KCWE went multicast with "this" classic movie-TV brand ...
No, it's not a "Jeopardy!" question, or an Abbott and Costello routine. The name of the channel actually is "thisTV" and it will sign on locally on Tuesday.
So what is this, um, "this" new channel all about?
According to the PR, "this Kansas City is home to great movies, with 4,000 film titles and 10,000 classic television episodes from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios." It will air as a multicast channel on KCWE-DT, the sister station of KMBC, at 29.2 and on cable at Time Warner channel 1432.
The PR continues: Complimenting the showcase of movies on this Kansas City are classic television shows that include: "The Addams Family," "Green Acres," "Mister Ed," "Flipper," "The Outer Limits," and "Cagney & Lacey." Plus, this Kansas City has three-hours of children's programming every morning.
Now let's cut through the hype and look at the actual schedule for the first few days of thisTV.
Starting at signon at 5 a.m. Tuesday, these half-hour shows fill up the morning:
The Patty Duke Show 1024
Mister Ed 108
Robinson Crusoe W
The Adventures of Paddington Bear 09
Flight Squad 10
Ripley's Believe It or Not 09
Animal Crackers 33
Spider Riders 101
Then at 9 a.m., million-dollar movies:
RED RIVER (FEATURE)
John Wayne, Montgomery Clift (1948) - Western <2.5 Hours>
TV-G (CC)
MAN WITH THE GUN
Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling (1955) - Action <1.5 Hours>
TV-PG (CC)
CLASS
Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset (1983) - Comedy <2 Hours>
TV-14 (CC)
BEVERLY HILLS MADAM
Faye Dunaway, Melody Anderson (1986) - Drama <2 Hours>
TV-14 (CC)
NAMU, THE KILLER WHALE
Robert Lansing, John Anderson (1966) - Family <2 Hours>
TV-PG
ROCKY MARCIANO
Jon Favreau, Penelope Ann Miller (1999) - Drama <2 Hours>
TV-14
THE ORGANIZATION
Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair (1971) - Action <2.5 Hours>
TV-14
HORNET'S NEST
Rock Hudson, Sylva Koscina (1970) - War <2 Hours>
TV-PG
TOPKAPI
Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov (1964) - Action <2.5 Hours>
TV-PG
Will films like "Beverly Hills Madam" be edited for broadcast? Has Faye Dunaway had work done? Of course it will.
There are some interesting features the first week: "Twelve Angry Men" 3 p.m. Thursday, "French Lieutenant's Woman" at 4 a.m. (!) Sunday, though I'm sure it repeats at other times ("Red River" is repeating at noon on Sunday).
But overall, the channel is definitely for the DVR crowd. Pick and choose the ones you like and leave the rest. If you like "The Outer Limits," for instance, it's airing in the dead of night at 3 a.m. on Friday and Sunday nights (Saturday/Monday mornings) next week.
I'm not sure, based on the first three weeks' selection, that it's going to have anyone dropping their cable subscriptions. But it's nice to see that finally, some new multicast options are being offered to local TV stations.
