View source for Operation Prime Time

{{short description|Television programming provider}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox broadcasting network
| network_name = Operation Prime Time
| name         =
| network_logo = Operation Prime Time.jpg
| image        = 
| network_type = occasional [[television network]]
| branding     = 
| country      = United States
| founded      = {{Start date and age|1976}}
| founder      = [[Al Masini]]
| owner        = 
| key_people   = [[Al Masini]]
| foundation   = 
| launch_date  = {{Start date and age|1976}}
| closure_date = {{End date and age|1987}} 
}}

'''Operation Prime Time''' (OPT) was a consortium of [[United States|American]] [[independent station (North America)|independent television stations]] to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, '''Television Program Enterprises''' (TPE), were formed by [[Al Masini]]. During its existence, OPT was considered the ''de facto'' [[fourth television network]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown|first=Les|date=May 8, 1977|title=Is a Fourth Network About to Hatch?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/08/archives/is-a-fourth-network-about-to-hatch.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Vanocur|first=Sander|date=January 23, 1977|title=The Fourth Network 'Revolution': Don't Hold Your Breath|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/01/23/the-fourth-network-revolution-dont-hold-your-breath/c06588b5-38ae-4d02-bfad-95d829b606fe/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bedell Smith|first=Sally|date=August 28, 1983|title=IS IT TIME FOR A FOURTH TV NETWORK?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/28/arts/is-it-time-for-a-fourth-tv-network.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="yahoo">[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/Al-Masini-January-5-1930-iw-3615480362.html?x=0 ''MarketWire via Yahoo! Finance''], December 1, 2010</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kanner|first=Bernice|date=June 17, 1985|title=New York Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ab0BAAAAMBAJ&q=Operation+Prime+Time+The+Bastard&pg=PA19|page=19}}</ref> OPT was also called an occasional [[television network]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Lowery|first=Brian|date=February 28, 2006|title=For Fox, My Network es su network|url=https://variety.com/2006/scene/columns/for-fox-my-network-es-su-network-1117939006/|work=Variety}}</ref><ref name="Nadel"/> and occasional program alternative.<ref name=fls/>

OPT inspired syndication and network models that arose in later years, such as [[The Disney Afternoon]], [[Prime Time Entertainment Network]], [[The CW Plus]], and [[MyNetworkTV]].{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

==Operations==
Unlike the standard network advertising split, where the stations got the bulk of the ad time with the collective network only receiving one or two minutes of the dozen minutes available to sell, the OPT ad time would be sold at 1/3 of network rates or about $40,000 per half minute with the profits going back to the stations.<ref name="Nadel">{{cite journal|last=Nadel|first=Gerry|date=1977-05-30|title=Who Owns Prime Time? The Threat of the 'Occasional' Networks|journal=New York Magazine|location=New York|pages=33–36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YeMCAAAAMBAJ&q=%22MetroNet%22%2B%22Metromedia%22&pg=PA35|access-date=2009-10-04}}</ref>

==Background==
With primarily only [[Big Three television networks]] providing new programming to TV stations in the 1970s, the unaffiliated stations had little network level quality programming to offer to advertisers.  Producers of TV programs were also looking for an alternative to the standard network set up that paid the producers about three fourths of the production costs thus the show would only make money for the production company if it made enough episodes to place into rerun syndication.  Advertisers were looking for new advertising outlets due to rising network ad costs with a 30% increase in 1977.  Networks' income increased 143% from 1969 to 1974 while network payments to affiliates decreased by 2%.<ref name="Nadel"/>

==History==
[[Al Masini]], who represented 18 stations for advertising sales through his company TeleRep, discussed the independent stations' problem with other independent stations after a broadcast media meeting in February 1976.<ref name="Nadel"/>  Determined to offer an alternative, Masini rounded up a steering committee to form the new venture.  Initial members of the committee included Shelly Cooper, General Manager of [[WGN-TV]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://epguides.com/WGNPresents/|title=WGN Presents|last= |first= |date= |website=epguides.com|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> [[Chicago]], Rich Frank of [[KCOP-TV]] [[Los Angeles]],<ref name="Nadel"/> and representatives of [[KTVU]], [[WPIX]] and [[KSTW]].<ref name=fls>{{cite news|last=Sharbutt|first=Jay|title=Lively Arts Operation Prime Time' Begins|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6N1NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4442,1172333&hl=en|access-date=27 June 2012|newspaper=The Free Lance-Star|date=March 9, 1977}}</ref>  At the next broadcaster convention, the committee met to develop the details. The OPT committee then contacted [[Frank Price]] of [[Universal Television]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Television and Behavior: Technical reviews|year= 1982|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPkkkDUDYbwC&q=operation+prime+time+fox&pg=PA353|page=353}}</ref> for the first program.  Price offered [[Taylor Caldwell]]'s novel ''Testimony of Two Men'' as a miniseries with Universal taking on a fifth of the production cost.<ref name="Nadel"/>  The committee was initially able to get 22 independent and 53 network-affiliated stations to sign on to OPT.<ref name=fls/>

