CNY Hall of Fame

Jerry Stiller (SU) at a book signing, 2005

Daniel Krieger (Smoothdude), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 Link

Impacted by Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

 

The sun could be on CBS Sunday Morning.

This family health crisis and the lack of any ideas not covered by the mainstream media is why I haven't posted in a period.

UPDATE: Susan Sposato 1949-2023

Still need support to tie up loose ends.

This TV Syracuse

Here at last!

 Over a decade overdue, This TV finally makes its CNY début on WONO-CD 11.2.  It's another terrestrial-only station that's low-powered, low-budget and low-rated.  The channel was left blank for some time until owner Rennard suddenly and unceremoniously launched the local affiliate.  The network is owned by Byron Allens Allen Media Group, which owns Entertainment Studios, one of the largest independent TV companies in the country, which produces Funny You Should Ask which he's on and created and airs in syndication (on NewsChannel 9 WSYR in Syracuse).  This TV used to have shows, but since Allen took over from Weigel, it's mainly films from MGM/UA with some programs that may appear on other (or sister) networks, as well as infomercials and E/I for the kids and FCC.

ThisTV in New York State is only also in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and downstate/Tri-state.  There could be other affiliates as I had to look up the WNY ones and I couldn't edit the list on Wikipedia properly without getting a Syntax error until I figured it out.  Back near me, we still wait for sister network Light TV, as well as Quest, Twist, Grio, Doctor, Retro, Cheddar, Clic, Azteca and Fave just to name a few.  Even the bigger markets are still trying to catch up, let alone the small ones.  Still wonder if Spectrum and Verizon FiOS would even pick up the whole WONO/WWDC/WHSU/WTVU tier.  Dish doesn't have a national feed like they do with Laff and Get TV.  Doubt DirecTV would bother, even after spinning off AT&T.

With so many of these upstart networks alongside the A-list ones, over-the-air in the US is as close to the UK's Freeview as we would get here.  However, streaming is still what people do most these days.  At least, ThisTV gives us another choice on the airwaves.

Wahlburgers

Donnie Wahlberg (right) at a groundbreaking of a Wahlbergs outside Chicago in 2019.

 Even though this article is from the sister blog and focuses more on the business side of Wahlburgers, I suppose it counts here.  I know Donnie Wahlberg more from Blue Bloods these days, and have known him from New Kids on the Block and Mark Wahlberg since he was Marky Mark for over three decades.  Reruns are now on TrueReal.

For Alma and Nacho.

Remember to Rescan

Cable and satellite need not apply.

Remember to Rescan: If you receive digital TV over-the-air with an antenna, you should periodically rescan to update the channels you receive. While some boxes do this automatically, you may need to select 'scan' or 'auto-tune' from the TV or converter box control menu to start the scanning process.

TV stars with CNY ties

Vanessa L. Williams in a red carpet-ready red dress!  The L is for local!

There is a plethora of household names that have past personal ties to Central New York as it's too easy to start in a big area.  Been meaning to do this.  Here is a list of ones I know:

Kevin James (attended SUNY Cortland)
Al Roker (attended SUNY Oswego)
Peter Falk* (also attended Hamilton College)

Richard Gere (lived in North Syracuse; appeared on the BBCs MotherFatherSon)
Mike Tirico*

Kevin Michael Richardson*

Bobcat Goldthwait (grew up in East Syracuse)

Tom Kenny (same)
David Muir* (born in Syracuse; formerly on CBS 5; now on ABC)
Jerry Seinfeld (attended SUNY Oswego)
Andrew Daly (attended Ithaca College)

Anne Burrell (grew up in Cazenovia)

Ina Garten*
Ricki Lake (also went to IC)
Ann Coulter (went to Cornell across town)
Keith Olbermann (went to Cornells east campus)
Megyn Kelly* (lived in Syracuse, but later lived in Albany County)
Tom Everett Scott* (does TV occasionally)

Edie McClurg*
Debra Wilson*
Jeff Glor* (formerly of NBC 3 WSTM; originally from WNY)
Bob Costas*

Lindsey Vonn*

Marv Albert*
Ted Koppel*
John Walsh (born in Auburn)
Annette Funicello (born in Utica)
Dick Clark*
Taye Diggs*
Jerry Stiller*
Vanessa L. Williams (pictured; was on Ugly Betty, and is now on Daytime Divas, and is the only local legend on both this and the sister blogs post on CNY)*

*SU alumni

CKWS

Serving Eastern Ontario and beyond.

