WCBS-TV Sign-Off and Sign-On 1977 Complete 

I am so having flashbacks of my father asleep on the couch with the TV on. It would always be on channel 2. I would sometimes wake up and watch the National Anthem. Thanks for the memories.

I miss those days of simplicity & consistency.

My 12 and 7 year old nephews looked at me as if I were crazy when I told them that the TV used to "sign off" for the night. Thank goodness this video was on RU-vid so I could prove to them that I wasn't lying :)

Eventhough the loud voices and test pattern scared the hell out of me, I miss the old and simple days of television.

This Is My Favorite Sign Off Last Commercial Before The Rabbi Prayer And Still This Is The Most Classic Memories Back In 1977 To 1979

They should bring this back this kind of program makes people aware of acting like decent people man! Long live the 70s!

It is 1977 and CBS where back in the air at 6.05am. Here in the UK there was no such thing as breakfast television in 1977. For example in 1977 below is what BBC One aired on a typical weekday morning. 7.05am-7.55am - Open University, programs for learners. The station then signed off until 9.38am. 9.38am-12.30pm - Programs for Schools and Colleges. The station then signed off until 12.45pm. 12.45pm - BBC News, which was followed by a lunchtime talk show. Apart from more schools programs and the odd learning program, there was no daytime television at all on BBC One, certainly not what Americans would consider proper daytime television. It was around 3.55pm when television got going with young people and children's programs that the schedule would be consistent and a proper line up would be given until sign off (closedown as we called it) which could take place at around anytime from 11.30pm onwards depending on the late night schedule as there was no late night talk shows on UK tv at this time on weeknights. So that is what British viewers could look forward to on a typical weekday in 1977 on BBC One. The two other channels in Britain where BBC Two which had Open University from around 7.30am-8.00am. Then nothing until 11.00am when Playschool, a program for young children would air until 11.25am. The nothing until around 5.00pm. BBC Two would usually sign off at around midnight. ITV - the commercial channel would come on the air at 9.30am with two and a half hours of schools programs, but from 12.00pm it would have a similar daytime television mix of news, soap operas, quiz/game shows etc which the US channels would have, and there would be more content and no sign offs at all compared to BBC One during the day. ITV was the closest the UK had to an American style of television channel. So a little bit of history for those in the US, just look at what was on offer then compared to your line-up each day in 1977.

My kids, who are all under age 13, do not understand the concept of a TV station "sign off" or a test pattern. To them, TV has always been on 24/7.

I love those slides they created for the station- like viewing old family slides on a projector-except with a nice big "2" included!

Nobody can remember when Ch 2 WCBS TV sometimes used a 330 Hz audio tone with the b&w WCBS TV Test Pattern back in the 1970's?

I remember this, it was Sunday morning in 1977.

Because it was early in the morning. WCBS would sign off for about 10 to 20 minutes, then would come back on the air.

That's when you knew when the station went on & off, the national anthem & an inspirational message, two things that are desperately needed on TV today.

The TV test pattern is the greatest piece of graphic art ever created. Neo-plasticism perfection

Stay classy, Rabbi Levin!

I also remember a TV Show on KNXT TV(CBS in Los Angeles) called "Give Us This Day" back in 1974, it would come on in the wee hours after the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. And a Rabbi would speak in that program.

Boy, does this bring back memories of the good old days when I was 20!

@TheWestCoastBias - CBS O&O's had a "pool" arrangement where each of their stations would contribute a sermonette that would run on the rest. Another instance was in 1978 when WBBM-TV in Chicago (which called their sermonettes "Meditation") ran a film piece from a rabbi in Philadelphia. Sermonettes from St. Louis priests or rabbis were also aired. This L.A.-based sermonette originally aired on KNXT (now KCBS-TV) and doubtless was also run on WBBM, WCAU and KMOX.

I ❤❤❤ these interstitials from years ago! When the announcer for CBS-2 came back on the air after the "Give Us This Day" segment, did you hear him shuffling his script sheets in the background? And also kind of knocking about at his desk near the end of this video? If you ask me, I believe that it adds an extra level of "charm" and humanity to NOT edit out the little ad-libbing or improvisations that can come up, maybe someone coughs or trips on a word, but, hey! We are all just human, things happen - For instance, The Carol Burnett Show where things like Harvey Korman struggling not to laugh at Tim Conway's antics would inevitably come up - It would have been SO different if the director had been overly fussy about perfection and had edited those things out ... Humanity is, after all, humanity, isn't it? THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT CHANNEL! I HAVE WATCHED YOUR VIDEOS FOR YEARS! 👍👍👍

WNBC-TV had 'Sermonette'. I miss those days. Don't figure out my age. LOLOLOLOL.

I hummed "om" during the test pattern and greatly enjoyed the brain massage it provided. And the poem was both touching and disquieting. I'm going to try and memorize it. Does anyone feel a little uneasy, like I still do from childhood, to hear a mic hum and a very abrupt "Channel 2, New York" or stentorian "This is CBS" against a still image, even pleasant ones? Why does that simple 2 to 3 second ID feel like a portent of doom? Yeah, I'm neurotic...

