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Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
As we all know, on December 11, 1994, Detroit television changed forever.
On this date, WJBK-TV, a CBS affiliate for 46 years, became a Fox affiliate and later, a Fox O&O.
WKBD briefly became Indy again and became a UPN affiliate that January.
Low powered station, WGPR-TV, became a CBS affix. It became a CBS O&O the next summer, and changed its call letters to WWJ-TV.
I personally think WJBK Fox 2, was the overall winner. Today, it still has the number one 10 pm newscast. Not to mention, it’s one of the best Fox owned stations in the country. Fox is a strong network now, with a powerful sports package, including the NFL.
62 is no longer a low powered station but it’s no where close to being competitive with the big three (Fox 2, Local 4, Channel 7).
WKBD no longer has a newscast and has little local content.
On this date, WJBK-TV, a CBS affiliate for 46 years, became a Fox affiliate and later, a Fox O&O.
WKBD briefly became Indy again and became a UPN affiliate that January.
Low powered station, WGPR-TV, became a CBS affix. It became a CBS O&O the next summer, and changed its call letters to WWJ-TV.
I personally think WJBK Fox 2, was the overall winner. Today, it still has the number one 10 pm newscast. Not to mention, it’s one of the best Fox owned stations in the country. Fox is a strong network now, with a powerful sports package, including the NFL.
62 is no longer a low powered station but it’s no where close to being competitive with the big three (Fox 2, Local 4, Channel 7).
WKBD no longer has a newscast and has little local content.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Channel 62 Was never a low power television station, And Channel 50 has 22 hours a day of local and syndicated programs with only 2 hours of network programs a day from 8 PM - 10 PM, And how many fake news programs do we need for God’s sake.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Steve Korvette wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2019 6:40 pmChannel 62 Was never a low power television station, And Channel 50 has 22 hours a day of local and syndicated programs with only 2 hours of network programs a day from 8 PM - 10 PM, And how many fake news programs do we need for God’s sake.
Actually, 62 was a low powered station. It was that way until 1999, when the station had a major power boost.
As for the now CW 50, it no longer airs local sports and has no newscast. That’s what I mean by little local content.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Wrong! Always full power never LPTV the difference was 1 Million watts to a 5 Million watt signal
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Steve Korvette wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2019 7:27 pmWrong! Always full power never LPTV the difference was 1 Million watts to a 5 Million watt signal
Bigger question is, which Detroit station was the winner in the 1994 network swap, in your opinion.
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Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
A tie between WXYZ and WDIV.
People were just used to watching the news at 11.
Those two stations have abused their spoils. They run far too many commercials, topping them off with sponsorships embedded in the "news" ("Why people in Suburb X are so crazy about their brand new cookie store").
I usually watch 11 or 13 even though I haven't resided in Ohio in more than 50 years.
People were just used to watching the news at 11.
Those two stations have abused their spoils. They run far too many commercials, topping them off with sponsorships embedded in the "news" ("Why people in Suburb X are so crazy about their brand new cookie store").
I usually watch 11 or 13 even though I haven't resided in Ohio in more than 50 years.
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Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Steve Korvette is correct, WGPR-TV was always a full power TV station. It was on UHF, which limited their service area to nearly a strict line of sight. This sounds like a hit job that Channel 2, 4,and 7 sales departments might have done to undermine UHF competitors. That included 20, 50, and 56 on UHF. The dirty little secret is that only WJBK now operates on VHF on the US side in Detroit, on Channel 7, 174-180 MHz. The other close by VHFs are 11 and 13 Toledo, 5 Toledo, 9 Windsor, 12 Flint, and 10 Onandaga. IRONICALLY, WGPR was more powerful than any VHF in ERP. WGPR-TV did have inferior picture quality compared to the rest. It always seemed to look washed out like a wet comic section of a newspaper. I'll link the History Card.
http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/c ... r_id=86187
http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/c ... r_id=86187
"I'm meteorologist Arthur Mometer."
"Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."
"Lies have to be repeated and repeated to be believed. Truth stands on its own merit."
"Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."
"Lies have to be repeated and repeated to be believed. Truth stands on its own merit."
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
If you have to pick one winner, it would be 62. Though they are a weak CBS O&O, they are worth far more than the WGPR independent days. CBS really pumped a lot of money into the signal in the analog days,
The biggest loser is WKBD. Going from a strong FOX affiliate to being an afterthought, and losing their news department is a major loss. WXON/WMYD is a close second for turning down CBS and being irrelevant today.
The biggest loser is WKBD. Going from a strong FOX affiliate to being an afterthought, and losing their news department is a major loss. WXON/WMYD is a close second for turning down CBS and being irrelevant today.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
When UHF stations first came on the air, they often were fairly low ERP. They were initially envisioned as local stations serving a small to medium sized city and the area surrounding it. An 80 dBu city grade signal often went out 10 or 20 miles. But WGPR-TV was not even that level of "low" power. It was 759 kW ERP as originally licensed.