I've known about CKWS in Kingston, ONT for years as they had listings in TV Guide as they could be reached not only across St Lawrence River in Watertown but also in Utica down NY 12 on cable.  They may even have been available in Syracuse in the '80s.  They were an affiliate of Canadas pubcaster the CBC until a couple years ago when station owners Corus switched it to rival network CTV.  CBC is either available on cable or satellite at least per CRTC regulations, or from a repeater of the Ottawa flagship CBOT.  There is a secondary affiliation with Global for news.  There could be a tier with CTV on DT1, CTV Two on DT 2, Global on CT3, and CBC on DT4.  Gatineau (CRTC) would have to approve this, and it might not work that way there as it would across the seaway.  Third-party owned stations aren't as common in Canada and almost like the US, occur more in smaller markets like Kingston.  Having the same kind of branding is also not widely known there, so it otherwise could be called CTV 11, or CBC 11 in the recent past.  All the major networks have to appear on Cogeco, Vidéotron (eastern Ontario and Québec cable systems, respectively, although both are based in the latter), Shaw Direct and Bell TV (Canada's answers to Dish Network and DirecTV in no particular order).  Even in Canada, some people are trying to save money by using an antenna and watching online (where they can bypass Cancon mandates to watch international programming).

Smaller networks

The most elusive of them all.

In the past decade or so, new networks like ThisTV, Antenna TV and RTN have cropped up on DTV giving people more choice over the air.  Older generations recall being lucky to have three channels on the dial!  Now they can see the shows they grew up with on most of these netlets.  MeTV and Antenna TV have picked up rights to several classics.  Series shown had reruns aired in syndication and on cable in the past after their network run had ended (yet off-network repeats usually start after Series 4 when there are enough to pad out a cycle to avoid too much repetition in a short span of time).  Some have yet to even appear on DVD, BluRay or streaming (The Golden Girls for example are on a few cable stations and now Hulu, twenty-five years after the original series left NBC and twenty after terrestrial broadcast rights expired in the US).  Other chestnuts had not aired at all in years and are now available for a new generation to enjoy although the ratings for these fledgling networks may be bubbling under in the Nielsens as they are low priority next to the big boys today.
Only Albany, Syracuse (now on WONO 11.2), and Buffalo have a ThisTV affiliate Upstate at this time.  Watertown (45.3), Rochester (36.1), Binghamton (20.2), Elmira (39.2) and Plattsburgh (3.3) have space for it.  In my area, if the existing tiers won't expand for the other networks, a new one could open and could get the old CBS 5 studio in the city or the one for WCNY (PBS) in Galeville (Liverpool).
Decades, H&I, Justice, Newsnet, TBD (an actual network, not an undetermined one; currently in CNY and WNY), Movies! and CoziTV are now in the Syracuse DMA, while Escape, Cheddar, GetTV (on air for a time in CNY but now just on Dish with national feed), The Country Network, Localish,  The Works, Light TV (sister to ThisTV; owned by Byron Allen of Funny You Should Ask), MHz Worldview, Newsmax (also on cable and satellite), Quest, Retro, Rev'n, Stadium, WeatherNeation, World (formerly available through WCNY), and YouToo (which is even older than Fox) all also have yet to reach CNY airwaves, although some may be available on cable and satellite as even Fox had a national feed for small markets yet to catch up with the rest of the country with their own station as recently as over a decade ago, but now these poor mans versions of Nick at Nite/TV Land provide an alternative for those tired of todays headlines, reality shows and reboots yearning for a simpler time.  They do have something for the kids if not what I may have watched in my day to meet FCC E/I programming requirements, even if no one really watches at all.
TheCoolTV is down to just a couple stations despite playing more music videos than MTV, BET, VH1 and MuchMusic for that matter combined as late payment of royalties to station owners if not record companies in addition to people watching them online may as well shut the network down.  The Tube previously had the same thing but could also be seen on cable.  I remember The Box with a 900 number back in the '90s where my43 and AMG are today.
If these newbies have new series it might not work due to their low-man status on the totem pole.  Catalogue or library titles account for much of their budgets as far as royalties, rights and residuals.  Old or new there is more competition than ever in America yet only the front line networks get feedback at the water cooler the next business day as opposed to the old guard from when you used the tap.  Still it's good to have more choice when some parts of the world are lucky to even have the bare essentials.

