Defunct TV Channels | Discontinued Nostalgia #1

this is amls amusing Lewis Channel 28 available on your local YouTube provider a quick thank you to our patrons how's it going guys my name is Louis and welcome to a brand new series called discontinu Nostalgia might want to hire a graphic designer for an intro this will be a series where I'll be exploring a variety of discontinued products from certain topics and present them to you in video format for this first episode I thought it would be cool to go through defunct TV channels while some channels have achieved infamy their lineup others have been forgotten due to bizarre reasons although I won't be able to cover every channel I will highlight the ones I found most interesting side note I won't be covering TV blocks so no jetex no Fox kids no I don't know Vortex maybe for a future video anyways guys if you like this first episode and want me to cover other topics just let me know in the comments and we'll see what you guys want also stay tuned to the end of the video for an exciting announcement without further Ado this is episode one of discontinued Nostalgia TV channels [Music] our first deep dive starts all the way back in the 1980s during this time comedy experienced a significant search in popularity largely attributed to Stand-Up specials that I aired on HBO these specials will be responsible for catapult the careers of beloved comedians of the time such as Bob Saget Eddie Murphy Robin Williams whoopy Goldberg and many others Art Bell who was the director of development at the network saw the potential of a 24/7 Comedy Channel and pitched the idea to the head of HBO Michael Fox oh wait excuse me I mean Michael fuks there was some opposition to this channel believing that comedy is a much more difficult genre to deliver compared to other TV channels like sports or music you know since comedy is subjective I got like four more in the chamber but they pursued it and on November 15th 1989 the comedy channel was launched the comedy Channel's format involved various hosts showcasing acts of standup comedians similar to how MTV had music videos and video jockeys this format will later be reformatted to a TV show named short attention span theater hosted by Patty Rosenberg and John Stewart yes that John Stewart the network had also featured original programming like Mystery Science Theater 3000 and onion world with Rich Hall with this amount of content it seemed like the channel was going to thrive for sure yet vicom also saw the potential in a comedy channel and 5 months later they will launch ha TV Comedy [Music] Network unlike the comedy channel ha struggled with gaining exposure and needed an exciting schedule as they mainly relied on syndicated reruns of comedy shows from the 1950s through the 1970s such as the Abid and Castillo show and I Love Lucy it also aired Saturday Night Live reruns making it the only channel to do so huge deal at the time the network wasn't even its own 24/7 Channel as it had to share Channel space with VH1 under a channel share agreement on select cable providers making it even harder to gain traction the competition between the two would be short live as both networks were struggling to meet ends leading Time Warner and Viacom to compromise and form comedy Partners Inc a joint venture that merged the comedy channel and ha to create CTV The Comedy Network this will later be renamed to the more iconic Comedy Central just 2 months later comedy Partners Inc remained a 50-50 venture between the two parties until 2003 when Viacom purchased Time Warner stake it's honestly interesting knowing that despite these two networks being neck and- neck with Nick and Cartoon Network they were essentially in bed together this entire time because of Comedy Central so you know the more you [Music] know this is NE the national educational television [Music] network in the early days of broadcast television options for Network selection were limited the only major names you had were CBS NBC and ABC but in 19 52 the Ford Foundation established the educational television and radio Center later changed to National educational television before PBS even existed NE once held the crown as the leader in educational programming initially it served as a middleman facilitating The Exchange and distribution of programs made by local stations and then Distributing them to other stations by the spring of 1954 NE would become a network launching with just 5 hours of educational content a week that provided science shows fine art programs discussions on public affairs and most notably children's television this would be the home to some of the most iconic programs like Mr Rogers neighborhood and Sesame Street by the early 1960s NE would expand to 10 hours a week and start expanding in several parts of the nation things would get better when President Lyndon B Johnson signed the public broadcasting Act of 1967 which led to the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting This was meant to help fund public television and radio while the funding made it much easier to create more programming this also meant that NE had to meet a certain criter IA a criteria that they pretty much ignored and is possibly the reason for their demise sort of I I I think let me explain one of ne's most highly acclaimed yet controversial shows would be NE journal and public broadcast laboratory these were more documentary based shows that discussed heavier public affairs