The days of an Independent TV Station is pretty much gone. Yes, there are still technically Independent TV Station still around but they aren't the same as the ones that were around during the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's.Today's Independent TV Stations are pretty much,Infomercials 24/7 or some type of Foreign Language. In the good old days, Independent TV Stations showed a variety of movies, kidvid programming and old classic tv reruns. In New York, there was WOR -9, WPIX-11. In Chicago, there was WGN-9 and WFLD-32. In Los Angeles, you had KTLA-5, KHJ-9, KTTV-11 and KCOP-13. In San Francisco Bay Area, both KTVU-2 and KBHK-44 ruled while there were other lesser UHF's. In Sacramento/Stockton, KTXL TV 40 pretty much ruled the roost in the late 1960's to early 1980's. Yes, KMUV Channel 31 went on the air in 1974 with an "All Movie" format which was cool, but they switched to Spanish in 1976. KMUV-31 switched from Spanish to "General Entertainment Independent" in 1981 and battled KTXL TV 40 in the 1980's until TV 40's switch to a Fox affiliation in 1986. Also in 1986, KSCH Channel 58 signed on to join the Indie Battle. By 1995, both Channel's 31 and 58 picked up the new networks of UPN and WB. Today, there are no more True Independents in Sacramento. In San Francisco, there are still 2 of them, but they aren't the same as the old true blue independents of the bygone days.
Sitting here listening to Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London," and missing the 1970's, those long-gone days of "Creature Features" and "Chiller Diller Matinee..."
ReplyDeleteI was just a kid then, setting my alarm for late-night horror movies, before anyone but the most rich had VCR's.
9:00 sharp, every Saturday night, on the great KTXL, the shrieking whistle and horns from "Gotham City Municipal Swing Dance" would start in, with the great rolling eye from that creature rolling, and with it, the screen moving past the eyes from right to left, with various white-lined tracings of Chaney, Karloff, Lugosi, Chaney Jr...
Bob, you made my childhood.
Sitting here listening to Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London," and missing the 1970's, those long-gone days of "Creature Features" and "Chiller Diller Matinee..."
ReplyDeleteI was just a kid then, setting my alarm for late-night horror movies, before anyone but the most rich had VCR's.
9:00 sharp, every Saturday night, on the great KTXL, the shrieking whistle and horns from "Gotham City Municipal Swing Dance" would start in, with the great rolling eye from that creature rolling, and with it, the screen moving past the eyes from right to left, with various white-lined tracings of Chaney, Karloff, Lugosi, Chaney Jr...
Bob, you made my childhood.
Seeing those old logos warmed my heart. I remember getting an eyeroll from my kindergarten teacher when she found that the chalkboard masterpiece I was working on was the KTVU 2 logo.
ReplyDeleteI have a recurring dream of winning the lottery and having my own TV station, which I'd program a la old-school independent stations.
Sigh...