The Big Switch - Part 1 (September 1995) 

6:28 - Did not mention presence of WMGM-TV (channel 40) in Atlantic City - which was affiliated with NBC at the time that the deal was reached. NBC disaffiliated from channel 40 in December 2014 due to it partly duplicating WCAU.

@@SigmaRho2922 Now WMGM-TV 40 is a True Crime Network affiliate owned by Univision Communications, Inc. Today, there are some television markets with two or more ABC affiliates: Boston, Massachusetts/Manchester, New Hampshire: WCVB-TV 5 and WMUR-TV 9 Tampa, Florida/Sarasota, Florida: WFTS-TV 28 "ABC Action News" and WWSB 40/cable 7 Grand Rapids, Michigan/Kalamazoo, Michigan: WZZM 13 and WOTV 41/cable 4 Springfield, Illinois/Champaign, Illinois: WICS 20 and WICD 15 Kansas City, Missouri/St. Joseph, Missouri: KMBC-TV 9 and KQTV 2 Lincoln, Neberaska and Central/Southwest Nebraska: KOLN-TV 9 and KHGI-TV 13/KWNB-TV 6 "ABC NTA"

@@Justin-Hill-1987 Kansas City and St Joseph are two separate markets.

@@SigmaRho2922 While WMGM is technically part of the Philly market, the station did not market itself as such ch40 billed itself as the NBC station in the NJ area, which had no dedicated market because of overlap with New York and Philly

At the time of the switch Philadelphia had two NBC affiliates: KYW (channel 3) in Philadelphia proper and WMGM (channel 40) in Atlantic City. WMGM remained affiliated with NBC after that network assumed control of WCAU (channel 10), but lost its affiliation with NBC on 12/31/2014.

I grew up on the fringe of New York and Philly sports league footprints in Monroe Township, NJ. We were lucky that the Must Carry law at the time required Storer Cable and then later Comcast to carry both NYC and Philly sets of locals. Great for NFL season because we'd always get one extra game that a lot of cities would dream of having. Then WNBC complained that ad revenue was being lost so we had both locals for ABC, Fox and CBS, but not NBC. And then this switch happened and we got WCAU back.

Fun fact: Baltimore, Maryland was my childhood state

This also affected Providence, where WPRI was bought by CBS in March 1995 while WLNE was still affiliated with CBS. The two stations swapped affiliations the day KCNC switched to CBS, causing WLNE to return to ABC. WPRI was forced to be sold when Westinghouse finalized its acquisition with CBS in November 1995 due to signal overlap with WBZ.

I remember both of those switches! (1/30/2022)

KPNX retained its affiliation due to a deal between Gannett and NBC at the time where WXIA was courted for the CBS affiliation to replace WAGA-TV (channel 5), which had been involved in the Fox-New World deal. In response, WGNX (channel 46, later WGCL) secured the CBS affiliation. The Gannett deal caused the affiliation switch in Denver.

"The station that was CBS was bought by a company partly owned by Fox, so CBS defected to an independent station, leaving the first one without any network for a while. ABC cut a deal to move to the station that's now Fox; some of the ABC programs have moved already, some did not. But the station that used to be CBS would wind up being Fox; the one that used to be ABC would wind up without network programs; the one used to be NBC... uh... doesn't change at all."

When WJXX signed on as an ABC affiliate it looked promising. The station never recovered from its rushed signon and was sold in late 1999.

KNXV 15, the former Fox affiliate, becomes Independent before becoming an ABC affiliate.

@@erikpridemore3174 9/12/94 - KSAZ's CBS programs move to KPHO, leaving KSAZ as an independent station. 12/15/94 - KNXV's Fox programming moved to KSAZ; ABC daytime and Saturday morning programs move from KTVK to KNXV. 1/9/95 - Rest of ABC programming moves to KNXV; KTVK affiliates with WB on 1/14/95 (airing the network's programming on Saturdays and Sundays before moving to KASW (channel 61) on 9/22/95).

@@SigmaRho2922 The Phoenix Metro Area was involved in a tangled web of affiliation switches, that's for sure...

The worse part that it took months for the switch to be completed

The WSJV ABC to Fox change caused a ripple effect in another market: Rockford, Illinois. NBC was forced off of WTVO in that switch in retaliation.

An similar how Philippines Networks to be changes in the U.S. like in Denver, CO: KCNC: ABS-CBN to GMA KMGH: GMA to IBC KUSA: IBC to ABS-CBN

@@entertain1048 Lemme guess: Those are the original Big Three of Philippine Television.

