Global Sarnia-Oil Springs

[ChrisWL1980]

9&10 had cable coverage in parts of the Thumb as well.
WNEM and WJRT were carried in the Michigan Sault in place of the northern Michigan affiliates of NBC and ABC. 29&8 didn't even have cable coverage in the Michigan Sault, which also got WJRT (both 7&4 and WNEM were carried on the Michigan side). Which I can understand since WJRT was a substantially stronger affiliate. However, WGTQ was carried in Elliot Lake. Go figure.
I've also seen mention of Milwaukee stations carried as far east as Cadillac.

It could have been WVTV Milwaukee. That was a regional superstation in the 70s and 80s.

Actually, it was WTMJ 4. According to the 1980 Broadcasting Yearbook, the independent station carried on Cadillac Cable TV at the time was WKBD (though they dropped it for WGN by 1982). Apparently the only Michigan cable system that carried WVTV circa 1979-80 was Whitehall/Montague. Most systems in Michigan tended to choose WKBD or WGN, or later WTBS (or all three) as their indie station options. From Chicago, WFLD 32 and WSNS 44 (during its ONTV days) were on some systems in SW Michigan (as was WTTW 11). WSNS was carried in Grand Rapids for a time.

WZZM was on cable in Traverse City as late as 1989, and probably later.

As far as Michigan coverage for Canadian stations in 1979-80, excluding CBET (which itself still had coverage as far away as Alpena):
Global: Port Huron (the main ch6 signal from Waterloo Region also had some scattered coverage in NE OH/NW PA)
CKCO: Port Huron (also carried on one system near Erie, PA)
CBC French: no cable carriage anywhere in Michigan
TVO: no cable carriage outside Canada

I don't believe TVO was ever on cable in the Michigan Sault, nor was Global when it finally signed on up there. TVO Chatham wasn't carried in Port Huron to my knowledge either. Of course you could see some TVO programs, like Today's Special, on some PBS stations, including WTVS.
One of the neat things about getting to watch TVO and CBC French, for me, was all the anime they used to show that you couldn't see on the American networks. TVO had Alice in Wonderland, Tales of Magic and (during their Sunday French programming) Maeterlinck's Blue Bird (L'Oiseau Bleu); SRC had Alice as well, plus the Isao Takahata Anne of Green Gables, The Three Musketeers and French versions of some shows I saw on Nickelodeon like Mysterious Cities of Gold and Belle and Sebastian. Speaking of Nickelodeon, if you could pick up CKCO, you could watch You Can't Do That on Television on Saturday mornings without subscribing to cable.

[ftballfan]

Ludington and Manistee may have had WVTV in the late 70s, prior to WTBS/WGN (neither Ludington nor Manistee ever had WKBD). Several years ago, I was doing some microfilm searches at the Manistee library and apparently Manistee had WTCG on cable as early as January 1978 (it first appeared on the satellites in December 1976 and didn't become WTBS until 1979).

AFAIK, Whitehall had WVTV until 2006 (and the sign-on of WWMT-DT2) in part due to GR lacking a WB affiliate.

Also, Green Bay stations (WBAY, WFRV, WLUK) were carried in Ludington and Pentwater until 2009, yet were gone from Manistee, about the same distance as Ludington from the Green Bay sticks, by the early 1990s (Manistee being 20-25 miles closer to TC was a likely factor as well as needing to make room for cable and movie channels - Manistee had a boat load of movie channels in the mid to late 90s).

[Some Guy from Toledo]

One of the neat things about getting to watch TVO and CBC French, for me, was all the anime they used to show that you couldn't see on the American networks. TVO had Alice in Wonderland, Tales of Magic and (during their Sunday French programming) Maeterlinck's Blue Bird (L'Oiseau Bleu); SRC had Alice as well, plus the Isao Takahata Anne of Green Gables, The Three Musketeers and French versions of some shows I saw on Nickelodeon like Mysterious Cities of Gold and Belle and Sebastian. Speaking of Nickelodeon, if you could pick up CKCO, you could watch You Can't Do That on Television on Saturday mornings without subscribing to cable.

True there, America never got shows like Candy Candy, while domestic Canadian content ended up on cable, let alone premium services.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/z1-YIXACy4U?si=KAh3BYhNAxmBYRmu[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/XgsQ-MtGb6M?si=rQyMseDvD6euB3Kl[/youtube]

[rugratsonline]

CJIC 5 (CBC) was the only Canadian signal carried on cable there in the '80s and '90s.

CKPR 2 (then CBC) and CHFD 4 (then CTV) from Thunder Bay were carried in some Western U.P. communities in the '70s and '80s. I think only CBMT is carried up there now.

CJIC would be sold to the CBC in 2002, becoming CBLT-5, as a repeater of Toronto's CBLT. That station would close in 2012 when the CBC shuttered its translator network.

CHFD would flip to Global in 2010, with sister CKPR taking CTV in 2014 after leaving the CBC. All systems in the UP now carry CBMT for CBC, while the Canadian side has CBLT on cable.

