What's my Line? question (1 Viewer)

[jimmyjet]

talk shows had no appeal for me, when i was a kid - nor have they ever, for that matter


plus it was way past my bedtime !!


most of them came on from 11-12, or thereabouts


i dont recall ever seeing him look that young !!

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

 

[jimmyjet]

(Sep 29, 1957)


i was wondering if anyone else ever moderated


john daly was in greece, so bennett took over


i think he did a good job. his method is a lot different than john's


i did not appreciate ernie kovacs. i just dont like those comedians who end up taking the show out of its sync


cesar romero wasnt too bad. but for the most part, it was up to dorothy and arlene to do the work

 

[Cees Alons]

Inappropriate posts (and quote of it) deleted.

Please stay at the content, not the posters or the thread.



Cees

 

[Jack P]

The time Bennett guest hosted it was like watching the proverbial fish out of water. He fortunately had the sense to step aside and let some professionals do the job on the four other occasions John was absent (Clifton Fadiman and Eammon Andrews, the latter being the host of the British version of "What's My Line" in those days).


We are fortunate that the show is becoming accessible on YT to let us see every episode unfold since the chances of GSN ever airing it again in terms of its full run are virtually non-existent.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

The time Bennett guest hosted it was like watching the proverbial fish out of water. He fortunately had the sense to step aside and let some professionals do the job on the four other occasions John was absent (Clifton Fadiman and Eammon Andrews, the latter being the host of the British version of "What's My Line" in those days).


We are fortunate that the show is becoming accessible on YT to let us see every episode unfold since the chances of GSN ever airing it again in terms of its full run are virtually non-existent.

Although the chances of a run on GSN are highly unlikely, when Fremantle's BuzzrTV network gets up and running, there's at least an outside chance they might end up there, along with the colour syndicated version (which is probably a much safer bet). I just hope that network gets enough affiliates/coverage to remain viable. There are so many outfits in the digital sub-channel category now that competition for carriage is just going to intensify.

 

[Sky King]

A little off topic, but was just looking at GSN's schedule.

If it wasn't for Family Feud and The Newlywed Game, GSN's programming would be pretty much non existant.

I remember watching when it first went on air, it was a great classic Game Show Network.

My...how the mighty have fallen.

 

[Gary16]

A little off topic, but was just looking at GSN's schedule.

If it wasn't for Family Feud and The Newlywed Game, GSN's programming would be pretty much non existant.

I remember watching when it first went on air, it was a great classic Game Show Network.

My...how the mighty have fallen.

Same with TVLand.

 

[Sky King]

Did GSN lose the syndication rights for all the great game shows they used to broadcast ?

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Same with TVLand.

...and Sci-Fi Channel, and USA Network and TNT. Basically, it's just the "circle of life" as far as cable networks goes. They start out as a haven for old reruns, because that's low-cost programming for them. As these networks build up a bit of popularity/success, they start branching out into original programming and then start chasing the younger demographics. Yes, it sucks for us, but it's an all too recognisable pattern.

Did GSN lose the syndication rights for all the great game shows they used to broadcast ?

A year or two (or three?) back, when their almost-unrestricted Goodson-Todman library access was up for renewal, they asked G-T for a lower price in exchange for having LARGE limitations to their access, since they weren't using the library as much. That is why you started seeing less G-T shows on air and of the ones you did see, is also why you have been seeing more limited runs of them (they'd buy 50-60 episode packages of something, rerun it a few times, then purchase another package, etc).


With the GSN 'gravy train' now dried up, I can see why Fremantle are eager to start their own network. After all, outside of GSN, what other cable station out there is going to pay to lease their older stuff?


So, once this channel starts, look for practically all Goodson-Todman shows older than a decade or two (perhaps apart from Match Game) to disappear from GSN altogether. Now is the time to send letters/emails to your local TV broadcast stations (your city's ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX affiliates) and ask them to consider adding BuzzrTV to their digital sub-channel lineup.


Edit: I've just fired off emails to all four affiliates in my market.

 

[Jack P]

For me, the glory years of GSN were over by 2004 once the B/W classics disappeared from regular nightly airings overnight and it also became clear we weren't going to see more than the 150 licensed episodes of classic Hollywood Squares (they made a big mistake showing too many episodes from the 1975-77 period with Jonathan Winters defining unfunny ineptitude when it came to doing the least taxing of game shows for celebs).


Of course GSN went through its infamous "Dark Period" in 1997-98 when they let the rights to the Goodson library lapse before the uproar forced them to make a new deal for them, but with hindsight that six month period turned into a great window to see shows GSN still owns rights to but have NEVER aired since (70s Break The Bank, Pass The Buck, original NBC Chain Reaction and Go! along with daily airings of the New York episodes of Pyramid from 1978-80 that still existed). It's too bad that same period was also when their infatuation with showing Newlywed Game seven times a day and giving new life to Barris shows that should have been burned (Three's A Crowd) also reared its head.

 

[DeWilson]

Now is the time to send letters/emails to your local TV broadcast stations (your city's ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX affiliates) and ask them to consider adding BuzzrTV to their digital sub-channel lineup.