The New Melody Maker: Halloween 2016

Bae will try again this year!

The New Melody Maker: Halloween 2016

Not strictly about the telly but this is important to me so do have a read.  The Nielsens and BARBs are usually down on the night as people go out (albeit more on Saturday this year as it's a weeknight).

Rabbit TV

No free image available.

With cordcutting on the rise (like credit cards using the shears doesn't close your account of course.  You must notify them!), people are looking for ways to cut back.  This USB device lets you see many channels online legally (the pirate sites are likely being issued writs by the solicitors).  Until my new internet service arrives I had to put mine aside.  I hope to have it by New Years so I can watch American Dad! when the latest series commences.  Like Hulu and Netflix, this can eat up data which I go through like water as it is!
Rabbit TV are a division of Freecast.

Cutting the Cord: How do I get started?

Cutting the Cord: How do I get started?

The Future of TV: Learn How You Can Protect the Future of Free, Local Television and Keep the News, Emergency Information and HD Programs You Love

The Future of TV: Learn How You Can Protect the Future of Free, Local Television and Keep the News, Emergency Information and HD Programs You Love

Warm-Air-Fund

Doggy is no Siberian Husky! He needs your support!

Warm-Air-Fund: Trying to escape New Siberia!

Commercials

Remember when commercials were more folksy and not all dross?  Pepperidge Farm remembers!

The idea of commercials go all the way back to the Depression days of radio when Oxydol sponsored what we call soaps hence the name (mainly Ma Perkins).  They weren't as long by the time TV came around.  Over time they have varying quality.  For me if I don't like a commercial I will boycott the advertiser if possible until it's pulled if it's something I'd buy otherwise it does what it's intended for me to do; make me give into their dross message and validate it.  There are those who would avoid a product if it sponsors a show they protest and this has happened.  PBS are the antithesis of commercial TV and the closest thing to a commercial sponsor would be when a company contribute what would be construed as a tax write-off like the Chubb Corporation.

Is AT&T DirecTV Acqusition a Big Mistake, a Clear Win, or a Deal of Unknown Ultimate Impact? | IP Carrier

Is AT&T DirecTV Acqusition a Big Mistake, a Clear Win, or a Deal of Unknown Ultimate Impact? | IP Carrier

Mergermania continues!

TV listings then and now

Not the actual logo but I had the TV Quick one saved and decided to work with that.

TV Guide had launched back in 1953 when people were just starting to buy television sets here in the US.  Newspapers would have listings of their own.  Of course technology changed over the past three generations and counting and then some.  There would be more options and competition.  TV Guide would have a local edition for each cluster market (where I used to live would have one for the local cable system as it was between two markets yet was part of the big one).  The paper would have a poor mans version on Sunday (most still do though mine has been pared down in recent years) which listed what channels were offered in each town.  Many in the '90s provided codes for VCR+ remotes which eased programming the VCR which has now gone the way of the Telex machine thanks to DVD and DVR!  An obscure magazine called Happiness (a cheap cross between Guideposts and Readers Digest that used to be in the free section at the cornershop) even used to have truncated national monthly listings.  Large listings magazines geared towards satellite subscribers were available on newsstands.  On TV there was the Prevue Channel (later TV Guide Channel and now Pop), Zap2It or something else though digital receivers with interactive guides have made the older kind available only on non-digital standard lineups.  As for papers some may not have the listings during the week anymore with the decline of print media when most people can just go online anyway to see what's on.  A lot of them now aren't even in circulation all week long or you have to pick one up yourself like in my area.  Meanwhile, TV Guide about a decade back became a full size magazine and since then only have national listings for print and I stopped buying it as it was no longer what I grew up with, although the local bookshop used to have back issues but I doubt they do today due to a change in ownership and possible lack of interest.  Still Homer Simpson can remember when TV Guide was the few things he ever bothered reading!

Sweeps

30th Anniversary this fall. They brought in the ratings and cheesecake back then!

