WNEW The Affiliate that made a difference!

[Cure DragonEagle 255]

I know Reality is way more complex than the fairy tale Sandy Frank gave in interviews but I still believe this was the affiliate that made a difference! The Fun's on Channel 5! I was so moved by the story I even wanted to go to WNYW headquarters if I ever visit NEW YORK!




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv3CZu6xmYM

[The Other Jason]

Hi CureDragonEagle,

I know Reality is way more complex than the fairy tale Sandy Frank gave in interviews but I still believe this was the affiliate that made a difference! The Fun's on Channel 5! I was so moved by the story I even wanted to go to WNYW headquarters if I ever visit NEW YORK!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv3CZu6xmYM

That would be a required field trip, for sure!
Thanks for posting the station promo, it's very cool. It's great to see things like that preserved and I'm always searching for more.

[Hinotori]

Wow! I just went back more years than I want to admit to! I don't remember the visual of the promo, but the jingle was in the deep recesses of my mind.

WNEW was a great independent station. They had such a variety of programs and programming. And the cartoons they showed...some of my favorite ones (besides BotP, that is!) were run on WNEW.

I remember when WNEW transitioned to FOX (and the new call letters of WNYW). It was a sad day when that happened, even though it was a slow transition to all-FOX programming (they kept the same WNEW schedule for months, only showing a few FOX shows a couple nights a week and on weekends). FOX was definitely a better station in the late-1980's and 1990's than it is today, but it wasn't the same (I remember thinking about the significance of how Channel 5 was no longer an "other" station, but now an actual network station, which was a big deal then, because there were only three networks at the time).

For fun, below are some of WNEW's children's block scheduling from 1978 and 1979. What a blast from the past! (the listings from the early 1980's are quite the nostalgia trip, too!)


Friday, November 17, 1978 (New York Times?)
Morning
6:00a New Zoo Revue (R)
6:30a Bugs Bunny and Friends
7:00a Popeye and Friends
7:30a The Flintstones
8:00a The Woody Woodpecker Show
8:30a The Archies
Midday
2:30p The New Mickey Mouse
3:00p Fred Flintstone and Friends
3:30p Spider-Man (R)
4:00p The Woody Woodpecker Show
4:30p Hanna-Barbera's World of Super Adventure
5:00p Battle of the Planets
5:30p The Flintstones (R)


Saturday, September 22, 1979 (TV Guide)
Morning
7:00a Brady Kids
7:30a Groovie Goolies
8:00a Popeye & Friends
8:30a Flintstones
9:00a Bugs Bunny and Woody Hour
10:00a Moby Dick
10:30a Battle of the Planets


November 4-10, 1979 (NJ Herald)
Monday-Friday
Morning
6:00a New Zoo Revue
6:30a Popeye
7:00a Battle of the Planets
7:30a Bugs Bunny
8:00a Woody Woodpecker
8:30a Flintstones
Midday
2:30p World of Super Adventure
3:00p Bugs Bunny
3:30p Woody Woodpecker
4:00p Little Rascals
4:30p Flintstones


In regard to visiting the station, I doubt there's anything WNEW-related left, except for maybe a wall of photos and some awards. Except for maybe one or two behind-the-scenes personnel, I doubt anyone is left from the WNEW era (I think even Rosanna Scotto came in after the transition). However, the station is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, only a few blocks from Central Park and the Central Park Zoo, so it's easy to get to when sight-seeing.

[Cure DragonEagle 255]

God! I didnt know that people were as passionate as me about a TV Network Affiliate! I love you guys. I thought I was going to get told I was weird lol.

[The Other Jason]

Hi Hinotori,

Wow! I just went back more years than I want to admit to! I don't remember the visual of the promo, but the jingle was in the deep recesses of my mind.

WNEW was a great independent station. They had such a variety of programs and programming. And the cartoons they showed...some of my favorite ones (besides BotP, that is!) were run on WNEW.


In regard to visiting the station, I doubt there's anything WNEW-related left, except for maybe a wall of photos and some awards. Except for maybe one or two behind-the-scenes personnel, I doubt anyone is left from the WNEW era (I think even Rosanna Scotto came in after the transition). However, the station is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, only a few blocks from Central Park and the Central Park Zoo, so it's easy to get to when sight-seeing.

Thanks for the info on the station, location, and for all the program listings. I watched almost every one of those shows at one time or other and yeah, there are plenty of memories with each. Some good... some very, very bad.

I'll have to see if I can root out any station jingles from where I used to watch Battle.

[The Other Jason]

Hi Cure DragonEagle,

God! I didnt know that people were as passionate as me about a TV Network Affiliate! I love you guys. I thought I was going to get told I was weird lol.

Too weird? Ha ha! No way. You're talking with someone who has taken several recent driving tours of areas around Los Angeles looking for Battle's production buildings. Just to take pictures of what still exists.

To tie in with your affiliates discussion - the Metromedia Square building, where Battle's first major sale apparently took place (and a supposed "protected" LA landmark), was torn down a few years ago.

The Metromedia Square building - in better times

[Hinotori]

To tie in with your affiliates discussion - the Metromedia Square building, where Battle's first major sale apparently took place (and a supposed "protected" LA landmark), was torn down a few years ago.

That's so disheartening - another piece of history gone. Interesting installation on the roof, though. I wonder if it's supposed to represent electromagnetic waves (you know, the signals tv and radio transmissions used to be sent on before the digital age).

Metromedia's other New York remnants didn't fare so well either. WNEW's sister stations, radio stations WNEW-AM and WNEW-FM, both ended poorly (well, one actually ended, the other should just be put out of it's misery already). WNEW-AM was sold to Bloomberg Radio in 1992 and now has the call letters WBBR, while WNEW-FM, which for decades had been one of the most famed and influential rock station in NYC history, has gone through numerous format changes, is currently playing Hot AC, and is, sadly, less than a shadow of it's former self.

[The Other Jason]

Hi Hinotori,

That's so disheartening - another piece of history gone. Interesting installation on the roof, though. I wonder if it's supposed to represent electromagnetic waves (you know, the signals tv and radio transmissions used to be sent on before the digital age).

Metromedia's other New York remnants didn't fare so well either. WNEW's sister stations, radio stations WNEW-AM and WNEW-FM, both ended poorly (well, one actually ended, the other should just be put out of it's misery already). WNEW-AM was sold to Bloomberg Radio in 1992 and now has the call letters WBBR, while WNEW-FM, which for decades had been one of the most famed and influential rock station in NYC history, has gone through numerous format changes, is currently playing Hot AC, and is, sadly, less than a shadow of it's former self.

It really was a shame. That distinctive roof sculpture, called "Starsteps," was such landmark. It was really cool lit up at night! I'd always look for it when I was in the area (even before knowing the location's place in Battle's history). I only found one or two references to it online, and none discussed what it represented. But yours is an excellent guess. I got to see some television shows recorded in the building in the 1980s. Like you said - so much history gone.

Your reports about New York-area radio sound familiar too. I think only one of the stations I used to listen to while growing up still plays the same format. But it no longer has the individual personalities that made it special and fun to listen. A shame to hear about WNEW-FM.