Retro Cable Channel Lineups

[hipman2]

Here's an idea. Anyone remember when cable TV once had 12 or 35 channel lineups way back before
they started offering 300-400 channel lineups?

If you have any old cable channel lineups of the past, you can reply here. Let us know what city and cable system (even if they're defunct) that they were for and what year they were in effect.

Off the top of my head, here's what I remember from Cox Cable in 1979 in the San Diego area.
2 Cable 2/KNXT 2 (CBS)
3 KCST 39 (NBC)
4 KNBC 4 (NBC)/Christian Communications Network
5 KTLA 5 (IND)
6 XETV 6 (IND)
7 KABC 7 (ABC)/Shopper's Guide
8 KFMB 8 (CBS)
9 KHJ 9 (IND)
10 KGTV 10 (ABC)
11 KTTV 11 (IND)
12 KPBS 15 (PBS)
13 KCOP 13 (IND)
14 KMEX 34 (SIN-Spanish Information Network)
15 KPBS 15 (PBS)
16 KWHY 22 (IND) 6am-2pm/XEWT 12 (IND-Spanish)
17 AP News text
18 Electronic Program Guide / ESPN (Sep)
19 Local Weater/Test Channel
20 HBO
21 text
22 not used yet
23 ITV (local origination educational channel)
24 Public Access
25 CSPAN / text
26 Christian Communications Network (24 hour version)
27-36 not used yet

[Madmansam]

When my family first got Cable TV in 1974, It was operated by BIG VALLEY CABLEVISION (which was gobbled up by CONTINENTAL CABLEVISION which was gobbled up by MEDIA ONE which was gobbled up by AT&T BROADBAND which was gobbled up by COMCAST) and it consisted of Local Channels from SACRAMENTO and Long Distance Channels from the BAY AREA. We had 24 channels as our Cable company used Dual Coaxial Cables with an A/B small box. Example 2A was KMUV-31 and 2B was KTVU-2 and 3A was KLOC-19 and 3B was KEMO-20, etc... In 1975, They started their own PAY TV service called CHANNEL 100 which actually was on Cable Channel 4B. In 1978, HBO replaced that and in 1979, we got NICKELODEON and ESPN. Each year, they would drop a Bay Area Channel and replaced it with a Satellite Channel. In 1986, They added Fiber Optic and eliminated the A/B Boxes in favor of the traditional Digital TV Top Box and had a total of 39 channels and it has expanded ever since.....

[hipman2]

Cox when it was once called Mission Cable had Channel 100 (which was really unscrambled on cable 21). It did well until many people discovered that they can get it for free by buying a Curthis Mathes set with the 12 presets that can be set to any of the VHF or UHF channels, selecting say channel 7, and turning the fine-tuning back until they get to the frequency that it was transmitting on, so people could watch it for free. This was bad for Channel 100 in the Mission Cable system. I'm not sure what happened to the company or if it morphed into another pay serivce or went silent. Anyone know?

[Lkeller]

I can remember most of the 12 channel cable line-up on little Seven Hills Cable that served the LA suburb in which I grew up.  Circa 1967.  I can't remember two of them, so they may have been unused:

2 - KNXT (CBS)
3 - KWHY (Ind - Channel 22) then a really low-rent English language UHF.
4 - KNBC (NBC)
5 - KTLA (Ind - Golden West Broadcasters)
6 - KCET (NET - now PBS - channel 28)
7 - KABC-TV (ABC)
8 - KMEX (Spanish language - channel 34)
9 - KHJ-TV (Ind - RKO General)
10- ?
11-KTTV (Ind - MetroMedia)
12- ?
13-KCOP (Ind - Chris Craft)

[djj]

August 1971, when I was almost 10, we first got cable-TV in
Vallejo, CA, at North Bay Cable Television...my memory's shot
but here goes what was there over the years (1971-79, more
or less):

We, too, had the Line A/Line B switch:
2A - KTVU Oakland (2, ind.)
2B - Local weather channel, consisting of a live B/W camera
      panning several analog meters showing temp, humdity, etc.
3A - In 1977, "The G Channel," showing one "new" movie a few times a week
        (a poor man's "premium" movie channel, but we did not pay extra for)
3B - KCRA, Sacramento (3, NBC)
4A - KRON, SFO (4, NBC)
4B - Local; mostly Vallejo City Council and PSA scrolls
5A - KPIX, SFO (5, CBS)
5B - Religion audio with local PSAs
6A - ?
6B - ?, I wanna say it was KGSC, San Jose (36, ind., now KICU)
7A - KGO, SFO (7, ABC)
7B - ?
8A - ?, I wanna say it was KEMO, SFO (20, ind., pre James Gabbert)
8B - KTXL, Sacto (40, ind.)
9A - KQED, SFO (9, PBS)
9B - ?
10A - KTSF, SFO (26, ind; watched Al Jazzbeaux Collins' morning
         TV show in '79)
10B - KXTV, Sacto (10, CBS)
11A - KNTV, San Jose (11, ABC)
11B - KMUV, Sacto (31, Ind., all movies, then Spanish; later KRBK,
         now KMAX-TV)
12A - ?
12B - mostly ?, but for a VERY short time, we had KHSL, Chico (12, CBS/ABC)
13A - KBHK, SFO (44, ind)
13B - KOVR, Stockton (13, ABC)