including racism critical takes on the Nixon Administration and the handling of the Vietnam War it was these programs that infuriated Nixon and because of that they threatened to slash funding for Public Broadcasting from 20 million to 10 million this however was swiftly dismissed when the gigachad himself Mr Rogers testified to Senator John pastor and verbally murdered him with words of kindness in just 7 minutes like just watching this is absolutely insane because at the beginning Senator pastor had no idea who this guy was and he seemed kind of smug about it but towards the end he had completely change his demeanor and I I don't know it's just so wholesome like like go watch the video for yourself and you'll see what I mean while Mr Rogers just nonchalantly Sav public television n will still ignore precautions and continue airing their documentaries this might have been a fatal move as I believe that the disregard from the cpb LED to them creating the Public Broadcasting Service in 1969 slowly the cpb would decrease funding for NE over the next 2 to 3 years and the Ford Foundation had also threatened to pull off funding unless they were to neutralize themselves and merge with W NDT a New Jersey based TV station with really not a lot of options left NE would end up merging with wndt and become W NE channel 13 in October of 1970 resulting in NE ceasing operations and making people P BS the new flagship forth Network many of Net's programs would move on to PBS including those with the ne name until they were canceled in 1972 based on everything I just read researching this topic it seemed like ne's demise was the result of sabotage on both sides involved before PBS became a network there were these memorandums exchanged in late 1969 between Nixon's a Peter Flanigan and White House staff assistant Kay Whitehead talking to cpv President John Macy and chairman of the board Frank Pace suggesting an increase of funds to make new progr programming facilities to replace NE as well as decrease funding for the network until they had reached zero primarily so that PBS a more government dependent Network can be the new phe of public broadcasting considering that NE was spending his funding on current anti-administration content and just doing it without the regard from the cpb and the Nixon Administration I mean I could see why they did that I'm not saying it's right but I guess he who pays the piper calls the tune while NE is mostly forgotten about the network has pioneered educational broadcasting and has challenged Norms by presenting thought provoking content on social issues that only got a little Spotlight oh yeah they also introduced the world to Mr Rogers so uh yeah we salute you now it pays to play GSN game Lounge delivers the best of new and favorite interactive games like the Jewel and Uno this next entry is truly a nostalgic one for me if you grew up with Direct TV you definitely remember game Lounge this was an interactive cable channel that offered a rotational assortment of games that could be played with your remote the channel was first announced in May of7 when a uk-based software company named denki partnered up with Direct TV to produce nine games for the service to which that number would increase over time game Lounge would feature casual games such as Monopoly Uno Beed as well as licensed games that featured characters from Nickelodeon Cartoon Network and Mattel the way you control the game was by using the arrow and color buttons to perform the actions on the remote because of these limitations the games were not cutting edge but that didn't mean that they weren't fun while the channel was free to play it was only available through free trials the only way you could finish the game was if you paid for a subscription which was either 5.95 a month or 195 a day occasionally Direct TV would offer free weekends and let me tell you when they did that I would stay glued to my TV for hours just playing tumble fever and Uno as well as some SpongeBob games those were the days unfortunately by this time smartphones had started to become a lot more popular towards casual gamers this would cause players to drop and by March of 2013 game launch would officially be shut down and sadly no games have been archived making every game lost media honestly if these games were to ever be found I'd probably do an entire let's play on them because you know despite these games playing worse than most games they were a core childhood memory for [Music] me I'm pretty sure many of you are familiar with who Ted Turner is he's often regarded as one of the most influential pioneers of cable television having launched some of the most iconic networks of all time by 1984 Turner had cemented his position as a leader in cable programming with the launch of TBS CNN and headline news and was looking to expand his empire into music witnessing the massive success of MTV as well as the launch of other music based channels at the time such as TNN CMT and bet Turner believed that he could create a channel as big as MTV and on October 26 1984 Turner Broadcasting would launch the cable Music Channel you're watching cable music Music Channel live 44 hours a day in Stereo the story of CMC has often been forgotten about because of how short of an impact it made at all lasting only 35 days this would be the shortest lasting service under the Turner Broadcasting umbrella until 2022 when CNN plus came and went while this looked like a blind