Edit: I've just fired off emails to all four affiliates in my market.

It's not that simple in contacting your local broadcast network and independent stations. (including spanish language stations who have English sub-channels)

Most stations, even with capacity for more subchannels are not expanding due to costs and cable clearances while others have long term deals with other sub-channel networks and are at capacity - some to the point of poor compression across the sub-channels.

Then the stations that are network owned and operated are not picking up outside subchannels. Fox O&O of course are picking up BUZZR and own MOVIES!; CBS has DECADES!, NBC has COZI and ABC had LIVE WELL, but the networks are not picking up outside channels.

Then we've got the crowded marketplace for two other new subchannels looking for space - CBS/Wiegel's DECADES and MGM's THE WORKS

Simply put, Buzzr is more about being programing for the Fox O&O stations,and any other clearances are a plus. We've reached the point where networks outstrip available space - much like the early 1950's where ABC and DuMont were secondary affilates in most markets.

 

[DeWilson]

With the GSN 'gravy train' now dried up, I can see why Fremantle are eager to start their own network. After all, outside of GSN, what other cable station out there is going to pay to lease their older stuff?


So, once this channel starts, look for practically all Goodson-Todman shows older than a decade or two (perhaps apart from Match Game) to disappear from GSN altogether.....

Does anyone REALLY expect that Buzzr will be the second coming of B&W G-T Library? The channel is going to tie into their YouTube channel and a younger demographic is as important to them as the fans of the classics.

I honestly don't expect them to air as much B&W shows (by series and time-slots) as people think they are - the entire G-T Library is available, and every major game format has as many, if not more, Color Era shows than B&W!

Unlike GSN, they will have access to classic THE PRICE IS RIGHT (Hours and Half-hours), and the word is missing TO TELL THE TRUTH episodes from the color years (CBS and Syndicated) has been located.

Plus their are those 100's of Tobacco Sponsored shows they can't air.

However, I think it's going to be great for 1960's color game shows. Hopefully all 39 episodes of "I've Got A Secret!" 1970's Color will air as well.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

It's not that simple in contacting your local broadcast network and independent stations. (including spanish language stations who have English sub-channels)

Most stations, even with capacity for more subchannels are not expanding due to costs and cable clearances while others have long term deals with other sub-channel networks and are at capacity - some to the point of poor compression across the sub-channels.

Then the stations that are network owned and operated are not picking up outside subchannels. Fox O&O of course are picking up BUZZR and own MOVIES!; CBS has DECADES!, NBC has COZI and ABC had LIVE WELL, but the networks are not picking up outside channels.

Then we've got the crowded marketplace for two other new subchannels looking for space - CBS/Wiegel's DECADES and MGM's THE WORKS

Simply put, Buzzr is more about being programing for the Fox O&O stations,and any other clearances are a plus. We've reached the point where networks outstrip available space - much like the early 1950's where ABC and DuMont were secondary affilates in most markets.

I never said it was simple or easy, just that writing to your local station cannot hurt. You might be surprised, but back when Antenna TV was starting up, I wrote to my local ABC affiliate, they wrote back a kind reply thanking me for my input and a few months later, Antenna debuted on their digital lineup. I'm not saying "I made it happen", but I'm sure viewer input cannot hurt (at the local level). Yes, as you say, the marketplace is much more crowded than it was just even a few years ago, so that's part of why I think giving input may be more valuable, as many stations will already have digital stations onboard.

Does anyone REALLY expect that Buzzr will be the second coming of B&W G-T Library? The channel is going to tie into their YouTube channel and a younger demographic is as important to them as the fans of the classics.

I honestly don't expect them to air as much B&W shows (by series and time-slots) as people think they are - the entire G-T Library is available, and every major game format has as many, if not more, Color Era shows than B&W!

Unlike GSN, they will have access to classic THE PRICE IS RIGHT (Hours and Half-hours), and the word is missing TO TELL THE TRUTH episodes from the color years (CBS and Syndicated) has been located.

Plus their are those 100's of Tobacco Sponsored shows they can't air.

However, I think it's going to be great for 1960's color game shows. Hopefully all 39 episodes of "I've Got A Secret!" 1970's Color will air as well.

I never said "second coming" for black and white, and certainly did not think my post implied that. I just said it was more likely that some B/W shows could turn up here as opposed to on GSN. I went on to say the color syndicated version of WML? was probably a much safer bet, though (and is an incarnation of the show that I prefer to the CBS version, frankly).


I could see some B/W shows in the wee hours of the night (or early mornings) as a possibility on this channel (to start with), but not necessarily a given. I'm sure, of course, color will dominate (not necessarily a bad thing).


I wonder, does CBS still have the rights to "veto" reruns of Price is Right? I seem to recall that CBS lobbied for TPIR to be removed from GSN's library access many moons ago to keep the reruns from competing with the new episodes. Even if CBS allows reruns now, does Bob Barker still have any say in what old episodes are shown? He was allowed to influence which episodes were chosen for the DVD set, remember (whether he had an actual right to, or BCI was just being gracious/accommodating).


