the old 'TV38' in CT

[GUMBA1225]

Everyone remembers the old TV38 superstation.  One of my favorite programs was 'Ask The Manager' on Saturday mornings.  They would get questions from as far away as Canada and Ohio.  

If I'm not mistaken, WSBK was pulled from a bunch of cable systems in Connecticut not too long after after UPN debuted.  For only a few months, my cable company offered UPN9/WWOR, UPN20/WTXX, and UPN38/WSBK.  But WSBK got dropped not too long after.

One issue was that when WSBK aired sports programming (in particular the Bruins), it seemed like the station was blocked out half the time.  But now since the Whalers are no longer in the picture, I don't think it would be an issue anymore.    

Was it a coincidence that WSBK was pulled from so many systems right after it picked up the UPN?  Or were there other factors involved?  Does anyone foresee WSBK, potentially once again an independent superstation, coming back to these systems?

I don't see it happening, but it would be pretty cool.

[KML0224]

"Ask The Manager" also featured the same letter from some doctor in Minnesota ever week! I think his name was Rippenger or something. I used to love that show! As for blackouts, the Hartford Whalers were still around in 1995 when UPN started. I don't remember how WSBK-TV was treated on cable in New Britain and Hartford, but I do know that WWOR-TV would get blacked out when the UPN programming started in January of 1995. It was strange because WTXX-TV channel 20 didn't even carry UPN for most of their first year. Most other programming was blacked out due to the SYNDEX rules.

______________
#13 Dan Marino...2005 Football Hall Of Fame Inductee

[Skynet74]

Those were the Days. Ask The Manager, Three Stooges, The Movie Loft. Red Sox Baseball. Top Cat and The Jetsons on Sunday Mornings. It takes an impressive station to still remember the Lineup 25 years later. WSBK definitely had an impact on people and it was a Good One. Now that the station is being stripped of it's affiliation, this will be a very rare opportunity for it to return to the "Greatness" that it once was. I do mean RARE in the truest sense of the word. How often has a Television station gone back to being Independant once it has already been part of a Major Network? I can never remember it happening before.... EVER! So I hope that the station runs with this opportunity and returns to what people once loved before the Network took over.

 I haven't sat down to figure it out..... but exactly how many hours per week will be freed up now that UPN shows won't be aired? My guess is that they will stick a movie on each night to fill in the empty space left by former UPN programming. So if I were a betting man I would say that "The Movie Loft" is the most likely of the old programs to return to the station. Of course Dana won't host. The station will hire some new blood to do it. Isn't that the way that all Television works??? They'll Get some Pretty Boy in there that nobody will be happy with. Then in 9 Months from now we'll all be talking about how much he sucks and how they should of brought Dana back instead.

 Ahhhhh Television. You've got to Love it!



John

______________
Awsome Voiceovers for your station.
JohnChartier.com
206-600-2629

[wxctintern]

UPN only programs 12 hours per week. Monday-Friday 8PM-10PM for UPN Prime and 12PM-2PM on Saturdays for the UPN Movie (formerly the UPN Movie Trailer). I remember on my cable company in Connecticut, TCI Cablevision all UPN Programming on 38 was blacked out, except for the UPN Movie Trailer. At first TCI covered up most of 38's blacked out programming with The Travel Channel, but later replaced them with mind-numbing infomercials. They dropped 38 all together in 1999 and replaced it with the cable feed of the Shop-At-Home Netowrk.*

The next town over from where I lived had COX Cable. They didn't black out anything. They showed all programming on 38. And they showed the real WWOR and not that WOR/EMI Service Crap.


*To this day TCI (later AT&T, now Comcast) refuses to carry WSAH/43 Bridgeport which is the local Shop-At-Home O&O station. The cable company claims they can't get a decent signal of 43 at their head-end, but 43 has offered to fiber feed it, but the cable company refuses to accept it.

I read this on some website, I forget which one when I was trying to locate infomration about WSAH.

[Erik Davis]

Actually, you may not be that far off.  In an article in the Nashua (NH) Telegraph on Friday 1/27/06, the sports media reporter wrote an article and it pretty much sums up that once the new "CW" is formed, all of the network programming in slated to shift to WLVI (56) and 38 is supposed to revert back to its independent "TV-38 WSBK" status.  It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Edited by ErikD957 on 01/28/06 04:23 PM.

[shadowman]

> UPN only programs 12 hours per week. Monday-Friday 8PM-10PM
> for UPN Prime and 12PM-2PM on Saturdays for the UPN Movie
> (formerly the UPN Movie Trailer). I remember on my cable
> company in Connecticut, TCI Cablevision all UPN Programming
> on 38 was blacked out, except for the UPN Movie Trailer. At
> first TCI covered up most of 38's blacked out programming
> with The Travel Channel, but later replaced them with
> mind-numbing infomercials. They dropped 38 all together in
> 1999 and replaced it with the cable feed of the Shop-At-Home
> Netowrk.*
>
> The next town over from where I lived had COX Cable. They
> didn't black out anything. They showed all programming on
> 38. And they showed the real WWOR and not that WOR/EMI
> Service Crap.
>
>
> *To this day TCI (later AT&T, now Comcast) refuses to carry
> WSAH/43 Bridgeport which is the local Shop-At-Home O&O
> station. The cable company claims they can't get a decent
> signal of 43 at their head-end, but 43 has offered to fiber
> feed it, but the cable company refuses to accept it.
>
> I read this on some website, I forget which one when I was
> trying to locate infomration about WSAH.
>

is WSAH a full powered station?  If they are, Comcast could be facing some hard times from the FCC, and be forced to carry the channel (via a fiber optic feed).  If WSAH is a LP, they have no choice for action, unless Comcast decides to deal with them.  Just imagine how hard was for WRDM LP to get carried in most of CT.