attempt to capitalize on the MTV craze the concept of Music on TV was not new to Ted Turner as a matter of fact he toyed with the idea a full decade before MTV even launched before billionaire Ted built the Empire un know today he began his journey with the purchase of w jrj TV in 1970 which would later become wtcg and eventually wtbs during the first year he experimented by airing a music based program produced by Robert Whitney titled the now explosion this program would be highly successful yet due to high cost the program was cancelled just 6 months later in 1983 TBS would air a late night program called night tracks on Friday and Saturday nights the block did have some success lasting until 1992 and it was perhaps this program that insire Turner to create the cable Music Channel when his channel was first announced it explicitly threw shade at MTV claiming that the network was a sleazy operation that played dirty videos CMC asserted that it would refrain from aing anything sexually explicit or degrading to women their demographic was also wider targeting ages 12 to 49 compared to MTV's more youth Centric audience at its inaugural broadcast Ted Turner kicked off the network by giving a speech and pushing a red button shouting take that MTV following that the network would launch and its first song would be I love La by Randy Newman a little nud to where their station was located at CMC would primarily play soft rock dance and pop music and include artists that weren't heavily featured on MTV such as Willie Nelson Randy Newman Stevie Wonder and Julian Lennon you can't tell me this is Jeremy Allen White the reason for its quick dismissal is due to a lot of factors by 1984 MTV had an iron grip on the music video Niche along with the market being too saturated cable providers just weren't too interested in including another music channel to their lineup they were just too late to the game the wor word MTV had become as generic as the word literally is today it's as if Great Value Cola tried taking on coke some Can Dream another disadvantage that dragged on CMC was their licensing issues as several major record labels signed exclusive deals to air music videos on MTV before anywhere else which goes back to why cable Music Channel didn't feature the most at the time popular songs what made it more detrimental to the network was that MTV networks announced the addition of a new channel launching which will primarily focus on a much older audience than MTV basically what CMC was already doing he copy my whole [ __ ] flow word for word bar for bar this new channel will be video hits one AKA VH1 launched on January 1st 1985 VH1 would also be included without Carriage fees this was one of the selling points that Ted Turner bragged about since MTV Carri them by late November the writing would be on the wall and Turner would announce that CMC would go off the air at the end of the month this was done following an agreement with MTV Network purchased certain assets of CMC for $1 million along with half a million dollar in advertis for Turner networks on MTV stations Ted Turner sent in a statement quote we continue to believe that the cable music channel is a top quality music video service but we simply have had not enough support from the cable industry for it to become a viable part of our business we are very disappointed but we feel that the discontinuation of the service now and the sales arrangement with MTV networks are in the best interest of the company it should be noted that even with MTV out of the equation CMC struggled with its own Internal Affairs a TBS spokesperson set in the 1984 Atlanta news newspaper that the company intended to spend only $10 to $20 million on the channel yet it would need $40 to $50 million for this venture to be profitable given it short lifespan estimates suggest that CMC lost about $1.5 million this might have implied that the network did not receive the full 10 to20 million budget this is evidence on the Network's lack of bumpers and their decision to cut back on video jockeys in favor of using voiceovers now I know some of you may not be old enough to remember the wild west days of cable TV myself included but in the late ' 7s and early 80s the landscape was rapidly changing new networks were emerging and gaining an audience gradually chipping away from the big three's viewership in response the three networks would invest in alternative cable channels but among these Ventures CBS cable stands out to me as one of the most dysfunctional and unorganized channels ever produced surprisingly it didn't even have to be this way CBS cable was a shlif cable Channel launched in 1981 lasting approximately 14 months at first I was expecting it to be like a superstation type of Channel where it would air reruns of CBS programming but believe it or not it was a fine arts Channel and featured programs about dancing theater opera uh the Arts other similar channels at the time included Bravo and the Arts Channel which would later become A&E the book cultivating the Wasteland which is where I got most of the information from thoroughly examines what led to the failure of CVS cable and in summary they just had no clear Direction the the idea for CBS cable originated from Charlotte skiff Jones she had thought of the idea of a cultural service and took it to time Inc before bringing it to CBS William py founder and chairman of CBS had always been interested in this type of Channel concept