# When remembering what network carried what TV show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649 "2017-05-01T17:27:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/21 "2017-05-02T22:26:56Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Did they lease telephone lines for B&W tv? My father worked at the NBC affiliate in the 60s, and he said that color Bonanza episodes were mailed to the station on reels of video tape. Yup, AT&T owned the lines and the networks leased them. The first transcontinental link was completed in [1951](http://www.long-lines.net/documents/network_51/coax51.jpg) and was a big deal. But stations in cities that weren’t connected to the coaxial cable had to be linked by microwave. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/22 "2017-05-02T22:40:35Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > (The poor sound quality of old TV audio was due to the original limitations of these systems.) They used AM for audio instead of FM. That didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/23 "2017-05-02T22:48:28Z")
I seem to remember concert events for which the audio was simulcast on an FM radio station, so you could get better sound than from your crappy TV’s speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/24 "2017-05-03T00:01:47Z")
It’s not what the OP was looking for, but if you’re wondering what the TV schedule was in any particular year, the info is available on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_United_States_network_television_schedules). Look, for instance, at the [Saturday night schedule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9374_United_States_network_television_schedule#Saturday) on CBS in 1973-74; All in the Family, M_A_S\*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and lastly The Carol Burnett Show. This was before DVRs or VCRs were available, so if you wanted to watch those shows, you had to stay home on Saturday night. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/25 "2017-05-03T00:21:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I seem to remember concert events for which the audio was simulcast on an FM radio station, so you could get better sound than from your crappy TV’s speakers. ABC had [In Concert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Concert_(TV_series)) 1972-75, which was simulcast on FM stations. The shows weren’t live, but were assembled from recent live concerts. The first episode featured Alice Cooper, and the ABC station in Cincinnati pulled it off the air in mid-broadcast. [Looks pretty tame in retrospect.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp4z4cuabEo) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/26 "2017-05-03T01:13:48Z")
It really doesn’t matter anymore, with all the ensuing mergers and splits and acquisitions. Star Trek was an NBC show made by Desilu Then it was a syndicated show made by Paramount Then it was a UPN show made by Paramount Now it’s a CBS show and a Paramount movie franchise. The particular channel or network hardly matters any more. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/27 "2017-05-03T01:16:07Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s not what the OP was looking for, but if you’re wondering what the TV schedule was in any particular year, the info is available on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_United_States_network_television_schedules). Look, for instance, at the [Saturday night schedule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9374_United_States_network_television_schedule#Saturday) on CBS in 1973-74; All in the Family, M_A_S\*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and lastly The Carol Burnett Show. This was before DVRs or VCRs were available, so if you wanted to watch those shows, you had to stay home on Saturday night. What’s interesting is that all these huge acclaimed hit shows were on Saturday night. In the '90s they would be on Monday to Thursday. Nowadays they would be on Sunday night. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/28 "2017-05-03T01:37:25Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Now it’s a CBS show and a Paramount movie franchise. That we must pay gold plated latinum to watch. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/29 "2017-05-04T02:49:24Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A large national microwave relay network was [built out](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_transmission#History) in the 1950s. This was used for phone and network TV distribution. > > Stations in major cities would get their feed from such a microwave link. But in some places or if the relay hadn’t reached you yet, there was a cable. (The poor sound quality of old TV audio was due to the original limitations of these systems.) For really small stations (especially those that aired programs out of network pattern), they had to resort to taped or filmed copies provided by the networks. In Alaska and Hawaii, time sensitive material like sports and news were shipped copies by air; everything else went by surface transport which could take weeks to get there. So what about syndicated programs like Mike Douglas? Until the 80s, a practice called “bicycling” was used. Big city stations got film copies off the bat, and once they aired the program they shipped them to smaller stations. By the time the smallest markets got these programs, the film was pretty battered. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/30 "2017-05-05T13:57:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s not what the OP was looking for, but if you’re wondering what the TV schedule was in any particular year, the info is available on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_United_States_network_television_schedules). Look, for instance, at the [Saturday night schedule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9374_United_States_network_television_schedule#Saturday) on CBS in 1973-74; All in the Family, M_A_S\*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and lastly The Carol Burnett Show. This was before DVRs or VCRs were available, so if you wanted to watch those shows, you had to stay home on Saturday night. That summed up my Saturday nights in 73-74. I was 14. ---
**Author:** ![waem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e47c2d/32.png) [@waem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waem)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/31 "2017-05-06T00:48:40Z")
I remember what the picture looked like by the time it got to us. We watched almost exclusively NBC during the 80s because the picture came in well. ABC’s picture was pushed to one side, IIRC with vertical bars and stripes of different colors. Wavy, like each row might happen to be pushed a little more or less to the side than its neighbor above. And CBS was very fuzzy, and wavered between barely being in color and reverting to b+w. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/32 "2017-05-06T02:07:01Z")
mash was on sundays … how I know that is that’s how my family became murder she wrote addicts … because grandma forgot mash ended and seen the first episode of what my dad used joke as as “the lady of death” show … grandpa just grumped they ripped off Agatha Christie … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/33 "2017-05-06T02:25:28Z")
although I used to rate what networks had what cartoons on it …nbc had the best in my opinion then abc then cbs although I would switch back and forth between all 3 eventually I just ended up watching nbc … then I got a weekend job and just watched anaiminacs and the best batman animated series Now none of them really have cartoons on anymore ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/34 "2017-05-06T02:28:59Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > Now none of them really have cartoons on anymore My G-d, what do children \*\*_DO_ \*\*on Saturday mornings? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649/35 "2017-05-06T21:47:35Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > mash was on sundays … how I know that is that’s how my family became murder she wrote addicts … because grandma forgot mash ended and seen the first episode of what my dad used joke as as “the lady of death” show … grandpa just grumped they ripped off Agatha Christie … M_A_S_H only aired on Sundays in 1972-1973. Then it moved to Saturdays, and then to various weeknights before it went off the air in 1983. Murder She Wrote didn’t even premiere until a full year after M_A_S_H ended. Was Grandma having other memory problems? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-remembering-what-network-carried-what-tv-show/785649.md?page=1)