Feeling nostalgic? The CBS Television Stations Group certainly hopes so.
The group is teaming with Weigel Broadcasting for the project “Decades,” which is billed as “the ultimate TV time capsule.”
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The nationally distributed program, which will air on local stations’ digital subchannels and numerous local cable systems, will draw from more than 100 classic TV shows from the CBS library, including “I Love Lucy,” “Star Trek,” “Happy Days” and “Cheers,” along with theatrical and made-for-TV movies, and archival footage from CBS News and “Entertainment Tonight.”
Original programming for the service will include “Decades Retrospectical,” a daily one-hour program revolving around the news events and cultural touchstones of the past. The series and movies aired each day will reflect that day’s “Decades Retrospectical” theme.
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The infamous “jump the shark” episode of “Happy Days,” the assassination of President Kennedy and Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon are some of the milestones that will be highlighted and contextualized by “Decades.”
The service will launch in 2015.
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“‘Decades’ is the most ambitious and creative subchannel programming service that has ever been created,” said Peter Dunn, President, CBS Television Stations. “We are thrilled to partner with Weigel Broadcasting, the leaders in this space, to make smart use of our stations’ spectrums and our companies’ considerable programming assets. This service will be a tremendous new business for CBS and all of the other stations across the country that participate, regardless of their primary network affiliation.”
Added Weigel president Norman H. Shapiro, “‘Decades’ takes the digital broadcast network platform to a new level. Viewers will ‘Relive, Remember & Relate’ to the events that touched their lives and generations past. The events, themes and programming possibilities are endless. We are truly honored to be chosen as the company to develop the CBS Television Stations’ diginet product, and look forward to the launch of ‘Decades’ next year.”