VERY BRIEFLY in the mid-1970s, we had a weakly-fed KFTY, Santa Rosa
(50, ind.) feed on 10A, before it went off for awhile. I remember seeing
Rod Sherry, former KPIX newsman, doing news for KFTY. By the time KFTY
returned to the airwaves, our family moved to Lodi in December 1979. When
we moved back to the North Bay in 1984, I was surprised to see Sherry was
still there!...

And since we're talking retro, let's bring back the Saturday Night Bullfights
on Channel 36!
 
--jay

[radio dx]

And the all night movie go round for you night owels with Jay Brown.  Sponsored by MMM carpets.

[radio dx]

And on the subject of cable in the south bay does anyone remember GIll cable with their movie channel called "the G channel" (15-A) then it was taken over by Heritage cable then TCI?

[djj]

And the all night movie go round for you night owels with Jay Brown.  Sponsored by MMM carpets.

Actually, wasn't that Jay Brown's Spartan Dodge who sponsored the all-night
movies on 36, and then on 11? I distinctly 'member his spots on the Saturday
Night Bullfights, too! LOL!

MMM Carpets (still around, I see) had Gary Ferry (and, before that, he and Andy
Moore in the "Old Sourdough" skits:
http://www.ga3ry.com/bios.html

Speaking of Jay Brown, take a gander at this 1974 video, about 16 or 18 minutes
into it, and you'll see our old friend Jay Brown being interviewed!
http://www.mediaburn.org/Video-Preview.128.0.html?uid=4248

And on the subject of cable in the south bay does anyone remember GIll cable with their movie channel called "the G channel" (15-A) then it was taken over by Heritage cable then TCI?

Wow...I didn't think "The G Channel" was on in the South Bay, too!
It looked too "small-market" when we had it on our cable TV in Vallejo...
--jay

[XRQKFM]

Storer Cable TV in Thousand Oaks, California
Line up up to mid 70's
2   KNXT
3   KEYT Santa Barbara
4   KNBC
5   KTLA
6   KMEX 34
7   KABC
8   Blank Became MSI weather in late 78 and Public Access
9   KHJ
10 KWHY 22/KBSC 52 Became KTBN 40 in 78
11 KTTV
12 KCET 28
13 KCOP
I & H  Showtime added in late 70's
Some midband channels appeared for a short time in the late 70's, but were never advertised
E CNN, F WTBS 17 Then turned off in the early 80's
Easily the worst cable company; until Falcon came along.

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Oceanic Cable Pacifica, CA
1969

I was only 5.  I confirmed most of this in old Cablecasting Yearbook from around 1970 about 4 years ago.  It's scary that I was already a geek by then, because my recollections were mostly confirmed by that book.

2  KTVU Ind.
3  KCRA Sac NBC / Shared with KGSC 36 Ind
4. KRON NBC
5  KPIX  CBS
6  KEMO 20 Ind.
7  KGO-TV ABC
8  Local Weather Wheel
9  KQED PBS
10 KXTV Sac CBS/ Shared With KBHK 44 Ind.
11 KNTV SJ   ABC
12 KNEW 32 Ind.
13 KOVR 13 Stn-Sac ABC/ Shared with ?

Not sure where KUDO 38, Ind. was.



Foster City United Cable 1983

2- KTVU Ind
3. ESPN Shared with the Sports Channel
4. KRON NBC
5  KPIX  CBS
6  USA Shared with C-SPAN/ Playboy at Night
7  KGO-TV ABC
8  Nickelodeon
9  KQED PBS
10 KXTV Sac (CBS)
11 KNTV SJ   (ABC)
12 Foster City TV
13 KTZO-20 Ind.
14 HBO
15 KQEC 32 PBS
16 KBHK 44 Ind.
17  ??
18 KCSM 60 PBS
19 KDTV 14 SIN ?
20 KTEH 54  PBS
21 KCRA 3 Sac NBC
22 Showtime
23 KICU 36 SJ Ind
24 KTXL 40 Sac Ind.
25 MTV
26 CNN
27 Local Government
28
29
30