Talk:Retro TV/Archive 1

Article Expansion
This article lists no schedules, something that should definitely be explained in an article about a TV Network.

But which schedule? There's a national feed (the default); and individual ones for many stations, some shared, some unique. The only references are TM-Zap2it and Titan; and they are non-authoritative.67.101.63.181 (talk) 05:06, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

RTN really a network?
It doesn`t really seem to be like a "network" per se, because it`s on Equity owned stations only, and has no affiliates. --CFIF (talk to me) 19:35, 2 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Would a network HAVE to have non-one-party-owned affiliates? Metamorphousthe 06:34, 7 February 2007 (UTC)


 * RTN plans to and is now in some places availabe on digital subchannels. RTN expects to grow bigger when digital TV takes hold as the the analog cut off date Feb 17 2009 approaches —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.143.237.146 (talk) 10:33, 2 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Will RTN have some TV affiliates in Chicago, Illinois? AdamDeanHall (talk) 14:01, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Might be too late to answer this, but in a word, no. Weigel Broadcasting's Me TV service has the rights for most old shows in the cities along the south shore of Lake Michigan all locked up.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 13:05, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

End of RTN?
Today, i turned on WXYZ-TV's .2 digital subchannel (RTN 7), and i got a notice in white text on a red background:

"As of 5:00 AM on January 4, 2009, Equity Media Holdings Corp.'s contract to service the Retro Televisioin Network has Expired. EMHC attempted to coordinate a seamless transition, but despite repeated attempts to communicate with Luken Communications, it recieved no response.

Please direct any question regareeding the RTN network, pogramming, and delivery of services to: Luken Holdings, Inc. 735 Broad Street, Suite 1204 Chattanooga, TN, 37402 423-756-1200"

This message was also seen on WJLA-TV 7-3 digital subchannel (RTN 7). Purcellville (talk) 23:44, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

Does this mean Equity can no longer operate and distribute RTN? RingtailedFox • Talk • Contribs 19:18, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * It presumably means that there's some kind of business dispute between the former business partners (not to mention EMHC being on the verge of bankruptcy). Couldn't turn up anything recent with a Google News search, and the rtnville.com site seems to be down... AnonMoos (talk) 19:39, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

RTN was originally founded by Equity, who were forced to sell it when they ran into financial problems in 2008. It is now owned by Luken, who is/was one of Equity's largest shareholders. Equity defaulted on a $40 million loan to a venture capital firm, Silver Point Finance, going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2008. Silver Point tried to push Equity into outright liquidation, backing off only in return for their being able to force new management onto the bankrupt company. That new management, I presume, are the ones playing games with the RTN feeds on the Equity satellite uplink. See Equity Media Holdings. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 17:51, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Off-Air as of 1/4/09
Please do not remove this information. I am in the process of gathering information on the shutdown, and am waiting for word from Luken Communications and WEHT-TV (an affiliate) in response to e-mails and telephone calls which I placed on 1/4/09 seeking further official info.

BillCJ, you may not have seen the screen mentioned in my edit because of local programming. Once your station goes to the network schedule, you will see it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tractordaddy (talk • contribs) 19:16, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry, but what you are adding is Original research, as first-hand reporting (the on-screen messages) and message boards are not acceptable on WP. Please wait until information is released by RTN or Equity through a press release, or though reliabel news sources. Btw, I am watching the network programming, as far as I can tell - at least it is . However, my cable service originates from Chattahooga, TN, where RTN is now located, so it may be receiving a direct signal from RTN, rather than through Equity. ZThat would mean that RTN is not "off-the-air", mere;y off Equity. Either way, we need reliable sources to confirm the actual situation, rhater that adding unverified info to the article. - BillCJ (talk) 19:38, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Here in Phoenix KAZT 7.2 is still showing RTN. Powergate92   Talk  21:22, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Here is the original slide breaking the news. Even though there are no press releases from Lukens or Equity regarding the shutdown, I don't consider it as original research. I say add the news to the article, clarifying it to say that only affiliates serviced by Equity is affected. -- azumanga (talk) 21:29, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Minor hiccup with the contract apparently. 76.226.115.77 (talk) 22:03, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * (Edit Conflict) I think that would be acceptable for the time being. to link to that image. Btw, my local affiliate is WRCB 3.2 in Chattanooga, but since I don't have a digital TV, I can't verify that the signal is currently being broadcast over-the air, though I assume it is. - BillCJ (talk) 22:31, 4 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I can verify that WJLA-DT3 (in Washington DC) is showing the same "red screen" on it's RTN digital feed. Granted I am watching on cable, but it is a direct feed from WJLA-DT3. -  NeutralHomer  •  Talk  • January 4, 2009 @ 23:38


