full disclosure - I am currently employed by Clear Channel/SD- those who were with the company when it was still Jacor Communuications, run by Michaels—tell me that company was fun to be a part of. He wasn’t the ‘corporate’ type.

Is WGN going to show sitcoms from the 1970’s and early 1980’s on a regular basis? Will WGN have more original programming? How is WGN exactly going to become “TV You Can’t Ignore”?

.. the Goth thing still is unnecessarily edgy and doesn’t do a thing for their marketing ..

To be consistent, they oughta get some 20 something lady black announcer with some sass in her tone and diction to do all the announcements. The new announcers sound like they walked off a Paul Harvey radio booth set back in the 1960’s ..

Mind you, I LIKE the old school announcing .. it’s just jarring

I was on a cross country drive not that long ago and heard him on the radio. Shocked the hell out of me. I thought he died in the 60’s.

WGN every day.

Seems to me Zell has hired a mini me type guy.

I’m all for shaking things up and trying to build the market – it’s business. Good for them. Unfortunately, they selected a weak graphic designer to create a logo that doesn’t stand up to the modern icons of the big networks, and if retro was the goal – they failed there, too. They went halfway down the hall.

If you’re going to change, change like you mean it. I understand this is only the start of the overhaul, but it’s a weak first step. It won’t change my opinions about the station one bit, other than to make me thing “eew” when I see the logo.

I won’t lose any sleep over this, but it’s a shame. If the end result is WGN Whatever being broadcast nationally in HD sooner rather than later, than that’s what I care about. Cubs games in HD. Like 162 of ‘em, THAT’s TV I can’t ignore.

If they can change the programming and upgrade from the cheesier advertising they currently survive on, then maybe I’ll watch something other than Cubs games on the station. I grew up watching WGN, but it’s one of 500 channels now and it just doesn’t hold up. Good luck to them on the overhaul.

They have to sell those “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” and lawyer spots at cut-rate prices. Gain some nationat ratings, and they will be better off—and quality programming will help.

Barney Miller! This very funny show hasn’t been on TV for a very long time, so I’m hoping the retro thing is more than a stunt.

I understand there is a local WGN that I see here in Chicago, and then there is a separate WGN that the non-Chicago market sees, i.e. the superstation. So there’s going to be stuff I see like local news, that you won’t and probably vice-versa. But why does that separate programming extend to the prime time hours as well?

Based on this thread, sounds like WGN America is showing 70s and 80s shows all week – Barney Miller, WKRP, etc. So why am I seeing One Rich Hill, Gossip Geo and The Hopper, i.e. all this WB crap? Is the local WGN a WB affiliate but WGN-America isn’t? I guess that would explain it, but that seems like pretty asinine programming logic if you ask me.

I know there are going to be some programming differences due to special needs of the local market, but why wouldn’t you want the the two WGNs to have as much similar programming as possible?

I want my…
I want my…
I want my WKRP

WGN, Channel 9, Chicago - is an over the air station, FCC licensed, like any other TV station. It is an affiliate of the CW. It programs for its’ local market, or - as TV calls it - “Area Of Dominant Influence.” WGN/9 is carried on cable systems in the Chicago market, and close to the Chicago market. I don’t quite know where the boundary is - but I’d bet it would be the Wisconsin border to the North, parts of Northern Indiana and extreme Southwestern Michigan—down to somewhere past Springfield.

Elsewhere in the country - like me in CA, or some guy in Florida, or a satellite subscriber in Shanghi - it’s the OTHER WGN - the superstation, or - WGN America.
WGN America is not a TV station. It is a cable network, like TNT, or ESPN, or A & E, or Bravo…pick any network.

WGN-TV Channel 9 cannot run CW programming across the country, as local CW affiliates have first rights in their market, (Ironically, here the CW affiliate is Tribco-owned—KSWB.)

Remember The WB? Well, that old network caused the major split between WGN, channel 9, and WGN, the Superstation. Until that network came to pass, almost (but not all) of the WGN Channel 9 and WGN Superstation programming was identical.
(The WB is no more. It’s now CW. Tribco was a major shareholder in the old WB. They lost their shirt, as did Time Warner, on that network.)

So - only the “Noon News,” 9 O’Clock News” Cubs/Sox baseball and selected Bulls games are all simulcast on WGN, Channel 9 and WGN America. The rest of the time, WGN America patrons are endlessly subjected to “America’s Funniest Home Videos,”
“Madlock” (ohmigod spare me) “Home Improvement” and other offerings, like movies.
More than half of the non-sports programming on WGN America is second-rate, off network reruns. (“24,” which aired this year was a major exception, as are the other handful of shows I mentioned earlier. Outside of that - Superstation WGN wasn’t worth watching.)

So, with new management, comes new programming - and this week’s “stunting’ of classic sit-coms is an attention-getter to try to introduce the new branding. Casey Kasem is ‘presenting’ the episodes, there’s 70’s theme music, there’s pop-up trivia about the shows - it’s a great way to re-pavckage old material and make it fresh. (Like TV Land does.) And, it appears the source material has been digitally re-mastered - the presentation is great. In the past, these videos were manhandled by stations and were worn, colors were faded - the stuff looked crappy.

Back at the beginning of the baseball season, an ad ran in USA Today about a series of baseball movies on the Superstation. I’ve never seen an ad for the Superstation ANYWHERE, ever. The ad—didn’t even mention WGN. It called itself “The Superstation” and ran the old logo. That was the first hint (to me, anyway) that something was going to change for the out-of-Chicago viewers.

Even though most of the out-of-market posters don’t seem to like the new look, it’s fresh - and something had to be done to shake up the dusty, tired WGN Superstation.
WGN America, as I mentioned earlier - will, as time goes by (my guess) start competing for the best off-network programming - and should try to contract to create some of its’ OWN shows. TBS has branded itself as ‘comedy.’ It has created its’ own, original programming, along with reruns. TNT has branded itself as “drama.” “Bravo” - well, I won’t go there. But you KNOW they are aiming at a specific, special demographic, right?

“TV You Can’t Ignore” is the rest of the new WGN America logo. I’m fascinated to wait and see what that branding will lead to. I hope this works, and in turn - still make sure America knows - this is coming from CHICAGO, damn it!

I hope this helps. Now, to drown my sorrows after tonight’s loss to the freakin’ Padres, I’m gonna roll back some episodes of “Taxi…...looking forward to WKRP, which I haven’t seen in—at least 20 years.

But…it’s a source of original programming. It does have appeal to the 18-35 viewer, though. Overall, the shows rank near or at the bottom of the ratings, but a closer inspection finds decent enough ratings in that younger age cell.

The only time I watched CW was for Veronica Mars, a show that belonged on another network, one that could actually make sure it found an audience. The scripts flew over the heads of the target demo. “Teenagers” spouting dialogue as if they were about 35. Great stuff. Very creative.

But, I’m “older” and not the target viewer of the CW. Can’t stomach what they have.

If I recall, Harry used to joke that he got ‘bumped’ for Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, on the old WB. He would LOL and then say…”But I’m prettier than her!!”