As far as Michigan coverage for Canadian stations in 1979-80, excluding CBET (which itself still had coverage as far away as Alpena):
TVO: no cable carriage outside Canada

I don't believe TVO was ever on cable in the Michigan Sault, nor was Global when it finally signed on up there. TVO Chatham wasn't carried in Port Huron to my knowledge either.

Isn't TVO carried on Comcast in areas of Oakland and Macomb Counties? I believe at one time it also aired on cable in the Buffalo / Niagara Falls area.

[edj]

TVO via the Windsor repeater was on cable in the Royal Oak and Troy headins. I am not sure if it still is. I am also not sure if they still carry WCMZ after the shutdown (probably do).

[ChrisWL1980]

One of the neat things about getting to watch TVO and CBC French, for me, was all the anime they used to show that you couldn't see on the American networks. TVO had Alice in Wonderland, Tales of Magic and (during their Sunday French programming) Maeterlinck's Blue Bird (L'Oiseau Bleu); SRC had Alice as well, plus the Isao Takahata Anne of Green Gables, The Three Musketeers and French versions of some shows I saw on Nickelodeon like Mysterious Cities of Gold and Belle and Sebastian. Speaking of Nickelodeon, if you could pick up CKCO, you could watch You Can't Do That on Television on Saturday mornings without subscribing to cable.

True there, America never got shows like Candy Candy, while domestic Canadian content ended up on cable, let alone premium services.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/z1-YIXACy4U?si=KAh3BYhNAxmBYRmu[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/XgsQ-MtGb6M?si=rQyMseDvD6euB3Kl[/youtube]

I think Candy Candy had an English dub from ZIV International that ended up direct to video (or in syndication) in the U.S. ZIV also dubbed the '70s Nippon Animation Little Lulu series, which also aired on TVO, at least in French (maybe in English too).
A lot of the English- and French-dubbed anime that aired in Canada in the '70s and '80s was dubbed in Montreal or Toronto, which I imagine enabled it to count as CanCon (likely the reason why many of them had replacement musical scores too). Global had the '80s Astroboy, Little Koala and the '86 Wizard of Oz, which were all Montreal (Cinar) dubs, along with domestically produced shows like The Smoggies. Later on, they also had the DiC Sailor Moon dub (made in Toronto). Kind of surprising Cinar's mid-'80s Doraemon dub (Albert and Sidney) didn't show up there too.

[Some Guy from Toledo]

I think Candy Candy had an English dub from ZIV International that ended up direct to video (or in syndication) in the U.S. ZIV also dubbed the '70s Nippon Animation Little Lulu series, which also aired on TVO, at least in French (maybe in English too).

Seem like Canada gave these shows a chance when America didn't. I'm only surprised the Little Lulu anime had quite a few episodes dubbed.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9GX ... Gs4ycZASwJ

A lot of the English- and French-dubbed anime that aired in Canada in the '70s and '80s was dubbed in Montreal or Toronto, which I imagine enabled it to count as CanCon (likely the reason why many of them had replacement musical scores too).

I'm sure that's why the Astroboy series was able to skirt by when the other English dub got nowhere in the states outside later VHS/DVD releases.

Global had the '80s Astroboy, Little Koala and the '86 Wizard of Oz, which were all Montreal (Cinar) dubs. Later on, they also had the DiC Sailor Moon dub (made in Toronto). Kind of surprising Cinar's mid-'80s Doraemon dub (Albert and Sidney) didn't show up there too.

True, given how easy they got around those hurdles. BTW, I think you'll love THIS!

[MWmetalhead]

TVO via the Windsor repeater was on cable in the Royal Oak and Troy headins. I am not sure if it still is. I am also not sure if they still carry WCMZ after the shutdown (probably do).

Nope and nope.

WCMU programming was removed the instant TV 28 left the airwaves.

TVO has not been carried on any cable system in any of the Metro Detroit communities in which I've resided. I've been here for over two decades.

[Some Guy from Toledo]

TVO via the Windsor repeater was on cable in the Royal Oak and Troy headins. I am not sure if it still is. I am also not sure if they still carry WCMZ after the shutdown (probably do).

Nope and nope.

WCMU programming was removed the instant TV 28 left the airwaves.

TVO has not been carried on any cable system in any of the Metro Detroit communities in which I've resided. I've been here for over two decades.

Sad TVO doesn't get much love across the border since it is a public, commercial-free channel.

[ChrisWL1980]

I grew up with Comcast in Mount Clemens/Clinton Township, and the only Canadian station we ever got was CBET. We didn't even have WGN, getting the inferior WOR/WWOR instead. i was able to watch TVO on channel 32 with rabbit ears, though. Without a good antenna, it was the only other Canadian station I could receive aside from CBET. The outdoor antenna at my grandparents' near Romeo brought in CFPL 10, Global 29, CBLN 34, CKCO 42, CHCH 51 and CBEFT 54 reliably. CKCO was pretty watchable even with rabbit ears in that portion of Macomb County.