Advertisers like [[General Foods]] and [[Bristol-Myers]] abandoned the rival potential fourth network, [[Metromedia]]'s MetroNet, for OPT, based on Metromedia's near Big 3 network cost per thousand viewers advertising cost and OPT reaching 80% of the country. Masini eventually lined up 93 stations, 73 of which were affiliates of ABC, NBC or CBS; of those affiliated with a network, these affiliates had to preempt part of their regular network prime time programming to make room for specials from OPT.  KCOP's broadcast of ''Testimony of Two Men''{{'s}} first installment got a 16 rating and the second installment got an 18, well over their standard 4 rating, but in May, a traditional rerun period for the networks.<ref name="Nadel"/>

Prime Time planned three book adaptions for their shows to air in May, July and November or December 1978 with two of them being [[John Jakes]]'s ''[[The Bastard (novel)|The Bastard]]'' and ''[[The Rebels (Jakes novel)|The Rebels]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Hilmes|first=Michelle|title=Hollywood and Broadcasting: From Radio to Cable|year=1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X4hr1AdKbYMC&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Entertainment+Tonight&pg=PA189|publisher=University of Illinois Press|page=189|isbn=9780252068461}}</ref> leading the way for the rest of the [[The Kent Family Chronicles|book series]] that OPT optioned including two then currently being written. Martin Gosch's and Richard Hammer's ''The Last Testimony of [[Lucky Luciano]]'' was the third adaptation scheduled for 1978.<ref>{{cite news|title=Operation Prime Time sets three new shows|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-08-29.pdf|access-date=April 7, 2015|work=Broadcasting|date=August 29, 1977|page=20}}</ref>

The most successful miniseries from OPT was "A Woman Called Golda" It won multiple Emmy awards  and was nominated for two Golden Globes.  

The last time the Operation Prime Time name was used was at the end of 1986, when the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] was barely on the air. At that point, it was just ''[[The Late Show (1986 talk show)|The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers]]''; they didn't launch [[prime time]] programming until [[1986–87 United States network television schedule|the spring of 1987]]. Ultimately, the arrival of Fox as well as original programming for [[Cable television in the United States|cable networks]] and stations would eventually make the OPT business model obsolete.

==List of programs produced by OPT==
Its initial programs were [[miniseries]] including adaptations of ''Testimony of Two Men'' and ''Son of the Captains and the Kings'', the sequel to the 1976 [[NBC]] miniseries ''[[Captains and the Kings]]'', also adapted from a novel by Caldwell.<ref name="Nadel"/> OPT also distributed the animated [[Christmas special]] ''[[Yogi's First Christmas]]''.

The most successful program from both OPT and TPE was, and still is, ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'', now produced and distributed by [[CBS Media Ventures]]. Other programs included ''[[Solid Gold (television series)|Solid Gold]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thelandofwhatever.blogspot.com/2018/05/classic-tv-solid-gold-1980.html|title=Classic TV: Solid Gold (1980)|date=March 23, 2018|website=The Land of Whatever}}</ref> ''[[Star Search]]'',<ref>{{cite news |date=January 25, 1993|title=Burnett, career highpoint|url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/news/burnett-career-highpoint-103316/|work=Variety}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Broughton|first=Irv|date= 4 September 2001|title=Producers on Producing: The Making of Film and Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VcHjvagBwtsC&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Star+Search&pg=PA290|publisher=McFarland|page=290|isbn=9780786412075}}</ref> and ''[[Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous]]''.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} It could be common place for OPT's weekly series to be divided between two network affiliates and run mainly on weekends in off hours. In a given market, the local [[List of CBS television affiliates (by U.S. state)|CBS station]] might carry ''Entertainment Tonight'' (in the [[Prime Time Access Rule (US)|prime-access]] slot), ''Solid Gold'', and ''Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'' while the [[List of ABC television affiliates (by U.S. state)|ABC affiliate]] had ''Star Search''.

