rkolsen 1679 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 CBS is launching a new diginet on their 16 O&O called Decades which will air classic tv shows from the CBS catalog such as I Love Lucy and Star Trek. They will differentiate themselves from other classic television networks by varying programming every day. Decades will have a library of 100 shows. CBS is partnering with Weigel who will be responsible for securing affiliation agreements with stations after it's launch in the second quarter of 2015. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/80197/cbs-oos-weigel-to-launch-decades-diginet So it sounds like it will be like MeTV but only air CBS shows. My question is how does CBS own rights to shows it commissioned but weren't responsible for producing? An example would be Murphy Brown which aired on CBS but was produced by Warner Brothers - would they be able to play the show without paying new royalties (other than for music)? I would equate it as you purchase a video and you watch it however many times you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WXmanTim 88 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Sounds to me like it will be the Paramount library (I Love Lucy & Star Trek = Desilu = Paramount) and other properties owned & distributed by CBS Television Distribution. http://www.cbstvd.com/shows_main.aspx A lot of classic shows on that list are carried on MeTV. So unless the development agreement allows MeTV to continue broadcasting them, MeTV will suffer greatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyWatch 238 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 It sounds like it might be a rerun net that's worthwhile. I love the informational/educational aspect of putting series and individual episodes in historical context. It adds a new dimension that's pretty much been unexplored up until now. Thanks to digital broadcasting, networks can actually invest in completely new and innovative content for their subchannels (Not exactly sure what was in the water at ABC that gave us here in Philly 2 subchannels of LiveWell :bang: ). If only innovative thinking like this would bleed over into the radio industry and HD radio... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1945 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Just three weeks ago, Weigel did a soft launch on this new diginet Heroes & Icons (H&I) in Chicago & Milwaukee, which is suppose to be similar to the Grit diginet. This would be the fifth diginet Weigel has launched. The first one, This TV, Weigel gave that to Tribune almost one year ago (11/1/13). Speaking of I Love Lucy, I wonder if this would mean KTTV/KCOP would eventually stop airing the program once this new diginet begins. KDOC had to blackout the show because Fox 11 had exclusive LA rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5280 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I can't pinpoint a potential conclusion or outcome to this, but I can't help but notice how friendly CBS and Weigel are becoming in recent times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToriElectra 291 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Yeah, CBS has so much content they could easily dig out; they may have used WLNY's occasional holiday marathons of shows like Taxi as a template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Sounds to me like it will be the Paramount library (I Love Lucy & Star Trek = Desilu = Paramount) and other properties owned & distributed by CBS Television Distribution. http://www.cbstvd.com/shows_main.aspx A lot of classic shows on that list are carried on MeTV. So unless the development agreement allows MeTV to continue broadcasting them, MeTV will suffer greatly. Weigel also runs MeTV so I imagine this deal will allow MeTV to run these shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 As good of a concept as it is, I think there's an oversaturation of classic diginets out there. Nice to see CBS jumping on the digital subchannel bandwagon, albeit a bit late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4225 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I hope the logo for "Decades" makes proper usage of Didot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5280 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 'Decades' is apparently throwing a bone to us news junkies, re-airing and re-packaging entire episodes of Cronkite's 'Evening News', perhaps on a daily basis. Also airing regularly will be 'Decades Retrospectical', "a daily one-hour program that will be produced around the news events and cultural touchstones of a specific day, week or theme. Shows presented each day will reflect that day’s theme or commemorative event, according to CBS." From the Robert Feder blog post [behind paywall]: “Decades is the most ambitious and creative subchannel programming service that has ever been created,” Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Weigel Broadcasting, the leaders in this space, to make smart use of our stations’ spectrums and our companies’ considerable programming assets. This service will be a tremendous new business for CBS and all of the other stations across the country that participate, regardless of their primary network affiliation.” Added [Weigel VP Chairman Neal] Sabin: “In a video marketplace filled with more and more trivial information and exploitation, Decades will showcase substance and class, and have some fun in doing so.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I hope Decades will be programmed entirely by CBS and Weigel will just handle distribution to non-CBS stations. Kind of tired of the Chicago-centric approach of MeTV (and Weigel's other digi-nets). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
News 9 Viewer 100 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I hope the logo for "Decades" makes proper usage of Didot. Decades presents this program in color! I hope Decades will be programmed entirely by CBS and Weigel will just handle distribution to non-CBS stations. Kind of tired of the Chicago-centric approach of MeTV (and Weigel's other digi-nets). The way Moonves brags about Decades it sounds like CBS is mostly in charge of programming the network, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1679 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 I'd imagine Weigel would be mainly involved in the distribution and ad sales while CBS handles the programming. What I'd like know is how they plan on handling preemptions? A lot of stations are now using their subcutaneous to run extra newscasts (1.5 hours/day preemption at WBAL for MeTV) and low rated sports program ( WJLA preempting MeTV for the Sinclair Sports). I would imagine that CBS stations that currently don't have a sub channel like WJZ would love to get in the extra newscast game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5280 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Looks like we have a logo... Apparently it's been floating around for more than a week, but this is the first I've seen of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 719 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Pretty sad that the TV libraries are so lame that so many operators have to reach back to recycle "classic" programs. You would think someone could come up with some better ideas ... like news. CBS should have a 24 hour .2 news channel instead of yet another channel with reruns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5280 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 So, Decades is set to launch in May on CBS' 16 owned stations and others nationwide. Weigel is soft-launching the format on WDJT 58.4 in Milwaukee effective immediately (Weeters, oh Weeters). Bill Kurtis is slated to host the daily "Through the Decades". http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/7110-weigel-cbs-prepare-to-launch-decades-network-announce-new-show-with-bill-kurtis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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