 * WSAV-TV, which runs RTN on a subchannel, is acknowledging the interruption of its programming on their website, for what it's worth. I haven't seen any other RTN affiliate acknowledge the RTN shutdown (excluding the broadcast of the red slide).  -- WC  Quidditch   &#9742;   &#9998;  23:51, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * (Edit Conflict) All that proves is that some of the affiliates are off the air, but others are not. WP is not a public service site, but repeats what is reported by verifiable, reliable sources. The DCRTV.com can be sited to show that some affiliates are indeed off the air, but the rest of the piece is just a blog's speculation ("has apparently gone belly-up"). Nothing is harmed by waiting until we know exactly what is going on, but reporting info which may turn out to be false later is not a good idea. Also, what ever we put in the aritcle needs to be written in an encyclopedic manner. "...viewers turned in to find..." really doens't qualify. I'm working on something to add using the WSAV and DCRTV sites as sources, and will add it shortly. - BillCJ (talk) 23:54, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


 * OK, I have added a sentence, sourced from WSAV-TV, as this seems to be the most reliable. It is a blog-type page, but it is actually on the station's website, so I believe they have some clue as to what is going on. Hopefully more info will become available in the regular weekday news cycle beginning tomorrow. - BillCJ (talk) 00:20, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * As of this writing, the "red screen" remains on WJLA-DT3 and I can find very little about it on really any site with the exception of the normal TV/Radio boards, DCRTV.com and the above link to WSAV. -  NeutralHomer •  Talk  • January 5, 2009 @ 00:27
 * Also, could be unrelated...could be related...not sure, but RTNVille.com, the official website for RTN, is down. -  NeutralHomer •  Talk  • January 5, 2009 @ 00:30

RTN's website has moved; apparently Equity is refusing to hand over the "rtnville" domain name. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 19:12, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

In my area, there was the red screen in the early morning hours, duplication of main channel onto subchannel around noon (Dick Cheney simultaneously on two channels -- ugh!), and restoration of retro programming in the afternoon (though the actual shows being broadcast are different from what the electronic programming guide says is being broadcast). AnonMoos (talk) 03:02, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

WXYZ-DT2 has RTN back up this morning (7:30 AM, January 5). Perhaps Equity and Luken Communications were able to reach a deal? AnonMoos: i feel sorry for ya! it's bad enough that dick cheney can be seen on ONE channel at a time! :P RingtailedFox • Talk • Contribs 12:46, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Does their program start on the hour? Does it have Countrywide Loan ads? If no for the former and yes for the latter, it means that WXYZ is actually on backup programming based at the station (normally used for satellite outages). -- azumanga (talk) 17:04, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * It appears to be the same for WRCB 3.2 in Chattanooga. It has been that way since yesterday morning, and I didn't realize it when I wrote that they were not off the air. Has anyone found any reliable news sources yet on exactly what has happened? - BillCJ (talk) 17:16, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Here's one source: http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/01/05/daily.5/ -- azumanga (talk) 17:33, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I think KAZT, WXYZ and WRCB are airing a national feed of RTN as KAZT is showing Quincy, M.E. right now. Quincy, M.E. should not be on until 7:00pm. Also they did not air the hourly bumper showing the station callsigns and city of licence Powergate92   Talk  17:36, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * WJLA-DT3 appears to be on the national feed as well. They are airing programs outside of their normal timeslots....but they are back on the air. -  NeutralHomer  •  Talk  • January 5, 2009 @ 18:01
 * One could use this link for the disruption section. It is from TVNewsDay.com. -  NeutralHomer  •  Talk  • January 5, 2009 @ 18:07