[wxctintern]

WSAH is a full-power station, not an LPTV or Class A outfit. A business card I got from their Chief Engineer who was/is also the CE at WXCT Radio in Southington shows that the WSAH studios are on Wakeley Street in Seymour. Their tower is either in Orange or Seymour, I forget. A lot of their signal goes to Long Island, which is probably why at one time TV Azteca was attempting to buy it for the NYC affiliate.

Calls: WSAH
COL: Bridgeport
Owner: EW Scripps (Shop-At-Home Network) listed on FCC's site as WSAH License, INC.
Power: 2290KW DA
First Signed on: 1953 as WICC-TV.

[TXengineer]

> is WSAH a full powered station?  If they are, Comcast could
> be facing some hard times from the FCC, and be forced to
> carry the channel (via a fiber optic feed).  If WSAH is a
> LP, they have no choice for action, unless Comcast decides
> to deal with them.  Just imagine how hard was for WRDM LP to
> get carried in most of CT.

The only way Comcast could be forced to carry WSAH, a non network channel, is if the ownership of WSAH filed a petition with the FCC for cable carriage.
Other than that, there are no real "must carry" rules that pertain to carrying the signal.

Even now a days, to carry one of the major networks on a system, the cable company does it by contract only. If Comcast had their way, there would be no broadcast channels on the cable, just the crap they offer now.

[Chopper8]

> Those were the Days. Ask The Manager, Three Stooges, The
> Movie Loft. Red Sox Baseball. Top Cat and The Jetsons on
> Sunday Mornings. It takes an impressive station to still
> remember the Lineup 25 years later. WSBK definitely had an
> impact on people and it was a Good One. Now that the station
> is being stripped of it's affiliation, this will be a very
> rare opportunity for it to return to the "Greatness" that it
> once was. I do mean RARE in the truest sense of the word.
> How often has a Television station gone back to being
> Independant once it has already been part of a Major
> Network? I can never remember it happening before.... EVER!
> So I hope that the station runs with this opportunity and
> returns to what people once loved before the Network took
> over.
>
>  I haven't sat down to figure it out..... but exactly how
> many hours per week will be freed up now that UPN shows
> won't be aired? My guess is that they will stick a movie on
> each night to fill in the empty space left by former UPN
> programming. So if I were a betting man I would say that
> "The Movie Loft" is the most likely of the old programs to
> return to the station. Of course Dana won't host. The
> station will hire some new blood to do it. Isn't that the
> way that all Television works??? They'll Get some Pretty Boy
> in there that nobody will be happy with. Then in 9 Months
> from now we'll all be talking about how much he sucks and
> how they should of brought Dana back instead.
>
>  Ahhhhh Television. You've got to Love it!
>
>
>
> John
>
I hope that WSBK-TV decides to return to their roots. Bring back Dana Hersey's legal ID. And other assorted voice-overs>>>>>> he did at the station. How I still miss The Three Stooges on 38. Along with Mash, Hogans Heroes, Odd Couple, Deputy Dawg, Tennessee Tuxedo, Adam-12, Dick Van Dyke,Kojak. And of course The Movie Loft.

[GUMBA1225]

> WSAH is a full-power station, not an LPTV or Class A outfit.
> A business card I got from their Chief Engineer who was/is
> also the CE at WXCT Radio in Southington shows that the WSAH
> studios are on Wakeley Street in Seymour. Their tower is
> either in Orange or Seymour, I forget. A lot of their signal
> goes to Long Island, which is probably why at one time TV
> Azteca was attempting to buy it for the NYC affiliate.
>
> Calls: WSAH
> COL: Bridgeport
> Owner: EW Scripps (Shop-At-Home Network) listed on FCC's
> site as WSAH License, INC.
> Power: 2290KW DA
> First Signed on: 1953 as WICC-TV.
>

WSAH is licensed to Bridgeport.  Until it went dark in the 60s, it transmitted from Booth Hill in Trumbull, also Fairfield County.  

When it signed back on in the 80s, it began broadcasting from Great Hill in Seymour (New Haven County) at the current Tele-Media Cable headquarters.  http://www.tele-mediacable.com Click Enter, then 'About Us' - while you can't see the transmitter, you can make out the support cables over the building in that picture.  Here's a better picture at http://gallery.bostonradio.org/2003-01/nyc/100-00856-lrg.html but contrary to what Bostonradio.org says, this is Great Hill, Seymour, not Derby.

I don't know why their offices are 3 miles away in downtown Seymour, but they are on Wakeley Street, it's probably a cheaper rent.  They don't have studios there.  When WHAI originated their own programming, they used Tele-Media's studios.  Laurel Vlock was one of the women who bough the station back to life in the 80s.  She had her own show until they became WIPX.  Vlock has since died a few years ago.

I'm actually not sure why anyone would want this channel on their lineup anyway - it's a total waste, in my own opinion.  I hate so see broadcast stations wasted for things that could be on cable, like shopping.  They could easily cater to Bridgeport/Fairfield County, which is devoid of local news, local everything.  Not to mention, Bridgeport is the state's largest city.

According to this FCC document, Hartford County is outside of the station's Grade B Contour.  http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/2000/da000880.doc  They're a New York City market station anyway.  But in Connecticut, their market consists of Fairfield County, Litchfield County, New Haven County, and Middlesex County.