I miss the simplicity of these days

Many of the CBS O&O stations signed off with this same clip of the SSB. It is also the same one that was used in the original Poltergeist movie.

Sometimes even a signoff has a flub.....

1977 in Britain, breakfast television did not exist AT ALL! Station commencing at 6.05am would be unheard of in Britain in 1977. BBC used to come on the air for one hour around 7.00am for learning education programs and that was it until more schools and colleges programs commencing around 9.30am. Two VERY different worlds of television.

Being on a test pattern for even a half and hour would give the engineering staff time to make some quick adjustments and even reduce transmitter power if necessary. I also wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some arcane union rule that required (or made it in the management's best interest to take) a brief period off-air.

You could hear the sound of papers rustling around before the announcer makes his spiel.

For the record, WCBS' tone here was a perfect "G".

5:56 The Anthem Start Right Here.

@cappy2009 - For most stations at that time. However, WCBS signed off that 1977 morning just prior to 6 A.M. - their "down time" (where the nearly 400 Hz audio tone was heard in tandem with the test pattern) was only a tad above 6 minutes in actuality. Small wonder that staff announcers (in this case, Pat Connell) handled both sign-offs and sign-ons on the same (calendar) day.

Pat Connell is the staff announcer here.

This was on my local network for cbs being channel 5 in san francisco. Surprised I remember this stuff from at nearly not even born yet. i guess it stayed the same long enough for me to remember.

Only if someone out there can find an old video of WCBSTV Ch 2 off the air from the early 1970's, because that was the time I can remember sometimes hearing the B&W WCBS TV Test Pattern with that low 330 Hz tone.

"Some boys and I had a debate about it. . .": any boys/children you know ever admit that kind of thing these days?

That brings back memories.

Signed off for ONE HOUR? at 5 o'clock in the morning? Then return to the air at 6am? WOW!

The "Give Us This Day" part used to be on here in LA (on the local CBS station)

That (Seal of Good Practice) at 5:29 would not be on any TV today. Most of television programming anymore today would never make any "good standard" policy since most of it is junk now anyways.

That 'Late Late Show' intro is so 70s.

Actually, I was wrong. That indeed was an A flat tone used in that test pattern. I was thinking about the "top of the hour" tones they used before a program came on. Those tones were A naturals.

Yes for the most part the WCBS TV test pattern was accompanied mainly by a G key tone from July 1977 to May 1978, and November 1980 to November 1982 before becoming 24/7. But in between that time I recall early mornings hearing a tone on Ch 2 when off the air of the E key (330 Hz.).

HAPPY PRIDE RABBI MARTIN

The dude at 1:40 has a good Ron Burgundy look going.

Awesome Right There

I would LOVE it if you did a sign on playlist, or series. I don’t watch tv anymore, but I have a few Chicago station sign ons that I’ll watch in the morning.

The Little Yellow Bat Boy

We had that in NY, which is where this is from.

Make American Television Great Again ❤

What month in 1977 was this?? Occasionally I would wake up very early in the morning and go down to the living room and turn on the TV to watch the test pattern and listen to the sine wave until the network came back on, Memories

The Rabbi went on to become Harry Reams.

Rabbi Burgundy?

Some stations had color bars after the test pattern.

Does anybody remember hearing the WCBS TV Test Pattern with a 330 Hz tone that had the low E key?

Love The Sound Test Pattern And Contrast Too Okay But Still Remember Sign On Too Starts At 600 To 630

@chriskvideochallenge - I actually measured that high-pitched 'D' tone to be more along the lines of 1170 Hz. But you're close. WCBS, at the period here (1977), had their tone around 398 Hz.

Ron Burgandy at 1:39

You probably don't ever remember hearing the B&W WCBS TV Test Pattern being accompanied by a 330 Hz tone do you?

I Remember This Commercial Before The Giving This Day Comes On And Then Give Us This Day The Star Athena Sign Off Start But Didn't Understands What It's The Sign On Starts At 6:00 To 6:30 Pm

@columbusmozart Actually the WCBS tone was an A natural.

What happened to the announcer for WCBS in 1977? Is he still around?

Beeeeep Mmmmm Okay That Means Off The Airrr

I wonder why they got a Rabbi from LA to do the sign off in NYC?

6:05 Uh-oh! Somebody there was asleep at the switch!

Amen To Halelujah

@303Gregg Too much money to get the rights to air a rerun.

He's got a lot of hair for a Rabbi.

This was used in poltergeist

Reminds me of "Poltergeist" ;)

Sign off on the 5 o'clock AM?

Why only sign off for 1 hour?Guess the technicians had maintenence to do off air

Why sign off for a hour? It would've been better if a sign off was at 2:30-3 am.

I wonder where Rabbi Levin is now?

This is the way American TV used to be, and I swear to Gd I will make it again

O say can u see

That was random @ 7:20.

God Is'nt Anyone Enmey Okay That A True Speech Right There Sign Off Is Not Today 6:05 P

*sigh*

Stay classy San Diego! LOL

CBS

1:32 ANCHORMAN

1:32 ron bugundy's inspiration look

The Atheists should watch the sermon given by the rabbi.

He's cute

The first porn rabbi that I've ever seen.

*sigh*