# What ever happened to WHN?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 7, 1999, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781 "1999-10-07T14:45:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [October 7, 1999, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/1 "1999-10-07T14:45:00Z")
The post about the SD TV show on A&E(which of course I remember as it was the only other show i made sure to watch outside of jeopardy) got me to thinking about TV in general. Or, more specifically, WHN, the movie channel(i think it was a channel) that was all the rage, oh, i guess about 20 yrs ago. I think it was sort of a cable Tv rival.Does anyone remember this? what exactly was it and what happened to it?
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so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Tori Amos
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### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [October 7, 1999, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/2 "1999-10-07T15:19:00Z")
Hmmm, wait a sec… maybe it was called WHT??? Help, I’m obviously lost here…
* * *
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Tori Amos
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### Author:  [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)
#### Post date: [October 7, 1999, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/3 "1999-10-07T18:44:00Z")
I don’t know WHT you’re talking about.
So WHN you gonna tell me?
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Yer pal,
Satan
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### Author:  [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)
#### Post date: [October 7, 1999, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/4 "1999-10-07T18:59:00Z")
Do you possibly mean WGN out of Chicago?
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### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [October 7, 1999, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/5 "1999-10-07T22:59:00Z")
no, i’m pretty sure this was a service of some kind. not a local station. i think my neighbors had it(flashbacks of time bandits, xanadu, clash of the titans, and the crush i had on their son who was my age, but i digress)
* * *
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Tori Amos
---
### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [October 8, 1999, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/6 "1999-10-08T00:07:00Z")
In the late '70s and early 80s, in L.A. there was pay channels called ON and another called Z Channel. They both primarily showed films. Z had a fairly impressive range of films it showed.
Both of these channels were sent over the air scrambled. You would then have to buy (rent?) a decoder machine to watch it at your own house.
They were not unlike HBO or Showtime. However, you were only paying for one channel and it cost about the same as basic cable.
I imagine other cities had similar channels.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)
#### Post date: [October 8, 1999, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/7 "1999-10-08T01:17:00Z")
Hope this helps:
WHT - stood for Wometco Home Theater. It was a movie service broadcasting scrambled microwave signals. You needed a microwave antenna & a decoder box to get it, and paid a monthly fee for the frequently blurry, ghosted images.
It was available around here (northeast NJ) in the '70’s, before cable became widespread. Cable justifiably killed it.
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### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [October 8, 1999, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-whn/3781/8 "1999-10-08T02:23:00Z")
thank you so much. yep i think that solves the case.
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so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Tori Amos