Initial Change To WTBS
WTCG changed its callsign to WTBS in 1979. The new call letters were acquired via a monetary donation to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's student radio station (now WMBR). In the late 1970s, WTBS continued to acquire second-hand programming such as made-for-TV Popeye cartoons, The Brady Bunch, The Munsters and other programs. The station did manage to acquire reruns of All in the Family and Sanford and Son in 1979, as well as Little House on the Prairie and CHiPs in 1981. Other older shows would eventually be removed from the schedule. WTCG also mixed more movies from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s onto the schedule.
The channel 17 transmitter was originally located at 1018 West Peachtree Street Northwest (it has since been relocated to North Druid Hills, Georgia), with the antenna located on a large self-supporting tower. The building at this site was once home to the studios of then-CBS affiliate WAGA-TV and, later, channel 17, during its first three years under the callsign WJRJ. Soon after being purchased by Turner, the studios were moved a few blocks west to the former site of the Progressive Club. Initially, WTCG was identified as "Channel 17" both locally in Atlanta and on cable providers outside of Atlanta. The same exact shows that ran within the Atlanta market also ran nationally. In 1979, Turner changed the callsign to WTBS, branding it "Superstation WTBS" with the reference to the channel 17 frequency in the Atlanta market within the logo. Many cable providers throughout the country even carried the channel on its customary channel 17 position.
In 1981, Turner decided to have all shows seen on WTBS continue to air both locally and nationally, but separated the feeds (in a move that preceeded fellow superstations WGN-TV and WWOR-TV doing the same thing after the Federal Communications Commission's passage of the Syndication Excluisivity Rights rule in 1989). The station would be known locally in Atlanta as "Superstation 17." The over-the-air signal would continue to air local commercials as well. Nationally, though, the station would not mention the channel number "17" and would have logos identifying it only as "Superstation WTBS". Separate national advertising or per inquiry ads would air on the superstation feed.
Read more about this topic: TBS (TV Channel), History
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