronized commercials like they have these days where many channels show them at the same time.

[Christopher]

I remember! They used to air Three's Company on that channel. I would watch it with my great grandmother. I think Gilligan's Island was also on TBS Superstation. I also remember watching Mama's Family in the mornings. TBS was a great syndication channel back then. It's a shame it's turned to crap now. I looked at their schedule and Friends is on there 3 or more hours a day. How do people not get sick of that show? It's so overrated

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by Christopher

I remember! They used to air Three's Company on that channel. I would watch it with my great grandmother. I think Gilligan's Island was also on TBS Superstation. I also remember watching Mama's Family in the mornings. TBS was a great syndication channel back then. It's a shame it's turned to crap now. I looked at their schedule and Friends is on there 3 or more hours a day. How do people not get sick of that show? It's so overrated

I love Friends . It is the only thing I watch on TBS nowadays !

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by treky

...when TBS started in the 80s and they used to start their shows and movies at 5 minutes past the hour and half hour? I remember reading somewhere that they used to do that because they thought that it would somehow guarantee that viewers would watch them. (I know, I know-it doesn't make sense to me either)

I remember that. I think a big part of that was because so many viewers "channel surf" during commercial breaks, so they were anticipating that by having actual program material showing while other stations were running commercials, that they would "capture" viewers looking for something other than a commercial to watcn.

Who remembers TBS' "Night Tracks"? A MTV-like musical wannabe show that TBS ran after midnight on weekends. I think I first saw this in 1983 when I moved to Atlanta.

[TVLegend]

Originally Posted by MikeLutton

i miss old tbs schedule and shows it was fun to come home to and watch when u come home from school.

Yes it was I think I’ll create my own fictional TBS schedule soon.

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Yeah, I remember that .Never knew why they did that but it kinda makes sense .If you are a little late tuning in say at noon to watch something, switch to TBS and the show would just be starting at 12:05 !

I remember it as well. I wonder why they stopped.

[SledgeBarone]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

The Straight Dope says it was called Turner Time. Wiki says it was done because TV Guide and other program guides would list a show at 5 minutes and 35 minutes past the hour separately, giving TBS an advantage.

Wikipedia also says this was introduced in 1981, so I actually remember a time before this was being done on TBS (I remember watching Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, and possibly The Addams Family on TBS in the afternoons after school).

I thought that practice was because WTBS broadcast all the Atlanta Braves games, which always started at 5 or 35 after the hour, so the network didn't want to mess up the timing of its other programming.

I don't remember what other sitcoms were on besides Gilligan's Island (yay) and The Andy Griffith Show (boo), but I recall often tuning in to watch World Championship Wrestling at 3:05pm on Saturdays (west coast time). Two hours of seemingly endless 1-2 minute squashes and overheated interviews, eventually leading to a main event match that always seemed to go off the air right before the frantic conclusion of the bout, yet never seemed important enough to rate a mention in the following week's broadcast. Why did us wrestling fans bother watching this tease? But TAGS and rasslin are basically what made TBS into a juggernaut.

[TSMIV]

Yes I remember it and always found it annoying, but I still watched Brady Bunch, Munsters, Addams Family, and Gilligan's Island on TBS after school. And at 6pm, I watched the hour long block of TAGS and in the summer some Braves baseball. Ted Turner's always been a weirdo! LOL!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by SledgeBarone

I thought that practice was because WTBS broadcast all the Atlanta Braves games, which always started at 5 or 35 after the hour, so the network didn't want to mess up the timing of its other programming.

I don't buy that excuse because ball games always run over anyway.

[Mace Dolex]

I remember that 5 minute star time, TBS was notorious for always playing The Beastmaster and Superman III and IV for some reason.

[treky]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

I remember that 5 minute star time, TBS was notorious for always playing The Beastmaster and Superman III and IV for some reason.

I don't remember them playing those; but I remember that; for some reason they used to play BACK TO THE FUTURE and SUPERMAN II a lot.

[treky]

I remember my father used to like to watch Andy Griffith on there every weeknight after the news. Whenever I was also in the room he would look over at me when the 6:30 news was over and say "Joe, turn to Andy Griffith." He never knew what channel it was on; just that it was on every weeknight at 7:05. LOL the room he'd ask them "You know what channel Andy Griffith's on?"
And if I wasn't in the room and if I was within earshot he'd call to me "JOE? What channels Andy Griffith on?" And if someone else was in the room he'd ask them "You know what channel Andy Griffith's on?"LOL