I imagine shows from the '70s and '80s will get the most play, then color '60s and lastly, B/W. And, like most new channels starting out, I'm sure it will be mostly (if not all) reruns in the early days and when/if they get successful, they'll try to shift away from reruns and branch out into original programming (or '90s/'00s reruns). We can't expect vintage reruns to last forever.


I just hope I can eventually get access to this in my market before that happens!

 

[DeWilson]

Most local stations are owned by station groups, so most of the time, pickups are across a number of stations they own. The decisions are above the local level and honestly Andy, the response you got was standard "canned" one they'd send out to all inquiries. (Would interesting to know who owns your local ABC affiliate and what other stations they own and the sub-channel landscape looks like across them)

Contacting local stations really don't sway the decisions. The stations KNOW of the interest of these channels. It's the sales teams of the networks. Especially when there are several in same genre - 5 (with the addition of Decades) classic tv networks,several move networks (General and Focused), a couple of guy-sports network, a couple of kids networks,and so forth.

Every company who runs a subchannel has a sales team that knocks the door of every ownership group and station. They are out there pushing and competing no different than when the studios and distributors sell their shows. There's a reason why RetroTV has never been able to gain back the ground they lost of MeTV,Antenna TV - the other networks are doing a better job selling their network to the station groups-stations! (and the truth RetroTV's line-up looks like one back in the 1970's a poor UHF stuck with the leftovers would program!) There's are three african-american sub-channel networks, but yet Bounce is the one with the best clearances and continues to grow.

Well, the vibe out there is that Buzzr is going to be the second coming of B&W G-T, and wasn't directed at you. (I like the Color WML? as well, it's the best parts of WML? and I've Got A Secret,together) Check other TV forums and boards and alot of people think it's going to be that way.

Well, we'll know in a couple of weeks what the deal with "The Price is Right". Not knowing what the current Contracts with CBS, or anything in Barker's last contract still have or not have regarding a Veto Clause It's listed as being one of the shows planned to air on the network - so something changed.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Most local stations are owned by station groups, so most of the time, pickups are across a number of stations they own. The decisions are above the local level and honestly Andy, the response you got was standard "canned" one they'd send out to all inquiries. (Would interesting to know who owns your local ABC affiliate and what other stations they own and the sub-channel landscape looks like across them)

Morris Multimedia.


It might have been a "canned" response, but WTVQ were, surprisingly, very "open" with me in the few correspondences I had with them. The evening news anchor (Tom Kenney), surprisingly, fielded an email I'd sent them asking as to the archive status of their old, locally-produced children's show Happy's Hour. Tom replied to me personally, and copied the station manager on my reply, saying that this person might have a better shot at answering my question. A day or so later, I got my reply (sadly, as I thought, there wasn't one single master tape left in existence). Was very surprised.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Well, we'll know in a couple of weeks what the deal with "The Price is Right". Not knowing what the current Contracts with CBS, or anything in Barker's last contract still have or not have regarding a Veto Clause It's listed as being one of the shows planned to air on the network - so something changed.

I'm sure no-one wants to believe this, but it's entirely possible that the TPIR reruns could all be the Drew Carey version, as those wouldn't be subject to Bob Barker in any way, and would, frankly, be more desirable to advertisers. However, CBS might be even more against this notion than against the old Barker episodes, as the "new" ones would be more likely to cannibalise viewers from the first-run CBS shows.


If I had my "pick", I'd want them to be sure to include the syndication versions in the mix, too (especially the Dennis James/Tom Kennedy ones).

 

[AndyMcKinney]

I just checked the Morris Multimedia stations. None of them have exactly the same line-ups of digital subchannels. In fact, WTVQ is the only Morris station carrying AntennaTV.


Of their stations, only one has Cozi-TV, only one has Bounce-TV. One has both Fox and NBC affiliations (!), while another one or two have CW secondary affiliations.


Most (but not all) of them carry MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliate.


What you said might be true of most station groups, but for a small group like this, they are apparently either letting the local stations decide, or they're just picking additional affiliates on a city-by-city basis.

 

[Jack P]

The thing is, even though it is listed as a subchannel for one of my NY stations, I have no idea if it'll be available on my cable provider.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

The thing is, even though it is listed as a subchannel for one of my NY stations, I have no idea if it'll be available on my cable provider.

Probably not, at least, not at first. Cable and satellite providers aren't obligated to carry the entire slate of local affiliate subchannels, just the primary local channels (the .1 channels). Cable systems vary widely in what they carry. In a nearby town (Corbin, KY), they carry the MeTV subchannel for WLEX, but do not carry the AntennaTV one for WTVQ. Also, they carry MyNetworkTV from WTVQ's second channel, but do not carry the CW network from WKYT's.


Also, Dish Network carries WKYT's CW subchannel, but none of the others I mention above.


EDIT TO POST #398: I just checked the station listings for all four broadcast groups owning stations in the Lexington, KY area. LIke Morris Multimedia, none of these station groups have a uniform slate of digital subchannels. Not even close. There are some patterns (a lot of CW and MyNetworkTV secondary affiliations), but it's really a jumbled bag. The largest station owner seems to be Sinclair, who own the Fox station (WDKY), but their slate of digital stations is just as jumbled amongst their various holdings as anybody.