NORTH CANTON, OHIO —Well, technically, Image Video LPTV combo WIVM-LP 52 Canton/WIVN-LP 29 Newcomerstown/Dover/New Philadelphia and WIVX-LP 65/Loudonville is actually the first Retro Television Network affiliate in Northeast Ohio.
While waiting for the announced June 1st flip of Media-Com LPTV combo WAOH-LP 29 Akron/W35AX 35 Cleveland to RTN programming, OMW got word that the WIVM/WIVN/WIVX folks beat “The Cat” to the RTN switch.
The Canton-based stations launched the new RTN (RTV?) programming Friday afternoon at 1:30, and a drive down I-77 South with our Remote Viewing Equipped OMW Mobile confirmed the switch.
We’re not sure how the move affects local programming on either “The CAT” or WIVM et al.
Earlier Friday, we saw the new RTN feed on WIVM and company relaying RTN’s showing of “The Incredible Hulk”, though the TitanTV schedule for WIVM had “The Royle Touch” (a locally produced painting show).
But just this 8 PM hour, WIVM cut from the RTN schedule to air the long-running local religious program “Plus or Minus 60” with Canton religious TV veteran Denny Hazen and his wife Marge.
We get the idea that there is a good deal of local flexibility built into the RTN schedule.
But we don’t know if WIVM will continue to do a TV simulcast of talk WHBC/1480’s morning drive show hosted by Fred Chenevey and Pam Cook. And we don’t know if “The CAT”, when the Kent-based LPTVers take RTN next week, will continue to air various local call-in shows in the early evening hours.
Yes, we mean you, Steve French, whenever you come back from your vacation… well deserved, we’re sure, for being a prime factor in the number one ratings of that WNIR morning show with Stan What’s-His-Name-The-Dirty-Joke-Guy, Jim The-Guy-Who’s-Not-Steve and Maggie Who’s-She-How-Did-A-Woman-Get-In-Here.
😀
(We kid…we kid…)
At least from the WIVM side of this, we expect more answers coming soon…which we’ll post here in our next update on the topic…
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