Media

For more than 30 years, John Kiesewetter has been the source for information about all things in local media — comings and goings, local people appearing on the big or small screen, special programs, and much more. Contact John at johnkiese@yahoo.com.

Decades Network Returns To Block Broadcasting Lineup

91.7 WVXU | By John Kiesewetter

Published April 10, 2018 at 12:05 PM EDT

Ted Knight, Ed Asner and Marty Tyler Moore in the 1970's "Mary Tyler Moore" comedy on the Decades network.

Block Broadcasting's low-power Channel 25 has upgraded its equipment to add the Decades nostalgia TV network from its defunct sister Channel 20.

Channel 25 -- technically WBQC-TV, but branded as "WKRP TV" – now broadcasts 12 networks.

Decades airs 1960s and '70s reruns such as "I Love Lucy" (9-10 a.m.), "Donna Reed" (11 a.m.-noon), Brian Keith's "Family Affair (noon-1 p.m.), "Mary Tyler Moore" (2 and 2:30 p.m.), "Newhart" (3 and 3:30 p.m.), "Ed Sullivan (5-6 p.m.), "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (6-8 p.m.) and the "Dick Cavett Show" (9-10 p.m.).

CBS' "The Bob Newhart Show" sitcom airs at 3 and 3:30 p.m. weekdays on Decades.

The network vanished from Cincinnati airwaves when Block's WOTH-TV (Channel 20) ceased operation Tuesday, Jan. 23, one of three area TV stations going dark in 2018 as part of the federal government's digital TV channel re-alignment coming in fall 2019.

Owner Elliott Block also this week added the new Quest channel from TEGNA, the former Gannett broadcasting division, as I reported in January. WOTH-TV's Movies! and Heroes & Icons networks were moved to Channel 25 in late January.

The new lineup could be confusing. Although Channel 25 now airs a dozen channels, some of the networks appear as subchannels of Channel 20.

Viewers should rescan channels on their TV sets to get the new lineup. Here it is:

Movies! (Channel 20.1): Old feature films from 20^th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Paramount Pictures.

"Laugh-In" hosts Dan Rowan (left) and Dick Martin (right) with singer Tiny Tim.

Decades (Channel 20.2): "Mary Tyler Moore," "Newhart," "Laugh-In," the "Ed Sullivan Show," "Dick Cavett Show," "I Love Lucy," "Family Affair" and other old TV series

Quest (Channel 20.3): "Storm Chasers," "Modern Marvels," "Unsolved History," "Dual Survival," "Auction Kings," "Flying Wild: Alaska," '"Most Daring," "Dangerous Flights," "Sci-Trek" and other repeats of shows about nature's greatest dangers and man's greatest achievements"

Heroes & Icons (Channel 20.4): Home for many old TV dramas such as "NYPD Blue," "Hill Street Blues," "Star Trek," "Rawhide" and "Maverick"

Cozi (Channel 25.1): "Charlie's Angels," Columbo," Magnum P.I." and other shows from the NBCUniverisal archives

Peter Falk (right) as "Columbo" with Richard Kiley in a 1974 episode.

This TV (Channel 25.2): "Sea Hunt," Flipper," "Angry Birds" and other shows from MGM and Tribune Broadcasting

Get TV (Channel 25.3): "7^th Heaven," "Sanford and Son," "All In The Family," "Ghost Whisperer," "Good Times," "In The Heat Of The Night" and other shows from Sony Pictures Network Television

JTV (Channel 25.4): Jewelry Television network

Light TV (Channel 25.5): "Fiddler on the Roof," "Oliver" and other family-friendly movies and programs from MGM Television

Sonlife (Channel 25.6): Christian programming from the Jimmy Swaggert Ministries

HSN(Channel 25.7): Home Shopping Network

Evine (Channel 25.8): Evine home shopping