Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH?

[Scott Fybush]

Doug Bassett wrote:

> My local cable system caries WGN, and I enjoy watching
> the evening news from the Windy City on (rare)
> occasion.  If I stay up late enough I can also check
> out what's happening in So-Cal on KTLA (more likely,
> given the infant's feeding schedule).  Dunno if either
> feed I get is different than what the locals get...I'm
> assuming not (at least in the case of KTLA), given the
> nature of the advertising.  I'm probably not going to
> visit my So-Cal Toyota dealer anytime soon, though the
> folks at KTLA seem to think it might be a nice idea
> for me to.  I thank them (or whoever it is) for paying
> for the closed captioning, so I can read what I'm
> supposed to be hearing over the din of a two moth old
> child who doesn't want his diaper changed (but
> DEFINATELY needs it).  AFAIK WTBS the Superstation and
> WTBS the Atlanta-station are two separate broadcast
> entities.

It's actually WGN that has the greatest divergence between the local 
feed and the national feed these days. Aside from the noon and 9 PM (CT) 
newscasts and Chicago sports, there's almost nothing in common on the 
schedules of WGN-TV and WGN Superstation. WGN-TV is Chicago's WB 
affiliate, and will pick up the new CW network this fall. WGN 
Superstation runs movies and reruns in prime time. Their syndicated 
programming lineups diverge as well.

All the programming on TBS Superstation is purchased and cleared for 
national cable, and there are at most only minor programming differences 
between the superstation feed and Channel 17 in Atlanta. WTBS in Atlanta 
sells its own local advertising, however, and runs its own local public 
affairs shows on Saturday morning. When last I saw WTBS 17, its legal ID 
was a very subtle "wtbs atlanta" superimposed right over the show in 
progress.

The KTLA feed you see on cable is the straight LA feed. It's up to the 
local cable companies to black out any "syndex" (syndication-exclusive) 
content if the local rightsholder for that programming objects.

s