[ChrisWL1980]

I think Candy Candy had an English dub from ZIV International that ended up direct to video (or in syndication) in the U.S. ZIV also dubbed the '70s Nippon Animation Little Lulu series, which also aired on TVO, at least in French (maybe in English too).

Seem like Canada gave these shows a chance when America didn't. I'm only surprised the Little Lulu anime had quite a few episodes dubbed.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9GX ... Gs4ycZASwJ

A lot of the English- and French-dubbed anime that aired in Canada in the '70s and '80s was dubbed in Montreal or Toronto, which I imagine enabled it to count as CanCon (likely the reason why many of them had replacement musical scores too).

I'm sure that's why the Astroboy series was able to skirt by when the other English dub got nowhere in the states outside later VHS/DVD releases.

Global had the '80s Astroboy, Little Koala and the '86 Wizard of Oz, which were all Montreal (Cinar) dubs. Later on, they also had the DiC Sailor Moon dub (made in Toronto). Kind of surprising Cinar's mid-'80s Doraemon dub (Albert and Sidney) didn't show up there too.

True, given how easy they got around those hurdles. BTW, I think you'll love THIS!

Another good source of anime you couldn't see anywhere else, albeit American and in Spanish, was Univision, which had an OTA translator in Detroit on channel 66. Looking at Detroit Saturday morning TV schedules from fall '87, most of Univision's Saturday morning schedule was of Japanese origin - shows like (Future Boy) Conan, La Maquina del Tiempo (Time Bokan), El Pequeno Principe (The Little Prince), Capitan Centella (Captain Future), La Princesa Caballero (Tezuka's Princess Knight), and so on.

[edj]

TVO via the Windsor repeater was on cable in the Royal Oak and Troy headins. I am not sure if it still is. I am also not sure if they still carry WCMZ after the shutdown (probably do).

Nope and nope.

WCMU programming was removed the instant TV 28 left the airwaves.

TVO has not been carried on any cable system in any of the Metro Detroit communities in which I've resided. I've been here for over two decades.

This was back in the 90s during the United Cable and TCI days. I seem to recall it was moved from 32 up to a high position, I think in the 80s. Comcast probably dropped it when they took over.

[rugratsonline]

WCMU programming was removed the instant TV 28 left the airwaves.

After the closure of WCMZ, it would have been pointless to continue to carry WCMU's programming, especially if CMU was unwilling to provide a signal via fiber. WCMU's main transmitter is in eastern Mecosta County, practically a half a world away from Detroit.

TVO has not been carried on any cable system in any of the Metro Detroit communities in which I've resided. I've been here for over two decades.

This was back in the 90s during the United Cable and TCI days. I seem to recall it was moved from 32 up to a high position, I think in the 80s. Comcast probably dropped it when they took over.

I sworn I saw Comcast had TVO in its southern Oakland County lineups just a few years back, unless they dropped them in recent years. Funny they weren't on cable in the southern or western suburbs, despite the channel 32 signal going way out past Ann Arbor.

[MWmetalhead]

I've lived in Oakland County since autumn 2016; TVO has never been on Comcast here.

Perhaps Bright House carried it?

Cable companies have little reason to consume valuable bandwidth to carry obscure OTA channels from across the border that are of minimal interest to American viewers.

The reason TV-28 from Flint was carried on many Metro Detroit systems is because they asserted "must carry" rights. The FCC ruled those rights didn't apply to Macomb County, though (I forget the reason).

[Ben Zonia]

I think WNEM had all night movies.

Analog Chicago TV stations could be seen off air all over extreme SW Michigan, and had significant viewership for decades. Influential Chicago Area people weekend, vacation, and have homes on or near the shores of Lake Michigan. They are known for their self privilege and arrogance there. The locals can't stand them and have a acronym for them, that is much worse than Fudgie. They don't even have to leave their Radio and TV stations behind.

Green Bay TV stations could be seen in Grand Rapids on fairly regular tropo.

WFUM got a new transmitting antenna, and it was much worse off air in Macomb County. The old transmitting antenna signal could be seen all the time Downriver with a modest antenna. I think they didn't have to carry 28 if it couldn't be received off air well enough at the head end. I used to watch The McLaughlin Group off air on 28 with an antenna in Macomb because it was on at a better time than 56. Maybe they allowed the Windsor Canadian Channel 32, similar to PBS, to count as their alternative to 56 in Macomb? I remember being in a Kmart in Waterford, and I saw my HS Band Director directing the UM-Flint Wind Ensemble on WFUM 28 on a TV set with a bowtie. I think CMU was greedy when they turned the license in, and UM sold it to CMU because the higher ups in AA had no vision for the station, since it was not under their direct control. Their first manager Gordon Lawrence feared that would happen from the beginning. Longley Rice predictions show that off air signals are abysmal from the neighboring market PBS stations. Beyond 30 miles, UHF was and is unreliable without a Line of Sight and clear Fresnel Zone. You cannot change the Laws of Physics.