This has got to be a slap in the face to ABC being relegated to a secondary subchannel. This happens occasionally in smaller markets but rarely in a major one. Can you imagine locally if WKBW was in a similar situation and became independent and ABC moved to 2-2 or 4-2. Interesting that when WKBW signed on in November 1958, the original plan was for it to be an independent station with WGR-ABC, WBEN-CBS and WBUF-NBC. When NBC shut down ch 17, WGR quickly snapped up the Peacock, which they lost in 1956. This left Buffalo without ABC programming, so ch 7 became affilliated with them

This is pretty geeky stuff, but I find it really interesting when things like this happen. 

And it's not without precedent. You cited the Buffalo swap many years ago.

The one that really shocked me was in 1994, when longtime CBS affiliate WJBK Detroit wound up as a Fox network station, when Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought a share in the station and literally changed the channel. 

CBS had to settle for a weak UHF, WGPR (now WWJ-TV) and for years, they didn't even have a news presence there. I'm still not sure they've recovered from the change and it's one of the weaker CBS affils in the entire country.

And then there's what happened in Rochester. WROC-TV had been the NBC station in that city since it signed on in 1949. But in 1989, it switched to CBS, forcing WHEC-TV, the longtime home of the Eye Network, to take NBC. 

I often wondered how crazy it was for viewers there to get used to the idea, and having to change all their VCR settings to different stations. Imagine if WIVB started showing NBC programming, leaving Channel 2 to take CBS. Considering Channel 4 has been with CBS since 1949, it would take some getting used to. 

The largest affiliate change I can think of in Canada was Vancouver in 2001 when
CHAN went from CTV to Global
The former Baton independent became the local O&O CTV affiliate
and the the former Global station became a CITY tv station after a short stint as an independent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Vancouver_TV_realignment

Last edited by LOSat (March 21, 2025 10:06 am)

Similar to what happened in Detroit, Cleveland saw WJW 8 become a FOX affilliate while CBS had to move to the much weaker WOIO 19.

In 1989 there was a situation in Buffalo where WUTV 29 dropped the Fox network and it was transferred to WNYB 49 and in 1990 Fox was brought back to ch29 in a complicated deal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WUTV
https://www.avid.wiki/WNYB-TV

Last edited by canam2021 (March 21, 2025 4:44 pm)

paterson1 wrote:

CHFD Thunder Bay was a CTV affiliate from 1972-2010.  In 2010 after a dispute with CTV over programming agreements, they flipped to Global.

CKPR Thunder Bay (formerly CFPA TV and CFCJ) was a CBC affiliate from 1954 to 2014.  They disaffiliated after CBC put in a rebroadcaster in the area.  CKPR became an affiliate of CTV. 

CBC, CTV and Global don't really have many affiliated stations anymore with private broadcasters.  Most stations are owned by the networks.
 
CBC- 14 Owned & Operated broadcast stations
CTV- 22 O&O
Global- 15 O&O
City TV- 7 O&O 
CTV 2- 7 O&O

With the exception of CBC all above have at least a few affiliated stations in conjunction with private independent broadcasters.

 

Another one in Ontario was in 1988 when CFPL and CKNX Wingham disaffiliated from the CBC and CBC put in the CBLN transmitters covering London, Wingham, and other parts of Southwestern Ontario. CFPL/CKNX went independent, but it was a disaster and they ended up having to sell the stations to Baton Broadcasting only 3 1/2 years later. They disaffiliated at a time CBC still had a strong primetime lineup, and it coincided with the launch of YTV, The Weather Network and various other specialty channels, as well as the expansion of CITY’s signal into the region. It seemed as though they wanted to replicate the success of independents CHCH or 2&7 Calgary, but in a market that was too small to support an independent (especially for CKNX).

I also have wondered what CBC intended for CBLN when it first launched. It had separate “CBLN in Southwestern Ontario” IDs, aired separate ads from CBLT, but rebroadcast CBC Toronto news. It seems as though they may have had bigger plans for the region that never materialized.

