Jump to content

Houston "superstation"


J.A.S.O.N.

Recommended Posts

It would be great if it were sort of KHOU in the style of news programs they do. The stories should try not to be so much about individuals and how they were in an accident, wronged, etc. Focus should be on the community at large. Instead of doing a segment on how someone got ripped off by a car dealer do a story on fraud in the car biz and perhaps feature the person on the side. KHOU is excellent in reporting like this while the other big 2 zero in on individuals and not the public at large.

Such a station should also have no national talk shows at all. The syndication money is helpful but at 1 am or something they should just switch to infomercials to generate revenue. Reruns of old shows and sitcoms should be restricted to daytime and never primetime. They should each night show a movie from 7pm-9pm and then one from 11pm to 1am. News should never be more than a max one hour block. Of course, they would have no national news since there is no network so that would not be a problem.

The station should for sure do a Debra Duncan style local talk show with a roundtable discussion like Politically Incorrect or The McLaughlin Group. It should not drift towards a "The View" format though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are you guys talking about, we already have a WGN type station. The WB channel 39 ! Have you guys been livin under a rock ? :D Don't you guys get enough "GOOD TIMES" and "Barney Miller" reruns already ?

Edited by TJones
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are you guys talking about, we already have a WGN type station. The WB channel 39 ! Have you guys been livin under a rock ? :D Don't you guys get enough "GOOD TIMES" and "Barney Miller" reruns already ?

They mean a WGN type station that is seen nation wide like WGN Chicago can be seen in Houston with local Chicago news everyday. I wounder why Chicago shows their local news nation wide though? It seems unprofessional to me. But I like watching it sometimes to see whats going on in Chicago. Atlanta TBS Superstation can be seen in Houston also. They always show the Braves play, giving there city recognition. Also they on the shows that they have on the channel like movie and a makeover (taped in Atlanta) always mention their city.

So I really! think that a station like that in Houston will do good for Houston.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are you guys talking about, we already have a WGN type station. The WB channel 39 ! Have you guys been livin under a rock ? :D Don't you guys get enough "GOOD TIMES" and "Barney Miller" reruns already ?

This is called SARCASM, look it up citykid. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have cable and haven't for years, but aren't all the 'superstations' independents, as opposed to network affiliates? The term was just a marketing term originally, first used by Ted Turner; the FCC stepped in with an official definition (neither WGN or WTBS qualifies) but anyone can call themselves a superstation. To have any meaning, they have to be carried on cable systems to areas where they provide programming not otherwise available.

A city doesn't acquire one, a broadcaster or broadcast company with a vision creates a station that offers something others don't and convinces cable companies to carry them. That'd be a big hurdle today with the proliferation of cable channels and so many providers wanting to be carried.

If we were to have one locally, I'd prefer to see it be KUHT. Yes, yes, yes, I know it's mediocre, but the potential is there and there isn't a PTV superstation that I know of. That rather than another independent showing reruns and infomercials.

Edited by brucesw
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm just going by memory but I think it was baseball that helped make these two superstations - they jumped into the rotation in the early days of cable - back when we used to get excited to have 20 channels!

WTBS offered Braves baseball and WGN offered Cubs baseball - and they must have made affordable additions to cable lineups.

I think WTBS somewhere lost the image of being a local Atlanta station and morphed into TBS cable, but WGN still has the remnants with local news and stuff. I always wondered about the affordability of local Chicago advertisers buying time on a national station - but I'm sure they have found a way to make it cost effective.

I can't imagine a new local superstation emerging in the current environment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the exception of the noon and 9pm news, the programs on WGN/Chicago and Superstation WGN are entirely different. They are operated as separate stations with distinct programming. You can see it if you look at the online TV guides.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

too bad the deal didn't go through for an astros/rockets station. that could have turned into a national station if it went well.

but fox sports came in and offered a cheaper deal to show all the games.

So that didn't go through? I thought it would be launced in a few years?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nope, as far as i remember that fell through when Fox Sports decided to offer Fox Sports Houston and show the rockets/astros.

it was cheaper since they are able to use the existing infrastructure (Fox Sports Southwest) and they made a better deal for the teams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I lived in El Paso, TX we used to get KTLA (which wasn't a superstation it was their actual station) however we never got the SuperStation from Chicago. Weird how that works. Anyway I used to watch "Channel 5 in the Sky" with Jennifer York and all the traffic reporters Jennifer York used to have early in the morning. It was kinda interesting!

