tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post41744348036097485..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: This week in TV Guide: July 2, 1977Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-72742863088922216842016-07-06T17:09:37.015-04:002016-07-06T17:09:37.015-04:00This entry sent me over to look at CALL ME TED in ...This entry sent me over to look at CALL ME TED in Google Books, and it's an interesting read, as it goes...Turner, having bought Channel 17 to expand from radio and billboard advertising (TCG originally referred to Turner Communications Group) played some interesting programming strategies from the beginning, focusing on movies as counterprogramming to network talkshows and Sunday morning religious programs on the other stations, and getting some profitable clearances of locally-pre-empted network programming, till WTCG started making deals to gather up local sports coverage as the network affiliates gave up on them, in the early '70s. (WTCG got its biggest audience to date with their clearance of the ABC premiere of BRIAN'S SONG, getting more than four times the audience the ABC affiliate saw with their local NBA game pre-emption.) https://books.google.com/books?id=O8bQBgj2znwC&pg=PT65&lpg=PT65&dq=wtcg+watch+this+channel&source=bl&ots=wWDbjHPJdE&sig=Yd64Hi-glWBmGR74v1yO3HCZIY0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNlc3y2t_NAhXHXD4KHW-mAK8Q6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=wtcg%20watch%20this%20channel&f=falseTodd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-82047805854967128792016-07-05T18:15:03.402-04:002016-07-05T18:15:03.402-04:00The parade ended after 2007. The primary problem ...The parade ended after 2007. The primary problem now is the Peachtree Road Race starts at 6:45 AM (wheelchair/crankchair divisions) and the last wave of runners starts just past 9:10 AM, with the last wave starting after 9:30 AM. Cleanup of Peachtree Street has effectively made the parade impossible for a 1 PM parade with 60,000 runners! <br /><br />WSB TV still runs a fireworks show at Lenox Square that night -- way after the cleanup from the race has ended. I find the WSB fireworks stage taking up a chunk of the parking lot as I stretch and prepare for the logistics of the 10,000 meter jaunt that morning!<br /><br />It was not until 1982 that Wimbledon did schedule Sunday finals.Bobbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02366544608847776006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-72166967019344086622016-07-05T17:21:12.721-04:002016-07-05T17:21:12.721-04:00There's a CBS Newsbreak from that night on You...There's a CBS Newsbreak from that night on YouTube(anchored by Morton Dean) which featured a promo for that "They Said It With Music" special and was followed by a "due to the following programming" bumper: One of the shows pre-empted by that "Music" special: "All's Fair," starring Bernadette Peters, who appeared on that specialAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00043758767085991440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-29723498353289692242016-07-04T15:52:56.664-04:002016-07-04T15:52:56.664-04:00Inexorable time in its flight:
I didn't reali...Inexorable time in its flight:<br /><br />I didn't realize how long it's been since I've had any thoughts about Ted Turner.<br />Apparently, the once "Terrible Ted" has retired from public life, concentrating on his philanthropies (his five adult children have all followed suit).<br />It was different back in the '70s-'80s; you couldn't pick up a newspaper or magazine, or turn on your TV, without hearing something about a flamboyant, eccentric billionaire who not only took over various businesses but tried to run them himself, as publically as possible.<br />Remember when he appointed himself manager of the Braves? It took him all of one night to realize that his lack of baseball knowledge was working against him.<br />When he tried to compete with Vince MacMahon's wrestling empire - same result; MacMahon's years of experience was more than a match for Turner's money.<br />Television was a different story: When Ted used satellite tech (then mainly unused at the local level) to take a UHF station national, you might say that he was anticipating the digital explosion that came at the century's turn.<br />WTCG? The grandparent of MeTV, Cosi, Antenna, GetTV, and their many digital and cable siblings.<br />Above all, let us not forget that Ted Turner created CNN, thereby also creating the 24/7 news cycle that we have now.<br />Hey, you win some, you lose some ...<br /><br />In his time, Ted Turner was a Media Star, virtually inescapable from public view with his funny little mustache, his nasal twang, his highly variable love life, and his penchant for saying the Wrong Thing at the Wrong Time.<br />More than a few times, I'd hear someone express this sentiment:<br /><b>"Well, it could be worse - he could be running for President!"</b>Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-59636072940099404352016-07-03T04:48:45.183-04:002016-07-03T04:48:45.183-04:00Agree on Fernwood2Night; Fred Willard and Martin M...Agree on Fernwood2Night; Fred Willard and Martin Mull made that show far more memorable than the Mary Hartman soap opera spoof, which hasn't aged nearly as well.Halhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09291930694234773688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-44302870702872777832016-07-02T21:26:37.038-04:002016-07-02T21:26:37.038-04:00Sorry I meant "early days of WTBS in the late...Sorry I meant "early days of WTBS in the late 70s".Al Leosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-31565968829562718102016-07-02T21:25:29.028-04:002016-07-02T21:25:29.028-04:00--One thing I remember about WTBS (and a big reaso...--One thing I remember about WTBS (and a big reason I preferred WOR and WGN) was there was nothing really Atlanta about it: no local news or commercials. Were things different in the early 70s?<br />--You are right "Fernwood" is better remembered than "Mary Hartman". I remember Fernwood from the Nick at Nite reruns very well, and both Mull and Willard have had long careers. I never saw Mary Hartman rerun at all, and Lasser pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth after she left the show.<br />--The NBC baseball slot is so odd. Of course NBA games of this era were often tape delayed, but what other sporting events were aired live in late night (at least on the East Coast)?Al Leosnoreply@blogger.com