Heroes & Icons coming to WSIL

Big news y'all! After seeing some rumblings online about WSIL adding a subchannel in the near future, I called the station Tuesday evening and I am excited to announce that WSIL is adding Heroes & Icons on its 3.2 subchannel in the next few weeks, with a target date of the first of the year. WSIL's Weather Bug channel will be moving to 3.3.
Heroes & Icons carries tons of classic TV shows, with a focus on westerns and police shows. It also airs five hours of Star Trek (each of the five TV series) every night but Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight. If you're a Trekker in southeast Missouri, epic win!
Other shows on H&I include Hunter, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Rawhide, Maverick, The High Chaparral, Batman (1966 series), Wagon Train, The Incredible Hulk, Wiseguy, 21 Jump Street, The Greatest American Hero and The Commish.
A schedule of the shows on H&I can be found here.
Hats off to WSIL for adding H&I. Enjoy, folks!

CBS makes debut in northeast Arkansas

Just got this press release, dated July 29. Check it out!

Jonesboro Gets Local CBS Affiliate

Nearly one month ago, KJNB Fox39 signed on the air giving Jonesboro its first ever local FOX station. The success of the station and the positive reception spurred KJNB to offer Jonesboro another local option, this time a CBS station.  In the past year, Jonesboro has grown from claiming one local station to now claiming four local stations, representing all of the Big 4 networks and breaking free of the “out of market” network affiliates which have long been carried in the area.

CBS is the #1 network in the industry with the most established and most watched programming on television. It offers shows like Big Bang Theory, NCIS, CSI, Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, and Blue Bloods.  CBS is also well known for the long running prime time news programs 60 Minutes and 48 Hours.

KJNB is excited to bring to the market both American Football Conference (AFC) on CBS and the National Football Conference (NFC) on FOX.  The action begins when SEC College Football kicks off on CBS Saturday, September 5th with the Louisville Cardinals vs. the Auburn Tigers game.  The fans of NFL Football will be able to catch the games beginning on Sunday, September 13th with doubleheader action beginning at 1:00 pm. 

Executives at CBS said they were thrilled to offer a local hometown CBS presence to the Jonesboro TV market.  

Jonathan Sarrow of CBS said, “With current technology and experienced local broadcasters like Mike Reed and Bill Christian, we are now able to bring CBS into the Jonesboro market where we were unable to in the past.” 

KJNB is owned and operated by broadcast veterans Mike Reed and Bill Christian.   

“We launched KJNB in Jonesboro to help serve the community with local programming, news, weather, sports and information,” Christian says. “We are proud to bring both CBS and FOX to Jonesboro.”

KJNB currently broadcasts FOX programming on channel 39.1 over-the-air, channel 13 on most cable systems and on channel 39 on Dish and Direct TV.  Beginning August 1, KJNB will begin providing CBS programming on 39.2 over-the-air, channel 11 or 3 on cable, and channel 42 on Direct TV and Dish.

According to Reed, “We have also acquired station KJNE for Jonesboro and plan to provide both the CBS and FOX programming on that channel as well so that viewers in Jonesboro who cannot pick up the KJNB signal from Walnut Ridge will have the option to pick up the same programming on KJNE channel 42 in Jonesboro.  KJNE will offer FOX programming on 42.1 and CBS programming on 42.2.”

Classic TV in the Ozark Foothills: Cutting the Gordian knot

If you live in out in the country in Carter, Ripley or Butler counties here in southeast Missouri, you likely have a have a hard time getting classic TV with an antenna. 

Out here by Hendrickson, I can get the following stations with an antenna: KPOB, KFVS and KAIT. Of those three channels, only KFVS has a classic TV subchannel -- and it's only available from November through early May.

For most of us out in the country, cable is not an option -- and DirecTV does not have a reputation for carrying subchannels (though it does offer Me-TV as part of CW affiliate WQWQ here).

But there is a way for us country folks here in southeast Missouri. 

Dish Network not only carries Me-TV programming via WQWQ, but it also offers Antenna TV via WPSD 6.3 (Channel 32 on Dish). Better yet, Family Entertainment TV (Channel 82 on Dish) carries 54 hours of Cozi TV programming each week (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 7-11 p.m. Monday through Saturday). 

If you're a Dish subscriber in southeast Missouri, southern Illinois or western Kentucky, you've got a nice selection of classic shows to watch -- All In the Family, Sanford and Son, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, Hawaii Five-O, The Jeffersons, Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, The Rockford Files, Magnum P.I., Green Acres, etc.

So while we wait and lobby for KPOB/WSIL to add a classic TV subchannel and for KFVS and WPSD to add a translator or satellite nearby, there is a way to watch classic TV out here in the hills 

'Bring Decades to WSIL and KPOB' hits milestone

Two weeks after its launch, the Facebook page Bring Decades to WSIL and KPOB has reached 100 likes.
The page was launched on Facebook on May 27 in the hopes of seeing WSIL and KPOB add the recently-launched Decades network in order to give area viewers an additional option for viewing classic TV.
Decades offers viewers a mix of classic TV shows, movies and historical documentaries, with a weekend classic TV show marathon featuring a different show each weekend.

On the web: Decades

Another potential outlet for classic TV in the area?

There might just be another opportunity to see classic television shows aired in northeast Arkansas and part of southeast Missouri. After years of having just one public television station, the Jonesboro market recently saw the debut of KJNB, a Fox affiliate that airs on Channel 39 over the air and is making its way onto local cable providers and will soon be on DirecTV, Talk Business reported over the weekend. The move now means that three of the four major networks -- ABC, NBC and FOX -- now are available in the Jonesboro market. Now that KJNB is on the air -- and plans to also expand its over-the-air availability -- could it be an option to add one of the classic TV networks (Me-TV, Antenna TV, Cozi TV, Decades and/or Heroes & Icons) as a secondary affiliate on 39.1 or as a subchannel (say a 39.2)? Only time will tell. Hopefully, we will hear some (good) news soon!

Is it possible that one or both of these shows could end up being shown in the Jonesboro market soon? Stay tuned! (TV show photos are public domain)

What is the Three Rivers Association for Classic TV?

Hey folks, I have decided to start a little group called the Three Rivers Association for Classic TV. I love classic TV -- especially shows from the 1970s and early 1980s -- and always enjoy seeing it on local television. We hope to see more classic shows on TV in SE Missouri and NE Arkansas, plus southern Illinois and western Kentucky. Join with us to make a difference!

Here are a couple of my favorite classic shows to get us started, Cannon and Star Trek. All photos are public domain