December 11, 2025Dec 11 On any given weeknight, promptly at 7 p.m., hundreds of thousands of Americans sit down in front of the television set to watch the goings-on at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea.The show, “M*A*S*H,” hasn’t produced a single new episode since 1983 — the same year its finale was viewed by more than 105 million people in the United States. But the program still draws a strong amount of interest from Americans who have rediscovered Hawkeye and the gang as viewers incorporate more free broadcast TV into their media diets.During a single week in October, rebroadcasts of M*A*S*H at 7 p.m. attracted 764,000 viewers over the age of two and its double-header episode at 7:30 p.m. pulled in 789,000 viewers, according to Nielsen data reviewed by The Desk.More than 200 local TV stations across the country continue to air M*A*S*H each week on digital broadcast TV through their affiliation with MeTV, a network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. The network started as a multi-hour vintage programming block on a single Chicago-area TV station and has since grown to the modern equivalent of a super station — similar to the one Ted Turner built in the 1970s with WTBS (Channel 17) in Atlanta.Neal Sabin, the Vice Chairman of Weigel Broadcasting, says MeTV broadcasts more than 60 shows during the week, making it the network with the largest schedule of unique programs in the country. Each show is selected for its ability to withstand the test of time — the show must be character-driven, have good story lines and resonate with older and younger viewers alike.“Classic is one of the most overused terms in television — classic is a euphemism, in a lot of cases, for old,” Sabin said in an interview with The Desk. “Shows like Andy Griffith and M*A*S*H, those are true classics. They were written amazingly well. They’re very different shows — they have characters that are timeless and memorable, and they offer a consistent escape from the world today — and that is part of what makes MeTV work really well.”Read the rest of this article here.
December 12, 2025Dec 12 MeTV is one of my favorite channels and I was so excited when it became available here. We watch it probably five nights out of seven. A lot of times it’s MASH ( like right now ) and The Andy Griffith show if nothing else is on. Saturday evenings I’ll sometimes watch The Three Stooges and maybe Svengoolie depending on what movie he’s showing. Sometimes I watch it just for his segments, not the movie.I also tune in for All In The Family now and then on Sunday nights.I’m one of those who were against them adding Everybody Loves Raymond because, well, I don’t. I’d hate to see it end up like TVLand.
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