RTV Programming

[Kraven]

Holy smokes quality programming on RTV has gone the way of the doo-doo bird. I recently started to pay more attention ton RTV, has it always been this bad? Also, last night WolfMan Mac' aired something I wouldnt pay 99cents to watch.

I remember in the mid 80s, Nick at Nite: Car 54, Mr Ed, Munsters, Adams Family, Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, Route 66, Laugh In, SCTV... This was great stuff!

Me-TV last night: Batman, Lost in Space, Star Trek.... again good stuff.

Did someone drop the ball at Luken or am I missing something?

Cheers, K

 

[Mr Tony]

I think alot of it has to do with $$$. I dont know how much of the "back story" you know so some may be repetitive

When RTN (as it was called back then) started in 05 it was OK. They started it when Equity Broadcasting (who owned a bunch of stations and actually alot were on G10R...123W...as they were all run out of Little Rock) dropped (at the time) Pax off 3 or 4 stations so they filled it with RTN stuff at night.
They went full blown in 06/07 and had some really good affiliates and some good programming on their affiliates.
Looking through the old archives here and archive.org one of their big affiliates was channel 67 in Buffalo WNGS. Here is a list of RTN programing on there circa 2007

Shows
Andy Griffith Show
The Beverly Hillbillies
Cheers
Family Ties
Get Smart
Gomer Pyle, USMC
Happy Days
Hawaii Five-O
Hogan's Heroes
Little House on the Prairie
The Lucy Show
Matlock
Mission: Impossible
Mork & Mindy
Perry Mason
Wild Wild West

At the time the only "retro" tv channels were RTN and the beginning of "MeTV" which was only in Chicago.
But it seemed like when the time came to renew the shows Equity didnt have any money (which was a well known thing...they ended up bankrupt) so they actually sold RTN to Henry Luken who was the head guy at Equity at one point. Equity was RTN's biggest affiliate setup. Luken really didnt put much "more" into it than what was already there.

Anybody that was on FTA back in 09 remembers the "Red screen of death" when Equity yanked RTN off because of a dispute with Luken. It seemed to go downhill a little more
Throw in the fact the MeTV started in 2010 and Antenna TV in 2011. Luken doesnt have deep pockets to buy the rights to the programs like Weigel and Tribune do.

do some searching in the FTA area for "Equity", "Luken" or "RTN"....it shows some programming hilites

 

[Mr Tony]

programming on RTN circa 2009
http://web.archive.org/web/20090627032302/http://www.myretrotv.com/shows.html

and circa 2010
http://web.archive.org/web/20100111143431/http://www.myretrotv.com/shows.html

 

[CacheFreeTV]

I think there are a lot more "retro" networks bidding on rights to the same programming.

There's a whole lot of old stuff that could be shown on retro networks, but for whatever reason, isn't. The Carol Burnett Show comes to mind, among others.

There was a whole lot of stuff that was lost due to the practice of recording over videotape the early days of television, and then there is the lost archives from the defunct Dumont network, reportedly lost when dumped into upper new york bay in the 70's.

 

[Mr Tony]

also alot of affiliates have left for other options

affiliate list in 2010
http://web.archive.org/web/20100723070112/http://www.myretrotv.com/affiliates.html

affiliate list as of today
http://www.myretrotv.com/UCProgramming.html

 

[CacheFreeTV]

also alot of affiliates have left for other options

affiliate list in 2010
http://web.archive.org/web/20100723070112/http://www.myretrotv.com/affiliates.html

affiliate list as of today
http://www.myretrotv.com/UCProgramming.html

Very true. There are more options for affiliates today then there were in 2010. AntennaTV, Cozi, MeTV, ThisTV - and those are just the choices in classic TV. I'm sure the exodus of affiliates for other options has hurt RTV in their ability to procure programming. I hope the downward slide doesn't continue - I love what Luken is trying to do.

 

[Kraven]

Thanks mates for your replies. Judging by your comments and the current schedule...it looks like RTV's days are numbered. Hope not but the current schedule has no "i want to watch this" shows at the moment.

Cheers, K

 

[Mr Tony]

Hope they do get some more (better) programming too. But I guess when there is public domain stuff out there for free they like to show that

Could it be because they stuck so much into TNN that not its up and running they can spend some money and get better programming on RTV?

And to think......at one time there was rumours of RTV2

 

[Kraven]

Hope they do get some more (better) programming too. But I guess when there is public domain stuff out there for free they like to show that

Could it be because they stuck so much into TNN that not its up and running they can spend some money and get better programming on RTV?


And to think......at one time there was rumours of RTV2

IIRC, there's a ME-TV 2 somewhere out there (chicago area?). There's a growing market for classic/retro shows.. too bad RTV can't capitalize on it.

 

[Conky]

yes RTV deliberately ruined their channel on purpose. It has nothing to do with the high cost of old programs or the fact that a former supplier(Universal) started their own channel Cozi, to cut out the middleman

 

[Mr Tony]

IIRC, there's a ME-TV 2 somewhere out there (chicago area?).

correct. MeToo is the correct name. Its not on satellite due to the syndicated rights. Before MeTV went nationwide they had alot of the shows that are now on MeToo on MeTV.

 

[Trip]

yes RTV deliberately ruined their channel on purpose.

Citation needed.

- Trip

 

[DJdish]

Programming on February 2009

http://web.archive.org/web/20090228200518/http://www.myretrotv.com/shows.html

 

[Mr Tony]

Here is the programming guide 3rd quarter 2010...I'd take that over the "new" version anyday

 

[Mr Tony]

Here are some old schedules from 2009 back when it was RTN

 

[Kraven]

Just finished looking at a list of public domain shows and movies. RTV could really improve its line-up on the cheap if they wanted to...

 

[stanleyjohn]

Last night after Off beat cinema RTV aired an episode of the older Dragnet series.Is this a new add on for Retro TV or does it have the series but choose not to air it regularly.If they have it and rarely show it i wonder how many other TV programs they have that they dont air.

 

[DJdish]

Here´s another 1st Q 2009 schedule I found, not sure why but it has slight differences with the one Ice posted above.

View attachment RTN Schedule 1 quarter 2009.pdf

 

[Kraven]

Goes to show how RTV went downhill...

 

[DJdish]

Goes to show how RTV went downhill...

Exactly.

And here´s some programming from back in the day, the Equity´s RTN days, early 2007.

KCBU, Salt Lake City
Weekdays
1:00PM Rahwide
2:00PM Gunsmoke
3:00PM Have Gun Will Travel
3:30PM Have Gun Will Travel
4:00PM Wild Wild West
5:00PM Perry Mason
6:00PM The Beverly Hillbillies
6:30PM The Brady Bunch
7:00PM Mork & Mindy
7:30PM Happy Days
8:00PM The Lucy Show
8:30PM Hogan's Heroes
9:00PM Hawaii Five-0
10:00PM Mission: Impossible
11:00PM Streets of San Francisco

Saturdays
2:00PM Streets of San Francisco
3:00PM Twilight Zone
3:30PM Twilight Zone
4:00PM Wild Wild West
9:00PM Twilight Zone
10:00PM Movie

Sundays
6:00PM Retro Jams



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