Author Topic: "Priceless" stations  (Read 3744 times)

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Offline ILoveBonusGame

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"Priceless" stations
« on: January 16, 2007, 11:23:32 PM »
I was reading recently that there were times in several areas of the country when the CBS affiliate was "Priceless", not airing Price. Mainly, this related to the New World/Fox affiliation agreement, so Price was not seen since the CBS affiliation wasn't gonna be on the station much longer (WAGA-TV, WJBK-TV, etc). Just out of curiosity - what happened (or happens) in these situations? Why was Price picked as the odd man out?

I had also read KPIX-TV opted to air customary Westinghouse pre-emptive programming in place of Price - was this done up to the 1995 affiliation agreement between Westinghouse/CBS (which were separate at the time)?

Offline Ccook

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Re: "Priceless" stations
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2007, 12:26:28 PM »
WAGA dropped Price after its telecast the Friday before Labor Day 1994, which was three months before it was to change from CBS to Fox. They began running Jerry Springer at 11 AM the following Monday. At the eleventh hour, independent station WVEU/ch. 69 stepped in and cleared Price at its regular 11 AM time.

Because it was sudden, and ch. 69 was a low-rated station, Price lost a good 2/3 of its Atlanta audience. Ch. 69 would run Price till December 9, 1994. That weekend, CBS moved to WGNX/ch. 46 (now WGCL) and Price would air on that station. WAGA, meanwhile, became our new Fox affiliate. Outgoing Fox station WATL/ch. 36 became an independent, only to join the WB that January 1995. WVEU joined UPN and was recalled WUPA. (WATL is now My Network TV and WUPA is now CW.)

Price was odd man out because WAGA reckoned that there'd be less squawking from the viewers if a game show had been dumped than if a soap opera had. WAGA also dumped CBS' entire Saturday morning line-up that fall, and that wouldn't be seen until ch. 46 officially became our CBS station.
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Offline CBSpromoman

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Re: "Priceless" stations
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2007, 01:50:28 PM »
Quote

Ccook wrote:

Price was odd man out because WAGA reckoned that there'd be less squawking from the viewers if a game show had been dumped than if a soap opera had. WAGA also dumped CBS' entire Saturday morning line-up that fall, and that wouldn't be seen until ch. 46 officially became our CBS station.


I'm sure high on the list of WAGA's justifications was the point that they could make more money airing a syndicated show than they could from selling only the commercials in Price's midbreak.
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Offline Ccook

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Re: "Priceless" stations
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2007, 03:05:46 PM »
^ That enters into the equation, yes. WAGA could have bumped Guiding Light, CBS's weakest performing soap, but the station chose Price instead.
"No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately."
--Michel de Montaigne