Various sites are claiming that RTN has moved to a different satellite (AMC 9 at 83.0°W)  with at least one claiming that Equity has brought back Retro Jams (a channel which had been playing old rock-music video in continuous rotation, but which had been moved to be just an RTN programming block) on some affected stations which it owns. I'm inclined to wait and see before editing Retro Jams, either to wait for the dust to settle or for WP:RS on this. At least this puts an end to speculation that RTN could go dark once Equity finishes burning its bridges with Intelsat (where it owes more than half a million for transponder space on Galaxy 18 and one other sat). RTN has not only moved to another satellite 40° further east, but to another satellite company - the AMC series are SES Americom. Could it be that they're watching Equity sink and are distancing themselves very quickly out of simple self-preservation? --66.102.80.212 (talk) 19:32, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

RTN's local feed is back on the air on KAZT as they showed a station id at 9:30am saying "RTN KAZT-DT Prescott AZ" Powergate92   Talk  16:44, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * KAZT just showed the "Primetime all the time Retro Television Network RTN" bumper for 10 minutes then went to a black screen for 5 minutes and then they went back to dragnet. Powergate92   Talk  02:11, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Name change?
Did RTN change there name to my retro tv because KAZT 7.2 showed a bumper saying my retro tv from when turned it on at 7:58pm - 8:00pm. Powergate92  Talk  03:32, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * They showed it again at 10:00pm. Powergate92   Talk  05:19, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I've seen it too. Let's make sure we get some kind of official confirmation of a name change before we change the article, and especially before we try to move it to the new name. Thanks. - BillCJ (talk) 05:31, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Me too, but it seems very, very temporary and sparse and is probably just used as a black screen to allow for clear station ID's. The "My TV" is a Fox term, and the A-Team font suggests "we whipped this out in Powerpoint in 35 seconds". I think it's until they can get the current RTN logo in their editing facilities or create a new one.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 13:01, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * You forgot the white dot moving from right to left [[Image:SFriendly.gif|20px]] -- AnonMoos (talk) 19:54, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * They had to replace "rtnville" with "myretrotv" in the website address because Equity refuses to return the "rtnville.com" domain to RTN. I don't think this should be a reason to move the article, as the article wasn't called "rtnville" but "Retro Television Network" before Luken bailed out of (rapidly sinking) Equity Media. It can stay "Retro Television Network". I do object, however, to removal of the info about the network moving to another satellite. The significant information inferred from that move is that not that it has moved halfway across the sky (from 123°W to 83°W) but that it has changed to a different satellite company. Galaxy 18 is owned by Intelsat, to which Equity owes more than half a million dollars according to the Arkansas Business articles; that Luken has moved RTN off the Intelsat/Galaxy series onto SES Americom may mean that he wants to be well out of the way when Intelsat starts pulling some or all Equity feeds off their satellites. There was much speculation when RTN was on the Equity C.A.S.H centralcasting system that Equity's bankruptcy could pull RTN off the air and this move effectively ends much of that concern. It's disruptive to RTN in the short term, but if Equity were to go dark tomorrow RTN is now fed from some other facility in another state to another satellite owned by a competing satellite vendor. That leaves it safely isolated from what is about to happen at Equity, something which the new digital subchannel affiliate stations would be glad to know. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 19:50, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * We are not talking about the website we are talking about the network bumper. Powergate92   Talk  20:06, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Did that say RTN or "rtnville" before all this happened? --66.102.80.212 (talk) 20:11, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The bumper started airing last night all it says is my retro tv with a white dot moving from right to left under the name. Powergate92   Talk  20:17, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
 * This is the only bumper aired on the network since sunday. Powergate92   Talk  20:33, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

As of right now, I don't know what to think. The URL and the ident says "My Retro TV", with the ident and URL likely to have created on the fly -- they were probably watching "The A-Team" when they came up with the logo; as for the ball, all I can say is: "?". As for the website, they practically copied the whole thing to "myretrotv.com", without editing -- the "RTNville" name and RTN logo still exists, and the contact pages still have the rtnville.com domain and the Little Rock mailing address. -- azumanga (talk) 02:13, 8 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The contact pages now appear to have been updated. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 06:45, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

The contact pages now have text for myretrotv, but the url's are still all for the dead rtnville address.67.101.63.181 (talk) 07:23, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