and had instructed her to consult CBS on how they can enter the cable field in February of 1980 she would present six alternative programs to the network and eventually they settled on the cultural service Channel Not only was William py on board but so was his handpicked successor Thomas H Wyman who had been cbs's president and chief executive since 1980 it was this overwhelming shareholder support that led to the creation of CBS cable according to the New York Times about 60% of his programming would be original with the rest being imported viewers who did watch the network often praised it for never compromising on his programming William py himself even described the channel as quote one of the best things CBS ever produced done beautifully with good taste at launch the channel would be considered an instant and endearing success but due to the Channel's focus on fine arts CBS cable acquired a Sigma as a highbrow elitist Network which hindered its ability to attract the broader audience but by the fall of 1981 it was clear that the channel was already in trouble and needed more Revenue but little did they know that they were in for a bad time 1982 overall wasn't a good year for CBS or the economy their film division lost $15 million the records division was declining and approximately 1,500 people were laid off CBS was also embroiled in a $120 million lawsuit due to a documentary that aired on the main channel in early 1982 even without considering these challenges CBS cable faced internal struggles that ultimately led to its demise one of the biggest blunders was that they saw cable ad revenues the same way they would have for broadcast advertising I'm really not going to pretend like I know what I'm talking about but basically cable and broadcast television had different methods of advertising broadcast goes into a broader reach whereas cable goes for a more targeted audience it's kind of the reason why you see toy commercials on kids TV and hello I'm Mike Vale on Fox so when the question came to what is the market for cultural cable that's when the problems arose even when potential buyers showed interest many of them were put off by the excessive high prices which were about five times the ordinary rate this lack of sales led to internal conflicts and debates about whether CBS CA should switch to a PID Channel model similar to HBO but was ultimately rejected they would also explore forming joint ventures with other companies like Bravo 20th Century Fox HBO and Columbia pictures but those would never materialize it was also said in the book that CBS [ __ ] up with the way they transmitted their signals rather than satcom 3 which was the satellite most commonly used by Cable Systems they Ed wear this meant that Cable Systems couldn't receive the channel unless they provided the necessary equipment to receive the correct signal looking at all these setbacks it's estimated that CBS cable lost $30 million by the end of 1982 eventually the channel was subsequentially shut down and the CER its demise was attributed to weak leadership and financial mismanagement perhaps if they done their homework they would have had a Fighting Chance the American people hear about a firearm only when it's been involved in a crime and gun TV has given us a way to reach into those living rooms of every man and woman in this country and let them know there is a true American that loves guns gun TV okay this one's unusual I I'm not going to lie before going into gun TV I was expecting this to be some conservative Pro NRA propaganda network but it actually turns out to be quite the opposite gun TV was a shopping channel where viewers could purchase firearms and relatable consumer goods the founders Doug Bornstein and Valerie Castle envisioned the channel as a platform for gun companies to advertise their guns and provide detailed analysis of the items it's worth mentioning that purchasers didn't receive Firearms directly instead they were shipped to ferally licensed dealers who conducted background checks on buyers so yeah you couldn't just simply order a Glock 19 with overnight shipping this is a gun and I want to be really specific here this is a gun that you only use to shoot bad people are we clear despite the Channel's questionable subject matter the Channel's hosts prided themselves on being proud gun owners and it seemed like they had good intentions in providing information and social responsibility about firearms rather than trying to push some political agenda gun TV was slitted to launch in 2015 but ended up facing setbacks pushing its debut to January 2016 and later again to April initially it was going to be a 24/7 network but it would be relegated to air during the late hours of 10: p.m. and 4:00 a.m. it also had a website to live stream the channel signal however the timing for gun TV's announcement couldn't have been worse filmed in Coachella Valley the announcement in November 2015 was followed by the San Bernardino attacks just 2 weeks later which resulted in the deaths of 16 people people and 24 injuries given that Coachella Valley is only an hour away from San Bernandino this tragic coincidence made the announcement of the channel appear toned deaf to a more significant issue that is still unfolding to this day in January of 2017 Valerie Castle announced that gun TV will be pulling back on operations while looked at distribution options they added on to say that this was simply a business decision and that