WISN ignores ABC's schedule

[FreQi]

So WISN was supposed to air a new episode of According to Jim and Less than Perfect tonight, but instead they air a local special they called a "Season to Celebrate" about some ice skate club.  It wasn't even HD.

Isn't WISN obligated to follow ABC's programming schedule during prime time?

[John L]

Not sure what the policy is today concerning affiliates carrying network programming.  Years ago local stations always interrupted network programming for syndicated fair while ch. 18 sometimes picked up the tab according to some of my old TV Guides back in the 60s and 70s.  WTMJ-TV carried something in place of network programming and ch. 18 carried the network program.

Course you won't see that happen anymore since all the channels incl. chs 18 and 24 are also network affiliated stations now, not the inde like they used to be.

CBS 58 might pre-empt a network broadcast, but then they will use ch. 41 in this regard.  Bout the only thing that would happen today since CBS 58 owns and operates ch. 41.

But in today's technical standards, technology brings us Digital TV. I don't know if the local stations, chs. 4, 6, and 12, but we know 58 is equipped to broadcast in multi-programming mode. Therefore in the future I am sure 4, 6, and 12 will be able to do that and rather interrupt network programming, but air additional programming on their next channel, like 4-2, 6-2, or 12-2.

Maybe chs 18 and 24 might do that someday? But I doubt it. From what people in these forums have been saying, most have indicated that chs. 18 and 24 will NEVER broadcast in HD, but stay with Standard Def forever.

-John L.

[uplinkguy]

the networks and affiliates all negotiate carriage of network programming.  The percentage of network programming that an affiliate can preempt is predetermined.

The standard contract called for the affiliate to have the right of first refusal to carry a program.  If the station declines, the network can give it to someone else, no matter the ownership or affiliation.  The network used to pay a station about 55% of their rate card for the hours that they had programming on the station.

In the past few years, things have changed.  Network programming is important to a station and the network asks some stations to pay it to carry the programming.  A huge change took place a few years ago in San Francisco, market #5.  KRON used to carry NBC programming until its contract came up.  Their station was by far the dominant station in the market.  NBC asked them to pay for NBC programming.  The station said no.  NBC then proceded to buy a station in San Jose down the road and when KRON's NBC contract was up, NBC programming started on the San Jose station.  KRON news and independant programming has bottomed out in the ratings.  The station's monetary value plummeted several 100 million.



later,
andy

[FreQi]

Perhaps the programming data was not made available to the various schedule lists like tvguide and titantv until some last minute.  I set the recordings for According to Jim and Less than Perfect (I am quite certain) that morning off TitanTV's page.  Today I see the episodes which were slated to air are now listed on Saturday, which actually displaces the scheduled new episode of 8 Simple Rules.

So the original schedule...
December 16, 2003 :: Tuesday
8:00pm - According to Jim - The Christmas Party
8:30pm - Less than Perfect - Santa Claude

Has been rescheduled for...
December 20, 2003 :: Saturday
Noon - According to Jim - The Christmas Party
12:30 - Less than Perfect - Santa Claude

Thank you for the history lesson on the network/affiliate relationship tho.  I thought the affils always bought the prime-time programming from the network, and were under contract to show whatever feed they got at that time.  Of course, now that I think about it, the affils didn't get live prime time feeds before hdtv (since they taped the wildfeed and spliced in their commercials and banners crap a day or so before it was scheduled to air).

[borghe]

DirecTivo caught it.. long live Tivo. :cool:

oh, and bad WISN.. bad...