Ultimately CBS bought Group W as a whole and absorbed all of its' local stations as CBS O&O's (with the usual scramble)...

Justin Hill WBND did not sign on until 10/18/95; prior to that, the network’s programs were only available on cable via WFLD, WFFT, or WXMI, all of which were receivable over the air in some portions of the market.

John King Yep. I also have the O&Os and affiliates from Detroit.

@@rileysmith9843 Hi. Is that common on most cable platforms you think?

John King It is common, but certain local cable systems carry only local channels.

@@rileysmith9843 That what I was thinking too. I know DirecTV offer on satellite O&O stations which is great to have, especially if your affiliate decides to drop or move programs.

John King Great to have, because I’m in an area between the Detroit/Flint markets, and get Detroit and Flint stations along with network O&Os.

Nope. It started in April 1994 in Monroe-El Dorado when KARD became a Fox affiliate, and it ended in February 1997.

That’s the Tisch era for you.

I know this is really late, but the Mormons own KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.

they were Refering to KUTV

NESTLEH But its transmitter is near Atlantic City, NJ and WCAU's transmitter is with the others in Roxaborough.

@@davidvelazquez9473 They could've at least made WMGM into a repeater for WNBC.

Fox went to 28 in South Bend, while ABC went to W58BT (today WBND), which caused a ripple effect in Rockford, Illinois, where ABC was forced off of WREX.

That was exactly what Bill Stuart meant when he said all these network affiliation changes to different TV stations set off a domino effect.

Even Toledo, Ohio didn’t escape, because WTVG was bought by ABC, thus, leaving WNWO with NBC. But today, times are different. ABC no longer owns WTVG.

That was a major downgrade for CBS, along with the Milwaukee CBS affiliation moving from WITI 6 to WDJT 58. Of course WITI 6 is currently Milwaukee's home for FOX.

i was born way later than 95 i was born in 09 Plus here in bakersfield it was only KERO and KBAK cbs and abc

Two of those you may know if you've watched YT videos on broadcasters issues... KYW-3 (3rd oldest commercially licensed TV station in US) in Philly and WBZ-4 in Boston (both being 2 of the slightly unusual 3 letter station call names).

syxepop In the spring of 1995 WPRI (channel 12) in Providence was sold to CBS, making it one of the last purchases prior to Westinghouse’s acquisition. When the acquisition was finalized in November of that year WPRI has to be sold due to FCC rules regarding overlap between WBZ and WPRI. The latter station was affiliated with ABC at the time of the purchase; WLNE (channel 6) affiliated with ABC on the same day that the Denver affiliation switches took place.

Just search for "WCVB network changes" here. And oh, WCVB wasn't affected by the switch, they ran a report on the switch, with that interview from Deb Zeyen you were talking about. Hope this helps.

They will.

Bears fans now had to assume the Fox viewing position

Justin Hill So in that case, it was NBC that lost the most of those stations in that agreement while ABC lost just one.

ABC lost WSJV that year.

@@rileysmith9843 In South Bend, Indiana, WSJV 28 switched from ABC to FOX when former FOX affiliate W58BT 58 became ABC affiliate WBND-LD 58 (now WBND-LD 57). Rockford, Illinois TV station WREX-TV 13, an ABC affiliate, switched affiliations with WTVO 17, the NBC affiliate. The network swap was forced by ABC in retaliation for Quincy Newspapers switching the affiliation of its South Bend station WSJV from ABC to Fox earlier in 1995.

Fake It's Stil CBS

This network affiliation switch was the result of an agreement between Westinghouse and CBS that was announced in the summer of 1994. It was not because Westinghouse purchased CBS. That came later. As they noted, CBS owned a station in Philadelphia which they needed to sell because they were affiliating with Westinghouse’s station there. CBS traded their station in Philadelphia to NBC for stations in Denver, Salt Lake City, and the two networks traded licenses and transmitters in Miami. When CBS and Westinghouse made their affiliation agreement in 1994, they also announced they would form a joint venture, with Westinghouse as majority owner, that would own the Westinghouse station in Philadelphia and would also try to purchase other television stations and make them CBS affiliates. The stations that CBS acquired from NBC and the CBS station in Miami would be turned over to this joint venture with Group W, which is why they say that the station would go from being owned by NBC to being owned by Group W-CBS (the joint venture’s official name was “Group W-CBS Television Station Partners”). Westinghouse agreed to buy CBS outright in August 1995, about a month before all the trades with NBC took place, but that deal didn’t close until November 1995.