3-4 times a year it's Sweeps when the Nielsen Ratings are on the scene especially during Watershed (Prime Time).  Scripted shows, reality shows and the news alike will all seem to have an "If it bleeds it leads" mentality geared towards sensationalism hoping to lure more viewers in. February has the Super Bowl, awards shows, mid-season and more while in May it's Season Finales (on terrestrial anyway).  July is quieter as it's summer and not everyone wants to be home so much yet cable has their new seasons.  November is getting closer to the festive period and the new season has everyone settled in.  If you ask me every month now seems like Sweeps and 25% of the year Double Sweeps.
Some may argue that the meter and print survey method of gathering Nielsens is getting dated.  PBS can seem exempt from ratings even though Downton Abbey (from commercial ITV in the UK) will bring them in anyway.  There must be technology now that can tell if people are tuning in even with their DVRs or devices.  Some shows are fish in a barrel while others they're not biting and lead to the axe.  If almost no one's watching anymore then it's better to cut their losses though some people will always complain.  Otherwise, if it pays, it stays.

Cable in Syracuse

The Enron of cable!

While the scope of cable TV in the US has changed over the decades, I decided to focus on my own backyard.  The earliest system I can remember Syracuse having is CableSystems (their old satellites remain at the Chimes Building downtown but may no longer even be operational).  In the suburbs there were NewChannels covering Onondaga County except Skaneateles, Jordan and Elbridge which were under whatever they may have had in Auburn (Newchannels and later TWC CNY's old headquarters in East Syracuse by Wegmans were just torn down).  CableSystems became Cooke Cable by the late '80s and the Adelphia by the mid-'90s which went down in scandal a decade later.  Time Warner Cable already absorbed Selectavision in Cazenovia, NewChannels and then Syracuse and much of Upstate New York north of the Catskills.  Comcast bought other Adelphia markets, though merging with TWC would have brought it all full circle.

Hotel TV

Motel in Mesa, AZ which gets HBO and Fox 10.

Whether you stay at a nice hotel in the big city or even a cheap fleabag motel in the middle of nowhere there will always be a TV in the room.  Many motels will say if there's HBO.  Used to be lucky to have colour TV or even cable in the old days!  When I go somewhere I don't go often I like to see what the local lineup is ahead of time unless it's somewhere I know well enough that I have it committed to memory but the varied nature of national TV means it's like the lottery machine as to which numbers go where for both terrestrial and pay-TV networks,  They always used to say and still do, "Check your local listings" (a rule of thumb with domestic syndication in laymans terms).  I get settled for the night and a list of what's available can be out of date if something changed its name (it could say Court TV instead of TruTV as it's called today) or the lesser known ones are missing (like the CW or myNetwork TV while CBS, C-SPAN or PBS are a given).  Of course you book a hotel 'cos you're on holiday, business, going to an event or what-have-you.  It can give you a sense of home if you like (within US soil anyway, but abroad, you may get a bit of culture shock if you don't find something familiar straight away).  Some hotels will have cable, but others I've gone to have satellite (one had DirecTV and another I think Comcast).  Usually pay-per-view and a looping tourism video channel will also be offered.  I just notice patterns over the years.  For countries with licence fees like the UK I wonder if they pay one per set or hotel and what the HMRCs (the UKs IRS if you like) policy on write offs are but that's another blog!  I just hope I can catch some Corrie again next time!

ION Television

Positively Entertaining.

ION, formerly PAX and i, has had a unique yet underdog history going from airing family and religious shows to police procedural crime dramas and sitcoms.  However they have the least affiliates of all the commercial networks that existed before the DTV revolution in recent history.  ion 56 WSPX in my area have the largest digital tier with six subchannels yet have a small studio in East Syracuse near Walmart.  ion 51 WPXJ in Genesee County serves much of Western New York.  For areas that don't even have a low-power station over the air with ION cable or satellite should have it on their lineup.  Due to the vast size of the nation it'd take an eternity to come up with over a hundred markets that could use ION which could be why they could have lower ratings than my Network TV or the CW.  Upstate NY I know so I could just go from there and a few select other states just to get an idea.  Here's where ION could charge up:

Utica
Watertown
Binghamton
Elmira
Tallahassee (Floridas capital)
Philadelphia (even there)

Just several examples without going out on a limb.