Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › TV Programming › Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

post #1 of 37
10/24/07 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
Now that TV LAND and Nick At Nite are moving away from shows of the 50s and 60s and onto stuff from the 80s and 90s, there's hardly an outlet for REAL classic shows from TV's early years.

Why not establish a premium channel that can do for classic TV what TCM has done for classic films? Wouldn't it be great to see shows from the past newly remastered, complete, with no cut footage or commercials? There are many shows from the past lying in vaults waiting for rediscovery that have been (so far) bypassed by the studios for DVD release.

The setup could be like TCM's, with a host like Robert Osborne. In this case, the new TV channel could have as hosts TV favorites like Dawn Wells, James Garner, Stefanie Powers, Jerry Mathers, June Lockhart, Lee Majors, Max Baer, Adam West, Kate Jackson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Julie Newmar and more. Get the idea? And the shows- how long has it been since we've seen shows like:

Our Miss Brooks
December Bride
M Squad
The High Chapparal
77 Sunset Strip
Peyton Place
The 6 Million Dollar Man
It Takes A Thief
Thriller - with Boris Karloff
Julia
Car 54
The Donna Reed Show
The Farmer's Daughter
Have Gun Will Travel
Petticoat Junction
Burke's Law
The Name of the Game
Medical Center
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Burns & Allen
The Life of Riley
Family
Eight is Enough- and so many others from the 50s-70s?

There must be someone out there in the TV world who has thought of this idea- so why not make it work?
Reply
post #2 of 37
10/24/07 at 11:02am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

The closest thing that is available, to my knowledge, is the American Life TV Network. Here is a link that lists the shows they now air. Until about two weeks ago they were showing China Breach. It was, unfortuneately, replaced with Rat Patrol.

http://www.goodtv.com/genres.php
Reply
post #3 of 37
10/24/07 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

I already have it, and am more than peeved that they took off practically all of the classic early WB shows like The FBI and Hawaiian Eye off the schedule!
Reply
post #4 of 37
10/27/07 at 4:02am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

I'd pay for a "Time Warp TV" channel that showed everything EXACTLY as it originally aired the first time, including commercials and show promos, and the often bad on-air film chains the shows ran on.
Reply
post #5 of 37
10/27/07 at 5:08am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

The question is whether you -- and at least (say) 10 million others -- would pay $12 per month for that...
Reply
post #6 of 37
6/3/08 at 6:13am
Thread Starter 

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Of course! Of the major TV/movie groups, I'd think Time Warner and Viacom would be the most likely to start such a network due to their vast TV libraries.

Another thing: as a soap opera buff, I'd like to see a similar channel with classic soaps of the past. There was talk a few years ago about SoapNet launching a second channel (probably for this purpose), but nothing has happened.
Reply
post #7 of 37
6/3/08 at 7:01am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Ellis
Of course! Of the major TV/movie groups, I'd think Time Warner and Viacom would be the most likely to start such a network due to their vast TV libraries.

Another thing: as a soap opera buff, I'd like to see a similar channel with classic soaps of the past. There was talk a few years ago about SoapNet launching a second channel (probably for this purpose), but nothing has happened.
That would be wonderful. And they could usher in the new channel with a complete showing of Peyton Place, for starters.
Reply
post #8 of 37
6/3/08 at 9:49am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

> The question is whether you -- and at least (say) 10 million others -- would pay $12 per month for that...

I think that's the reason.

If they don't think shows from the 50s are worth showing on basic cable, why would they think people would pay extra for it?

Look at HBO- how many movies do they show that are more than 20 years old?
Reply
post #9 of 37
6/3/08 at 10:44am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Lockwood
> The question is whether you -- and at least (say) 10 million others -- would pay $12 per month for that...
Well, I would pay that *if* I could have the same amount deducted (and the channels taken away) from my package that I never watch. But I realize that that is probably not going to occur.
Reply
post #10 of 37
6/3/08 at 11:59am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Lockwood
Look at HBO- how many movies do they show that are more than 20 years old?

None. TCM shows them and doesn't seem to be strapped for cash.
Reply
post #11 of 37
6/3/08 at 12:56pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

TCM isn't a premium channel.
Reply
post #12 of 37
6/3/08 at 4:34pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

i might pay for a channel like this..
btw whats a "ad on air film chain"?
Reply
post #13 of 37
6/3/08 at 5:01pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zack Gibbs
TCM isn't a premium channel.

But Fox Movie Channel is. One of the studios would have enough of a back catalog of TV shows to run the gamut of decades and fill a whole channel.
Reply
post #14 of 37
6/3/08 at 6:57pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MatthewA
But Fox Movie Channel is.

No it isn't...

Not with DirecTV anyways.
Reply
post #15 of 37
6/3/08 at 8:46pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

It is on Time Warner. I have a pretty expensive package and get just about everything, but that's one of the very few channels that gets the "call to order" message when I try to tune it in.
Reply
post #16 of 37
6/4/08 at 5:30am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

I also have an insanely expensive premium package on Comcast, and would have to pay an additional fee to get FMC.
Reply
post #17 of 37
6/4/08 at 7:21am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Hulu, check it out, you might like some of what you see
Reply
post #18 of 37
6/4/08 at 10:04am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Just to clarify, that's hulu.com, not some bizarre greeting. I add this because I only heard of it a few days ago myself.