Especially around Christmas when they had the Christmas parade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I lived in El Paso, TX we used to get KTLA (which wasn't a superstation it was their actual station) however we never got the SuperStation from Chicago. Weird how that works. Anyway I used to watch "Channel 5 in the Sky" with Jennifer York and all the traffic reporters Jennifer York used to have early in the morning. It was kinda interesting!

Especially around Christmas when they had the Christmas parade.

So while you where living in little old El Paso, you felt like you where living in Los Angeles. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the "deep" south there is a regional channel called Turner South based out of Atlanta (again). http://www.turnersouth.com/

El Paso compared to Houston is small but the city itself isn't really that small and not easy to nagivate around if you are uncomfortable driving around mountains.

Its one of the largest cities in Texas actually.

I loved El Paso but hated the scorpions. Those little buggers were everywhere! They hide in your clothes, in your dishwasher. they climb up walls. BUT El Paso has some of the nicest wealthier homes I have ever seen especially on the mountain side!

313392.200x150-abs.jpg

just some examples

217179.200x150-abs.jpg

http://www.teamolivas.com/ext_real-estate_...1883/index.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

El Paso compared to Houston is small but the city itself isn't really that small and not easy to nagivate around if you are uncomfortable driving around mountains.

Its one of the largest cities in Texas actually.

I loved El Paso but hated the scorpions. Those little buggers were everywhere! They hide in your clothes, in your dishwasher. they climb up walls. BUT El Paso has some of the nicest wealthier homes I have ever seen especially on the mountain side!

313392.200x150-abs.jpg

just some examples

217179.200x150-abs.jpg

http://www.teamolivas.com/ext_real-estate_...1883/index.html

I know I have been to El Paso twice on the way to Los Angeles, and San Fran.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the mountains and the weather! :)

I could never drive from Houston to El Paso (my stepfather did and that's a 13 hour drive w/stopping overnight in Ozona, TX AKA Middle of nowhere)

and not much to see along the way. Once you leave San Antonio on I-10..it gets boring.

Past San Antonio I liked looking at the senery, the mountains, hills, and everything else.

Edited by citykid09
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would be cool if channel 51 or 55 the tube could become a super-station I kn ow hardly anyone watches them but heck if they had some money and bought better programs an/or produces less then 15 hours of original content they could be a super-station especially the Tube I do occasionally watch Leave It To Beaver it comes on the Tube some time around MIDday

Edited by eelimon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I lived in El Paso, TX we used to get KTLA (which wasn't a superstation it was their actual station) however we never got the SuperStation from Chicago. Weird how that works. Anyway I used to watch "Channel 5 in the Sky" with Jennifer York and all the traffic reporters Jennifer York used to have early in the morning. It was kinda interesting!

Especially around Christmas when they had the Christmas parade.

Actually, KTLA is a superstation, but they don't bill themselves that way. With a market the size of Los Angeles, they don't have to. And the parent company is more interesting in making WGN a national force rather than having multiple superstations competing with its own properties.

WPIX/New York, WLVI/Boston, and KWGN/Denver are also regional superstations, though with nowhere near the reach of WTBS or WGN.

By the way, like WGN the programming on WTBS (TBS) Superstation and on WTBS/Atlanta are different for all the same licensing reasons.

Strangely, WGN has started some original programming. Not much, but they have a reality show about racing cars, a paintball tournament show (sounds dreadful) and have imported a couple of dramas from Canada. Still, they're a long way from TBS-sized fame and fortune.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the mountains and the weather! :)

I could never drive from Houston to El Paso (my stepfather did and that's a 13 hour drive w/stopping overnight in Ozona, TX AKA Middle of nowhere)

and not much to see along the way. Once you leave San Antonio on I-10..it gets boring.

Thats why you take hwy 90 ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Actually, the signal broadcast in the Chicago area for WGN operates as the city's WB affiliate (Tribune Broadcasting owns both WGN and a heavy stake in The WB). The WGN signal beamed via satellite to the rest of the country (the Superstation) does not carry WB programming...this was the result of litigation filed way back in the late 90's (pushed by UPN). When The WB launched in 1995 WGN beamed the network's programming out to the entire country, bascially making The WB available in far more households via cable rather than over broadcast stations (affiliates). The other broadcast networks immediately objected, and the FCC forced the switch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...