they are confident of airing again later in the future although the last time gun TV was active on their YouTube channel it was 7 years ago and their website seems to be down so it's unlikely that we'll hear from anytime soon personally I believe this channel was doomed from the start while the information and education on gun safety is somewhat reliable the idea of a gun Shopping Network emerging at a time when gun violence is at an all-time high sounds like the last thing that we [Music] need here we have one of the most interesting channels for me growing up Spike TV many who watch this channel might remember this for one thing or another whether it was mixed martial arts or the bizarre way people lost their lives Spike TV was indeed one of a kind but before we get to what Spike was we should give a quick history from its past Spike TV was initially launched as the Nashville Network back in 1983 it was launched by WSM Incorporated a radio station located in Nashville Tennessee shortly thereafter it was sold to Gaylord entertainment the channel originally broadcast country music videos and country themed variety shows such as game shows talk shows and bull riding in 1991 Gaylord would purchase Country Music Television otherwise known as CMT this now meant that they own two of the biggest country based channels with this new acquisition TNN programming would go in a New Direction music programming would get pushed to CMT whereas TNN would expand beyond music and include more shows such as outdoor sports fishing and auto racing basically it's redneck Central CBS would soon get into the picture and purchased TNN from Gaylord in 1988 and with this acquisition the network started changing altogether slowly it would phase out all country based shows and dro the Nashville network name in favor of more extreme shows including ECW on TNN roller jam and acquire male focused shows such as the Dukes of Hazard and Dallas I think you could start to see the early traces of what would eventually become Spike TV TNN would change hands in ownership once again when Viacom purchased CBS in 2000 for $ 35.6 billion making it one of the largest media Acquisitions at the time dis management shakeup would now put TNN under the leadership of MTV networks it was at this point where TNN as you knew it was dead to reflect this change TNN will Rebrand itself as the national network and refer itself as the new TNN they would also acquire WWF Raw becoming the Network's Flagship show replacing ECW considering that this was during the height of the Attitude Era this was seen as a massive win for the network there was also XFL programming but I'm sure you know how that went things would take a transformative shift when Alby heck the former head of Nickelodeon became head of TNN in 2003 under his leadership he would take the network into a new era in April of that same year TNN announced that it will Rebrand to Spike TV the first Network for men this new shift in programming would introduce male Focus shows such as The Joe Schmo Show and mxc and even introduce an animation block which included Gary the Rat Stripperella and the infamous Ren and Stimpy adult party cartoon this new name was set to debut on June 16th yet the plans will be halted after filmmaker Spike Lee filed an injunction against Viacom to the New York Supreme Court surprisingly Lee would be granted the injunction and TNN would be barred from using the Spike TV name despite the setback TNN would push forward with the new lineup and temporarily dub itself as the first Network for men with the TNN name slowly being phased out they would also comment on the situation by airing a bumper letting viewers know that they still couldn't use the name just yet we're the first Network for men due to a New York state ruling we can't announce our name at this time stay tuned but I want it now fortunately Lee and Viacom would reach an agreement and would be allowed to use the Spike TV name important dates in men's history December 17th 1903 WR brothers fly something July 20th 1969 some guy on the moon or something August 11th 2003 Spike TV the first Network for men is launched during his first few years the channel would be mocked by news outlets and critics alike labeling it as lowbrow programming for relying heavily on sexual appeal and violence by 205 they would tone it down a bit on the sex appeal but emphasize more on Violence by making it a core staple of the channel when they they had signed a deal with the UFC for original programming new shows would premere for the network like UFC Fight Night and a critically acclaimed reality series The Ultimate Fighter this move would be successful for both parties involved as it would help Elevate Spike TV and UFC to the mainstream it might sound a bit crazy but back in 2005 the UFC was not as popular or respected as it is now so Spike really hit gold with this move sadly Spike would lose WWE programming as it would move back to USA Network so to fill the wrestling void TNA Impact would the lineup to give it a more action oriented Vibe Spike TV would introduce a new logo dropping the TV out of its name and using the tagline get more action following this Alby heck would be gone from the network and Kevin K would be here to replace him under his leadership he would take Spike to new levels of infamy when new shows like mansers and a thousand ways to died premiered in 2007 and 2008 I don't remember mansers because I was more busy watching