@@joerouse7908 The minute the CBS/Westinghouse deal was approved, the combined company was in violation of FCC ownership rules in Philadelphia, owning both KYW and WCAU. One had to be divested. FCC gave them time to find a suitable licensee for one or the other. Westinghouse chose KYW and moved CBS from WCAU. NBC wanted a station in Philly and agreed to both the affiliation change and a pretty good financial package for WCAU.

@@rjmcallister1888 no, that’s not quite how it worked because this was not due to the merger. What happened was in 1994, Westinghouse agreed to affiliate its stations with CBS. As part of that agreement, CBS agreed to sell WCAU, and Westinghouse gave them part ownership of KYW through the joint venture I mentioned. It is true that FCC rules limited how many stations a company could own but the reason CBS sold WCAU was because they were going to affiliate with KYW. By the time Westinghouse actually bought CBS, WCAU had already been transferred to NBC as a result of the 1994 affiliation agreement and resulting sales/swaps, and the only station Westinghouse/CBS had in the market was KYW.

altfactor because it was owned by tribune, who was trying to launch their own WB network

altfactor I've been here 2 years, and KWGN Channel 2 and FOX KDVR 31 are indeed affiliated AFAIK

But those affiliations were the consequence of actions in the '80s-90s (WB was the same network, along with the also defunct UPN, that became CW with CBS' help). So, this was in the late '80s, after Fox's start (limited in '86, fuller in '87), but before the WB's start in '91, to put the era's perspective.

Shaded Muse no they’re struggling at the time between 1994-1996

WCPO of Cincinnatti also had to wait until 1996 to move ABC to their station and CBS to WKRC-TV.

If so, KCAL would pick up the CW affiliation, since it is a duopoly by CBS. But the dilemma would be if KCAL want to discontinue its 8 and 9PM news, which may earn better ratings than CW prime time offerings.

Update: KTLA renewed its CW affiliation in 2016. It was WGN-TV in Chicago that went independent, and the CW moved to WPWR.

As I understand it was renewed for only 5 years, rather than the original 10, so it expires in '21...

@@davidvelazquez9473 And a couple years later, the CW in Chicago would move _again_ to its current home, WCIU.

They Could of up powered WMGM-TV to cover the gap

Andy Leal KEYE was a CBS O&O, but now it’s owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Basically, if CBS sold WCAU outright, there’d be a high tax rate they’d have to pay from the sale.

I know that logo anywhere. WRC in Washington, Dc, WNBC in NYC and KNBC in Los Angeles all had that logo with their News 4 newscast.

Same deal when WB and UPN merged and became CW with CBS' help (wasn't originally on any of the two former network's ownership). The fallout (rejected stations, mostly UPN's) becoming MyNetwork, which now has been downgraded by Fox to a "syndication providing service".

Well, on February 29, "The Big Switch" occurred in Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville/Goldsboro, NC. It involved WRAL-TV5 which became the NBC affiliate and WNCN 17, which became the CBS affiliate and rebranded to "CBS North Carolina".

D.E. Latham WHDH lost its NBC affiliation about a year ago, and it's now on WBTS-LD. WHDH is now an independent.

The only change at WFXT, meanwhile, was the ownership; Fox sold it and their Memphis affiliate to Cox so they would get KTVU in San Francisco. It cost them their longtime anchor Maria Stephanos, who would later resurface on WCVB.

Raymie Humbert Hearst’s ownership of KMBC and in case of Meredith’s ownership of KCTV because they also own KPHO, Scripps has decided to have KSHB joining NBC because of Hearst’s strong ties with ABC and CBS needed an replacement station to switch from KSAZ so they choose KPHO while renewing KCTV’s contract

Since PBS stations have different clauses in their licenses (as they deal in PUBLIC BROADCASTING) they're mostly not subject to switch, save in cases when a INDEPENDENT station becomes a PBS affiliate, such as was the case on the original one, WNET NYC's Thirteen, that was originally an independent commercial station.

WCIV now currently resides on channel 36-2.

Philly (incl. parts of NJ) is like the 4th or 5th largest TV market in US. They had the 3rd commercially licensed TV station in late '41 after the 2 larger NYC O&O's.

MyNetwork (leaded by WWOR NYC-9 and WSBK Boston's 38) is now NOT a broadcasting network anymore, but a provider of syndicated programing. MyNetwork stations are supposed to be considered as INDEPENDENT.