Is THAT where they got the idea for the 486-SX?
Same (x, y, z), different (t)
Your bullet missed my trial balloon.
RTN Price. Not guaranteed. As of 12:30, 157.71 Down 0.22.
Artificial Intelligence is a Child that needs a Parent to guide it through.
Same (x, y, z), different (t)
Your bullet missed my trial balloon.
RTN Price. Not guaranteed. As of 12:30, 157.71 Down 0.22.
Artificial Intelligence is a Child that needs a Parent to guide it through.
- MWmetalhead
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Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
WJBK & the Fox corporate family are the big winners.
WJBK's newscasts had abysmal ratings and prime time ratings weren't that hot, either, leading up to the affiliation switch. The 10 PM news, and later, an expanded morning newscast with a completely different look & feel from the newscasts of the CBS days greatly expanded WJBK's popularity with the 18-49 demographic.
FOX as a company benefited in two major ways. One, their entire prime time schedule no longer had to deal with routine preemptions for Red Wings and Pistons games. Two, having an O&O presence in Detroit likely served as a springboard for launching Fox Sports Detroit.
WJBK's newscasts had abysmal ratings and prime time ratings weren't that hot, either, leading up to the affiliation switch. The 10 PM news, and later, an expanded morning newscast with a completely different look & feel from the newscasts of the CBS days greatly expanded WJBK's popularity with the 18-49 demographic.
FOX as a company benefited in two major ways. One, their entire prime time schedule no longer had to deal with routine preemptions for Red Wings and Pistons games. Two, having an O&O presence in Detroit likely served as a springboard for launching Fox Sports Detroit.
Morgan Wallen is a piece of garbage.
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Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
From what I heard in the day, CBS was so p****d about being relegated to UHF that they demanded reverse compensation (in an era when it wasn't done) and the rights to all the advertising slots from 20, 38, and 50. Expecting to have an affiliate that would operate at a loss.fuzzpower wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 4:08 amIf you have to pick one winner, it would be 62. Though they are a weak CBS O&O, they are worth far more than the WGPR independent days. CBS really pumped a lot of money into the signal in the analog days,
The biggest loser is WKBD. Going from a strong FOX affiliate to being an afterthought, and losing their news department is a major loss. WXON/WMYD is a close second for turning down CBS and being irrelevant today.
I also read that they were able to buy WGPR-TV cheaply by paying directly to some (not all) of the directors.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
WADL is another loser in all of this. The owner of the station got greedy and made unreasonable demands. As a result, talks between CBS and 38 fell apart.
Today, WADL is still irrelevant. Adell made a very bad business decision, and is paying for it today.
Today, WADL is still irrelevant. Adell made a very bad business decision, and is paying for it today.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
Agreed!MWmetalhead wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:51 pmWJBK & the Fox corporate family are the big winners.
WJBK's newscasts had abysmal ratings and prime time ratings weren't that hot, either, leading up to the affiliation switch. The 10 PM news, and later, an expanded morning newscast with a completely different look & feel from the newscasts of the CBS days greatly expanded WJBK's popularity with the 18-49 demographic.
FOX as a company benefited in two major ways. One, their entire prime time schedule no longer had to deal with routine preemptions for Red Wings and Pistons games. Two, having an O&O presence in Detroit likely served as a springboard for launching Fox Sports Detroit.
WJBK was very poorly run in its later days as a CBS affiliate. Its newscasts were dull and full of cliches. The station ran as a independent station instead of a CBS affiliate. Overall, the station had no real identity. It was a disaster.
As a Fox O&O, WJBK not only has an identity, it has strong newscasts. Very top notch.
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
As bad as WJBK was as a CBS affiliate in the last years, WGPR as an independent was much worse. Some cable companies didn’t even carry it because the signal was so weak. The programming served a niche yes, but even that was fading in the early 90s, to where they aired infomercials much of the day and rejected network shows from 2 and 4 (that WADL didn’t grab). I believe they were the last Detroit station to air Hee Haw, showing you how far down that show went.
I would still rank WGPR as the big winner, with WJBK a close second. The losers were the other UHF stations (except 31, which was never involved).
I would still rank WGPR as the big winner, with WJBK a close second. The losers were the other UHF stations (except 31, which was never involved).
Re: Network tv switch, nearly 25 years later: who was the winner?
WJBK winner WWJ loser, Its all dial position even today, WWJ still has that Channel 62 image but that’s the fault of CBS they could’ve corrected that by changing their indentity they could’ve called themselves something else and they did for a while by just saying “CBS Detroit” but they went back to “CBS 62” they could call themselves “CBS 44” or “Detroit’s 44” per their output channel, Look how Ion id’s themselves just simply Ion TV no one even cares they’re Channel 31.