RTN just showed a bumper saying "Retro Television Network RTN" So i guess RTN is not changing there name. Powergate92  Talk  17:16, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Looks like RTN might be changing there name to RTV as there new logo says RTV. Powergate92  Talk  17:50, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Buffalo WNGS?
Any idea whether RTN is still on WNGS (Springville-Buffalo, New York). There have been generalisations posted about "RTN pulled from all Equity stations" but I'm not sure whether WNGS should be listed as part of this or as unaffected. Equity owns the station, but WKBW-TV operates it under an LMA and simulcasts it onto a WKBW 7.2 digital subchannel. WNGS was also one of fourteen nominally full-service analogue stations for which Equity is required to go digital or go dark on Feb 17 and it must also move to a lower channel (67 will be off the end of the dial very soon now). As such, WKBW 7.2 might be all that's left of WNGS very soon now, with Equity hanging on (if it can) to the digital construction permit and precious little else.

Currently, the TitanTV schedule is showing "to be announced" in all WNGS dayparts and links to other station's schedules from www.myretrotv.com seem very hit-and-miss as to whether RTN is still listed as one of the subchannels. The rtn11.com domain name (used by WNGS to redirect to a page on the WKBW site) lands on a 404 error. I'm not inclined to rely heavily on local TV listings, given that they're likely created far in advance, but it looks like we don't have a reliable list of who carries RTN atm. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 22:00, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Anyone here from the Buffalo area? If not, I suggest taking your question to WP:TVS -- there's bound to be someone who could answer. -- azumanga (talk) 07:18, 7 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The Buffalo News updated the situation; they've been airing movies to fill the time.  Nate  • ( chatter ) 03:40, 8 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I live near Buffalo and I've seen nothing but movies on WNGS all day (Today was the first I actually heard of this situation). -Electricbolt (talk) 21:32, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

I notice that myretrotv website now claims "By February 17, 2009, all RTN affiliates will be broadcasting in digital". I wonder if this means that the days of this content on low-power broadcasting stations are over (given the Equity Media Holdings fiasco) with the business plan refocussed entirely on digital subchannel offerings. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 06:20, 8 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Was that note there when the site was on RTNville? Where regulations are concerned, LPTVs are still exempt, with them going digital entirely their choice. According to our affiliation list, there are still quite a few LPTV RTN affils not owned by Equity, with one of them digital. -- azumanga (talk) 17:22, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

I can't find any record of it having been on RTNville and "most RTN affiliates are already digital broadcasters" suggests that this was *not* written with Equity LPTV's in mind. The list of Retro Television Network affiliates likely has some entries which should be removed - such as subchannels of Newport Television stations or individual subchannels which have gone to other networks such as CW+ - but odds are that there are a half-dozen or so valid listings there for analogue LPTV's carrying RTN (and one station which had it in the digital .1 position). Still, they are the minority now that the EBC stations are gone. --66.102.80.212 (talk) 03:10, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Current header
Per the guidelines link noted in the edit summay, the Current header is not only "{intended for articles edited by many on the same day". The first two points in the guideline state: As the guiidelines are currently written, the tag was correctly added, as for several days from Jan. 4 2009 onward, information was radidly evolving. It is not the case now, so it should have been removed. Please update the guidleines before trying to claim things the guidelines do not say. Thanks. - BillCJ (talk) 00:17, 11 January 2009 (UTC)
 * This template is for articles which involve an article about an evolving current event which is either changing rapidly or about which understanding is rapidly evolving. This is an advisory to readers that the article may be incomplete and subject to change as the event occurs and understanding of it develops.
 * As an advisory to editors, it may also be used in those occasions that many editors (perhaps a hundred or more) edit an article on the same day, for example, in the case of natural disasters, the death of celebrities, or other breaking news. (Emphasis added.)

RTV's heavy re-run cycle -skiping of episodes,etc.
Anyone have 3rd party verification on the following info -

''Since early 2009 (Around the time of the split with Equity) The Network has been prone to heavy re-cycling of the same handful of episodes from each of the series they currently have the rights to, and not airring complete runs of the shows. Statments by RTV representives on the RTV Facebook group have stated this is both due to "clearance issues", as well as server and automation issues.''

Seems official statements by RTV REPRESENITIVES on their own Facebook page/group (which is their offical outlet for interaction and information with viewers) as well as viewer comments and reports on said same page isn't 'good enough' or 'neutral' enough for some people here on Wikipedia.

It's not like they are going to issue a press release that they have "issues" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.147.84.124 (talk)00:49, 14 February 2010 (UTC)