Time Warner dropping GSN in NYC

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Mar 10 2006, 08:59 AM\']

Another thing GSN could do is buy some airtime on WWOR for some of their high-profile originals during the hours My Network TV is not offering any programming.

I'm sure this is something GSN has experimented with before.  I have a TVGuide from California in the mid-90s (I'll have to dig it out to find the exact edition), but there was a station listed there which simulcasted GSN programming for several hours during the day.  I was really surprised when I saw shows such as "Super Password" and "Newlywed Game" listed during the daytime hours, but they aired the exact same time they were on GSN.

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It was probably Monterey/Salinas.  The market hasn't had an ABC affiliate of its own since KNTV dropped the network (and later became San Francisco's NBC station), so Comcast imports KGO from San Francisco, replaces all syndicated programming for which another station in the market already has exclusive rights, and calls the result "ABC7 Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz."  I suspect that Comcast's carriage agreement with GSN permits the former to use the latter for substitute programming as needed, as a check of ABC7's schedule still shows several hours' worth of GSN programming on weekdays.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Mar 10 2006, 08:29 AM\']It was probably Monterey/Salinas.  The market hasn't had an ABC affiliate of its own since KNTV dropped the network (and later became San Francisco's NBC station), so Comcast imports KGO from San Francisco, replaces all syndicated programming for which another station in the market already has exclusive rights, and calls the result "ABC7 Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz."
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That's exactly what it was, I'm sure. I remember seeing this last time I was home.

[uncamark]

New York especially hurts in that it's probably got the highest penetration of digital tier customers of any market in the nation, thanks to all of those apartment buildings and the landlords dead set against satellite dishes being installed.  I've read that digital has been very successful in Manhattan.

Right now, it seems like GSN doesn't have a strong sense of what it wants to be and a belief that any route it would choose to go would not work.  The rebranding has simply not worked.  Personally, I would go back to a focus on traditional game shows, but I also know that that would be courting disaster.  If I were Rich Cronin, I would be worried right now--very worried.

[dad1153]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Mar 10 2006, 05:40 PM\']New York especially hurts in that it's probably got the highest penetration of digital tier customers of any market in the nation, thanks to all of those apartment buildings and the landlords dead set against satellite dishes being installed.  I've read that digital has been very successful in Manhattan.[/quote]

Oh, it's huge!  One of the few good things about Time Warner having a monopoly over the city's cable system is that, since it waited so long to introduce digital service (around 2002), it's a pretty advanced one that offers good bang for the buck as far as value-for-money (not as good as satellite but better than other cable providers).  This is what hurts me about having to switch to satellite if GSN is taken of.  From channel variety to good DVR service to HD channels and an integrated system that lets you have digital cable, internet and phone service for $99 or more the TWC NYC service is a pretty good deal.  Alas, no GSN = no deal!

[trainman]

[quote name=\'dad1153\' date=\'Mar 8 2006, 10:51 PM\']And why doesn't Dish offer GSN with its HDTV packages?  I was going to buy an HDTV set but to get channels in HD for it I would have to choose a package without GSN.

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Because I couldn't believe this to be true, I just checked Dish Network's web site, and I think it's an oversight on the page that lists the channel lineups in the HD packages.  If you go to their GSN page, it shows it as being available in the DishHD Silver, Gold, and Platinum packages.

[DrBear]

An update from Radio-Info.com's TV message board:
Per latest Time Warner Houston statement: Beginning 3/31/06, iLife Network (ch 203), and American Life (formerly Good Life TV) (ch 396) will no longer be available. GSN (ch 339) will now be available only in the Sports Extra package. These changes will accommodate future programming additions designed to enhance the overall value of your Digital Cable package.

SPORTS EXTRA? Maybe it's somebody seeing Tonya Harding/Rosie Ruiz showing up and thinking it's another $%^&* Fox Sports Net channel.

[rigsby]

As I replied over there, it's being dropped entirely in Austin.  That pretty much ends any thought I had over returning to digital cable.

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Mar 16 2006, 11:47 AM\']An update from Radio-Info.com's TV message board:
Per latest Time Warner Houston statement: Beginning 3/31/06, iLife Network (ch 203), and American Life (formerly Good Life TV) (ch 396) will no longer be available. GSN (ch 339) will now be available only in the Sports Extra package. These changes will accommodate future programming additions designed to enhance the overall value of your Digital Cable package.

SPORTS EXTRA? Maybe it's somebody seeing Tonya Harding/Rosie Ruiz showing up and thinking it's another $%^&* Fox Sports Net channel.

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Maybe some idiot thought GSN stands for Good Sports Network (rollseyes).