List of Changed Channels

[D'Snowth]

We're always complaining about channels that no longer play the kinds of programs that defined what they were as channels, so I figured for easy reference, we could use this thread to compile a list of those channels.

• A&E used to broadcast informational programs, such as BIOGRAPHY; now they mostly play country-fried reality shows (though BILLY THE EXTERMINATOR is unintentionally funny)
• Cartoon Network used to be all about great cartoons from past to present; now the cartoons they play are few and far between, and they put more focus into playing live action shows and movies.
• Disney Channel used to be just that, Disney cartoons, shows, and movies; now they keep rehashing the same kind of tweencoms over and over again.
• MTV used to be all about music (hence MUSIC Television); now, they play nothing but incredibly trashy reality shows.
• Nickelodeon used to have a great variety of all kinds of different Nicktoons, and some really entertaining live action shows; now it's all SpongeBob all the time (and rehashes of their live action shows).
• TLC has pretty much suffered the same fate as A&E, though I think their reality shows are less country-fried.
• TV Land used to be dedicated to classic television; now all they care about is their crappy original programming.
• VH1 is a similar case to MTV, but their reality shows seem to mostly be about "wives" and "husbands".

Know any others to add to the list?

 

[animalrescuer]

Animal Planet was one of my favorite channels growing up, but now, even that channel has changed. Most shows they show like Finding Bigfoot, Tanked and Treehouse Masters aren't really showcasing the animals anymore. It's new slogan "Surprisingly Human" is an indication of the direction the channel is going, less about the animals and more about the humans.

However, there are some current shows that I like, My Cat from ****, Call of the Wildman and Too Cute, which is my favorite one so far. Although, if I wake up early enough, I can catch some of the older shows that I loved like Meerkat Manor, Big Cat Diary and The Crocodile Hunter. I wish that channel could bring back its more classic shows that made it.

 

[D'Snowth]

Agreed. I used to LOVE THE PLANET'S FUNNIEST ANIMALS... then they tried to make it a knock-off of AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS by bringing in a live audience and having the host (Keegan Michael Key replacing Matt Galant) interact with them.

 

[CensoredAlso]

VH1 and Disney Channel are the ones that disappointed and saddened me the most when they changed. It's like that song "You paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

 

[Xerus]

There was TNN. The Nashville Network that used to show country western videos. But they stopped that theme and later became SPIKE TV.

Noggin was supposed to be an educational kids network featuring classic Sesame Street, Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Contact as well as new and inventive shows. But they dropped all that and became Teen Nick.

Toon Disney used to be an all cartoon channel. But then they started showing live action and it became Disney XD.

 

[minor muppetz]

• Disney Channel used to be just that, Disney cartoons, shows, and movies; now they keep rehashing the same kind of tweencoms over and over again.

Actually, even in the early years the channel had plenty of non-Disney programming to offer (like Fraggle Rock, various Sesame Street specials, many Muppet movies and specials before the 2004 sale, Growing Pains, almost every major animated Peanuts production, Abbot and Costello movies, even some of the Looney Tunes compilation specials, to name a few). And the channel went from a 16-hours-a-day channel to a 24-hour channel, and from a pay channel to a basic cable channel.
[quote="D'Snowth]

• Nickelodeon used to have a great variety of all kinds of different Nicktoons, and some really entertaining live action shows; now it's all SpongeBob all the time (and rehashes of their live action shows).[/quote]

It also changed from showing many limited-appeal imported shows from Britain, Canada, and other countries before it started to become more successful with its own original programming. And I've read that in the early days the channel was commercial free.

 

[D'Snowth]

I remember another one:

CourtTV used to show WORLD'S WILDEST POLICE VIDEOS, FORENSIC FILES, and stuff like that, until they became truTV, and started playing reality shows similar to A&E, and rehashes of WORLD'S DUMBEST... (which I do like, but the rehash shows are just plain pitiful)

Actually, if I may correct you Cullen: Teen Nick (formerly the N) used to be a late-nick programming block on Noggin before it became a separate channel of its own, meanwhile, Noggin is now the Nick Jr. channel (literally).

 

[Xerus]

I remember another one:

CourtTV used to show WORLD'S WILDEST POLICE VIDEOS, FORENSIC FILES, and stuff like that, until they became truTV, and started playing reality shows similar to A&E, and rehashes of WORLD'S DUMBEST... (which I do like, but the rehash shows are just plain pitiful)

Actually, if I may correct you Cullen: Teen Nick (formerly the N) used to be a late-nick programming block on Noggin before it became a separate channel of its own, meanwhile, Noggin is now the Nick Jr. channel (literally).

Oh yes. I remember now. Also, I think most of the old Noggin shows moved over to the Sprout channel.

 

[snichols1973]

GSN (formerly Game Show Network) used to have classic game shows from the '70s and '80s as part of its regular schedule.

Nowadays, the classics air from 7 a.m. - 12 noon Central time, and I'm not exactly an early bird when it comes to programming.

When it comes to Family Feud marathons, they're very generous with episodes featuring Richard Karn, John O'Hurley, or Steve Harvey as the host, but not so much when it comes to older episodes.

I could care less about such programs as Baggage or the GSN version of The Newlywed Game, since the network just has tedious stretches of the same old stuff.

I haven't watched it in years, since I probably wouldn't be missing much....

 

[snichols1973]

As for network programming:

Much of the Fox network stations' daytime programming consists of morning news programming (5 a.m. - 10 a.m. Central here in Oklahoma), while the 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. stretch consists of "tele-court" shows; the morning news and tele-court programming schedules may vary by stations based on local schedules.

Nowadays, if you want to see a classic sitcom or other program from the olden days, one usually has to buy a DVD boxed set, where you can watch any episode any time you want, without the commercials, or end credits being crowded out by voiceover network announcements or network promos.....

When the Children's Television Act was fully enforced in 1996, it required broadcast stations to carry a 3-hour minimum of educational/informational children's programming, and some programs found a new market on cable networks, while others were shelved to obscurity....

Long gone are the olden days of yore, when local Saturday morning programming was actually competitive and enjoyable, compared to nowadays when the Saturday AM timeslots are filled with "edutainment" programs aimed at reaching preschoolers.....