I was very young when CKNX and CFPL decided to go independent. I'm not sure but I think there were a few things going on in the back rooms with the CBC laying the ground work of getting rid of the affiliate stations. So it's not if they were going to leave CBC, it was when. Both stations did increase the amount of local programming. CFPL had a morning show that aired on both stations. CKNX started there news at 5:30pm that was mostly entertainment and at 11:30pm had a verity of other local shows from sports to history. On the weekends they begin there own farm show. They also still aired most of the local shows from CFPL. When CKNX closed down the only show that survived was the farm show "The Family Farmer". For the time that this show remained on the air they made a point of making sure this show was a production of CKNX.
On a side not, the final night of CKNX tv was a Sunday night. It was normal for lightning to hit the transmitter and knock them off the air. This night was no different.  They were off the air for most of the night, but came back around 11:30 or so and did a final newscast from Wingham. They ended some time after midnight. I was a teenager watching all of this. The team at CFPL did everything they could to keep the brand name CKNX alive but nothing beats local programing made in the local community, having it sent in is just not the same.

Hansa wrote:

Here's how they announced the change

https://youtu.be/s8cQazufoxo?si=5SnL6WpD1ESebKf-

It sounds like it will be all news except for Mark & Kelly, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

Speaking of all things CFPL, this strikes me as hilarious. It happened in 1962. Twenty-five whole dollars! How did they stay in business after paying that punishing fine! (And how much did they make off of all those extra spots?) 

 

When I was a kid, my family regularly went to Miami on Christmas vacation, and being a broadcast nut even then, I would familiarize myself with all the TV channels available on the hotel room TV. WPLG (then WLBW) Channel 10, was always ABC. 

I can only imagine how weird it must be for those who still watch OTA television to have to reset their dials - and their brains - to get this major American network at a new place on the dial after 70 years.

The switch officially took place at 4:30 AM Monday. It's probably the only big market in North America where a major network has been relegated to a subcarrier - although a low power station has also agreed to pick up the feed. 

Where’s the remote?! Channel 18 is new ABC home for ‘GMA,’ ‘General Hospital,’ Canes-Notre Dame football

Locally, the best analogy would be if WIVB flipped to NBC or ABC. It would be weird to see GMA or Today on ch 4. Although before WGR signed on WBEN did carry a limited number of NBC shows, one of which was Today.

I checked out WPLG's program schedule. It is all news except for 11AM-Live With Kelly&Mark, 1pm-SVU, 2pm-48 Hours, 7pm-Wheel/Jeopardy and 8pm-People Puzzler. Overnights have a repeat of Kelly&Mark with back to back episodes of Chicago PD.

I suspect they will do well with morning and supper newscasts. Live With Kelly&Mark and the Wheel/Jeapordy combo should bring in good numbers as well. Don't know what their weekend schedule looks like. As for CHCH I think they have done extremely well with their Classic TV format. I am sure they looked at the success of METV and AntennaTV south of the border and figured there is a market for this type of programming in the GTA.

Here's another switch in Miami - although not quite as momentous as the ABC swap. 

Those familiar with the market will know the call letters WQAM. At one time, it was the CHUM of the Florida City. In fact, it was WQAM that Allan Waters heard while in the state that inspired him to change 1050 to a Top 40 (or Top 50 in the beginning) format. 

WQAM's days as a rock haven are long gone, but the station has now taken over an alternative formatted 100,000 watt FM signal and will be heard far and wide in the area. It's surprising to me the all sports outlet hadn't done that before. 

I have a special fondness for WQAM, which also remains in its longtime dial perch at 560 AM. It was the station I listened to most when we went on my family's yearly vacation to Miami at Christmas. It was a great sounding place and it was the top rock outlet in the area, with DJ Rick Shaw the Jay Nelson of Florida. (WFUN had better call letters but a worse signal at 790, and not as great jocks.) 

I will always remember WQAM with a great deal of fondness - along with their charts, another thing CHUM copied.