But A Thousand Ways To Die was on all the time when they weren't airing UFC shows one of the that scarred me for life was something about some dude who died because he was like huffing his own [ __ ] from a bucket like like why are you doing this 2012 onwards to me signal the beginning of the end for Spike as longtime fans would know it many of Spike's popular shows were starting to come to an end around this time and the channel was starting to shift towards more reality based shows such as Bar Rescue and inkmas and while I'm always up for bch watching episodes of Bar Rescue it became clear that Spike stays as the unapologetically masculine Network were long gone things would get worse for Spike as they would lose the rights to UFC programming and switched to Bellator MMA while nothing is wrong with Bellator it was a notable downgrade to what they previously had furthermore pro wrestling would leave the network entirely after 16 plus years by the end of 2014 as the mid-2010s rolled along cable started going on a massive Decline and while viewership was down the viewership was much lower compared to their competitors it was clear that fewer people were watching the network and in 2016 it was decided that Spike would once again change its viewership Focus to better include male and female audiences this new move would introduce a new logo and a tagline the ones to watch this new era of spiked introduced new shows like lip sync battle and a miniseries titled Tut Tut would be a huge hit for the network and while I had mediocre reviews it was a massive draw for the network drawing more than 1.4 million viewers during its three episode run a few miniseries and documentaries would be made for the network but as the years continued Spike's lineup would mostly be reality TV reruns and MMA finally in February of 2017 Viacom CEO Bob Bish announced that Spike would be rebranded to the Paramount Network beginning in 2018 as part of a new restructuring plan within Viacom which included the Network's office moving from New York to LA but before Spike TV went off the air over on Twitter the person managing to spike Twitter account would go on a fake meltdown and just say whatever was on his mind before the account got nuke well since I'm out of here anyway I might as well tell you all the things I've been holding in for the past 18 years brace yourself Bros shit's about to get real there's a reason all our early shows were CSI UFC TNA MX C UTI no one around here knew how to read when we green lit TNA we thought we were buying something entirely different but wrestling turned out to be okay the get more action tagline was actually my personal Mantra I was in a 3-month dry spell I honestly thought katcha contractor was a show about STDs the Church of Scientology kicked me out sit with that a moment I was baked when I pitched the Thousand Ways To Die those episodes are mostly based on my nightmares I'd like to leave my collection of leather wrist cffs to that special half Pine brawler you know who you are my favorite number is 3 29 because it's the number of times cops is on every night I learned from cops that the best way to get out of speeding ticket is to have something illegal in your car I'm not sure how you get out of that felony charge though I gave my entire staff empty gift cards as partying gifts because F them Joy I clogged The Fourth Stall in the seventh floor men's room over 30 times last year I lost my virginity in one of the sorage spaces from auction Hunters I was extremely disappointed when Stripperella had no nudity I aired that show solely based off the name and the potential for frontal I never thought branding would be one of the Thousand Ways To Die I'm out peace moment of silence [Music] everyone today the Paramount Network now stands on Spike TV's place the channel is most known for Yellowstone which has become the Network's Flagship series and while the TV channel for spike is gone Spike now exists as a network on Pluto TV and returns to its roots as a male Focus channel before I end this topic I have a suggestion for whoever made a thousand ways to die can you reboot the show and have it entirely based on Tik Tok devs I just want to see a recreation of the milk C challenge that that's all I want thanks and that's a wrap for the first episode of discontinued Nostalgia I hope you guys found this as interesting as I did researching it and if not well God damn this was a waste of time anyways announcement time we will finally be releasing the Nickelodeon video sort of we will be splitting the video into two parts part s with the conversation around Nickelodeon at an all-time high I really wanted to present the video into two parts detailing every aspect of the network I hope to have it released by the end of April if not the first week of May as for part two it should be out by the end of spring so yeah expect this stud to R it in later anyways that's really all I have to say don't forget to hit that like And subscribe if you want me to cover other topics until next time guys I am [Music] out [Music]

Channel: AmusingLuis

Views: 116,348

Keywords: AmusingLuis, Discontinued Nostalgia, TV Channels, Comedy Central, The Comedy Channel, Ha! TV Comedy Network, NET, National Educational Television, PBS, Game Lounge, DirecTV, Cable Music Channel, MTV, Ted Turner, Gun TV, Spike TV, 1000 Ways to die, TNN

Id: OBuElCEnDTE

Length: 29min 46sec (1786 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 11 2024