Hulu out there in TV land!
Reply
post #19 of 37
6/5/08 at 9:10am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary_P
I also have an insanely expensive premium package on Comcast, and would have to pay an additional fee to get FMC.
On our Comcast system FMC is included in a Sports and Entertainment package that costs $4 extra a month. Every channel but FMC in this package are sports channels. Since the FMC is not in HD I have been thinkng of dropping it. We also have HD Net and HD Net Movie channels but it costs $7 per month for just those two channels.
Reply
post #20 of 37
6/5/08 at 4:04pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

I wish I knew how suppliers like DirecTV evaluate possible channel additions.

I'm a sports fan, but with the various ESPN's, the various Fox Sports', the Big 10 Network, CBS, ABC, etc., I feel we are already close to the saturation point for college football and basketball. Yet DirecTV apparently plans to add a new channel Mountain, devoted to Mountain West Conference athletic events.

I would rather have DirecTV shore-up its news lineup by adding 'BBC World', or add the 'American Life' channel mentioned in this thread.
Reply
post #21 of 37
6/5/08 at 6:45pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg_S_H
Hulu out there in TV land!

Well, hulu to you too, Greg!

Yeah, I have been there, and I'm fairly impressed with the offerings, including quite a few things that aren't out on DVD and may never be. ("Raynes," anyone?) At that moment, I can't really use it -- too slow a connection at home, and I have a sneaking suspicion my boss would kinda frown on my spending my work day watching streaming video! But it's definitely something I'll be checking out more fully when I have a faster connection at home. Some good stuff on there, and the commercial breaks are mercifully short.
Reply
post #22 of 37
6/5/08 at 9:57pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Oh, speaking of hulu, I've got a strange one! There is at least one example of music replacement in a show that is on hulu but hasn't made it to DVD. The John Doe episode called "Mind Games" features the Gin Blossoms song "Long Time Gone" about a minute and a half in. The song didn't exist when the show originally aired.
Reply
post #23 of 37
6/12/08 at 9:56am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

to answer the subject question: it DOES exist!!!!

NETFLIX!
Reply
post #24 of 37
6/12/08 at 3:56pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

But that's really it; given the limited appeal, and given that all of the content has existed for a while (i.e., isn't "just come out"), Netflix and Blockbuster Online are going to be the best premium options, making it that much less worthwhile to pursue other types of outlets.
Reply
post #25 of 37
6/12/08 at 5:38pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

When it comes to the pioneering Warner Bros. series, FEW of them are available on DVD from Netflix or anywhere else. Not 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon St. Beat, Roaring Twenties, SurfSide 6, Maverick, Bronco, Sugarfoot, etc. American Life ran these (their license to air them has expired), but I could never get a cable company to keep delivering the channel for more than six months at a time. I watched (and loved) Ben Casey on it way back when it was the Nostalgia Channel, but again, the cable company pulled the channel after 4 months. There is simply no way to get things like Dr. Kildare, Medical Center and virtually any drama in black and white from the 1950s and 1960s. Look how long it took for The Fugitive to come out! If some cable channel would air these, I would pay up to $40 EXTRA a month for it. Easily.
Reply
post #26 of 37
6/13/08 at 4:42am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

How many of you are there? Figure with just 300,000 subscribers willing to pay $40 extra per month for that channel, that would be a good amount of subscribers. I suspect, though, that getting that number of subscribers would be a problem eh?
Reply
post #27 of 37
6/13/08 at 7:30am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

And I kind of doubt there's 300k willing to pay $40 a month (that's way at the lonely end of the bell curve).
Reply
post #28 of 37
6/13/08 at 9:39am

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary_P
I also have an insanely expensive premium package on Comcast, and would have to pay an additional fee to get FMC.

I get FMC as part of Comcast. It is in one of the digital tiers (like TCM is). It isn't a premium channel like HBO or Starz, but it comes bundled with a bunch of other channels.

It isn't worth paying extra though. The only difference, as much as I like old movies, I rarely watch FMC. I go through the programming and they very rarely have anything worth seeing.

Meanwhile, I routinely watch 2 or 3 movies a week on TCM. I'm Tivoing one this morning.

As for a new cable channel, with all the problems of getting cable companies to carry new channels, I'd rather that TV Land just started airing the programming they used to. Who wants reality shows and original programming?
Reply
post #29 of 37
6/13/08 at 12:19pm

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Martin
As for a new cable channel, with all the problems of getting cable companies to carry new channels, I'd rather that TV Land just started airing the programming they used to. Who wants reality shows and original programming?

And, "On Fridays, TV Land becomes Movie Land!" Great. Like there aren't enough outlets for '80s/early '90s movies. Since we're on the subject, it was bad enough when TV Land squeezed the credits, but now they aren't even showing original credits most the time. They just take the information and retype it, white on black. And, the bugs are getting incredibly bad. They have that stupid "She's Got the Look" info on the bottom right continously, and now they have a huge red carpet roll out for their awards show. Animated advertisements are getting to be a huge problem on all the nets.
Reply
post #30 of 37
8/30/08 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?

TVLand has gone to hell- instead of adding rarely-seen vintage shows from the 50s-80s, they give us feature films that have already played thousands of times on cable and network TV on weekends! What a waste. It's actions like this that emphasize the need for a premium classic TV channel!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: TV Programming
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › TV Programming › Why isn't there a PREMIUM 'classic TV' channel?