* ''[[Captains and the Kings]]'' (1976)<ref name="Nadel"/>
* ''Testimony of Two Men'' (1977)<ref name="Nadel"/><ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=May 9, 1977|title=TV: Shaky 'Testimony of 2 Men'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/09/archives/tv-shaky-testimony-of-2-men-sixhour-miniseries-based-on-the.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
* ''[[The Bastard (miniseries)|The Bastard]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=May 23, 1978|title=TV: 'The Bastard' Winds Up Tonight|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/23/archives/new-jersey-pages-tv-the-bastard-winds-up-tonight.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shales|first=Tom|date=May 21, 1978|title=TV: 'The Bastard' Winds Up Tonight|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/05/21/the-bastard-is-a-son-of-a-network/1e53b88a-4b21-4315-b26c-4a2d19cabd86/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> (1978)
* ''[[Evening in Byzantium]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts|first=Jerry|date= 5 June 2009|title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Evening+in+Byzantium&pg=PA347|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=346|isbn=9780810863781}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bawden, Miller|first=James, Ron|date= April 2016|title=Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mG6oCwAAQBAJ&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Evening+in+Byzantium&pg=PT114|isbn=9780813167114}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shepard|first=Richard F.|date=July 4, 1978|title='Marie Curie,' Irwin Shaw Novel And Miss Woodward Due on TV|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/04/archives/marie-curie-irwin-shaw-novel-and-miss-woodward-due-on-tv.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref> (1978)
* ''[[The Immigrants]]'' (1978)<ref>{{Cite news|first1 = Jerry |last1=Buck|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-edVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,6009185&dq=the+bastard+john+jakes&hl=en|title = John Jakes' 'The Bastard' is latest effort from Operation Prime Time|date =May 20, 1978|newspaper = Eugene Register-Guard|agency=AP|access-date =July 4, 2013}} <!-- src. 1978 sch. --></ref><ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=December 31, 1978|title=TV VIEW|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/31/archives/tv-view-live-coverage-and-public-tv-took-the-spotlight.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
* ''[[The Rebels (miniseries)|The Rebels]]'' (1979)<ref>{{Cite news|date = May 13, 1979|access-date =July 4, 2013|page=TV5|newspaper = The Pittsburgh Press |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NjAcAAAAIBAJ&pg=5637,5371648&dq=the+bastard+john+jakes&hl=en|title = 'Rebels' Continues Kent Family Saga}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wagner|first=Laura|date= 12 August 2011|title=Anne Francis: The Life and Career|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEKBLT-Z9sgC&q=operation+prime+time+The+Rebels&pg=PA112|publisher=McFarland|page=112|isbn=9780786486007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jakes|first=John|date= 10 July 2012|title=The Rebels |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJvcS2V04nQC&q=operation+prime+time+The+Rebels&pg=PT580|publisher=Open Road Media|isbn=9781453255919}}</ref>  
* ''[[The Seekers (miniseries)|The Seekers]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown|first=Les|date=November 24, 1979|title=Ad Hoc TV Networks Planning Assaults on the 3 Majors|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/24/archives/ad-hoc-tv-networks-planning-assaults-on-the-3-majors-longrange.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shales|first=Tom|date=November 7, 1979|title=Shameless "Seekers' A Capital 'B' Blunder|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/11/07/shameless-seekers-a-capital-b-blunder/44ac3e1d-a592-47a7-ba6b-eb12a1f5fb39/|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago WGN brings Operation Prime Time 21 Oct 79 Greenville News SC|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20069744/chicago-wgn-brings-operation-prime-time/|work=Newspapers}}</ref> (1979)
* ''[[Jack Frost (1979 film)|Jack Frost]]'' (1979) (produced by [[Rankin/Bass Productions]])
* ''Top of the Hill''<ref>{{cite book |date= 21 October 2009|title=Television Series and Specials Scripts, 1946-1992: A Catalog of the American|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9K4tLMSbJAC&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Top+of+the+Hill&pg=PA416|publisher=McFarland|page=416|isbn=9780786454372}}</ref> (1980)
* ''[[Condominium (film)|Condominium]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://madefortvmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/11/tv-trivia-condominium.html|title=TV Trivia: Condominium (1980)|date=November 13, 2009|website=Made for TV Mayhem}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hennessee|first=Judith Adler |date=December 9, 1979|title=A New Look; for Local Independent Stations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/09/archives/a-new-look-for-local-independent-stations.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hillplace.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-condominium-worth-its-market-value.html|title=A "Condominium" Worth Its Market Value|date=May 11, 2013|website=Hill Place}}</ref> (1980)
* ''[[The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (film)|The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thetrapofsolidgold.blogspot.com/2010/01/jdm-on-television-part-4.html|title=JDM on Television, Part 4|last=Scott|first=Steve|date=January 29, 2010|website=The Trap of Solid Gold}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sanfordallen.com/2016/02/forgotten-films-the-girl-the-gold-watch-and-everything-1980/|title=Forgotten Films: The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything (1980)|last=Mason |first=Todd|date=February 23, 2016|website=Sanford Allen}}</ref> (1980)
* ''[[The Dream Merchants (miniseries)|The Dream Merchants]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Shepard|first=Richard F.|date=January 9, 1979|title='Interrupt' Will Return To WNET|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/09/archives/interrupt-will-return-to-wnet-wpix-series-to-be-based-on-dream.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref> (1980)
* ''Tourist'' (1980)
* ''[[Solid Gold (TV series)|Solid Gold]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Denisoff|first=R. Serge|date= January 1986|title=Tarnished Gold: The Record Industry Revisted [i.e. Revisited]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWdMOZGNOHUC&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Solid+Gold&pg=PA343|publisher=Transaction Publishers|page=343|isbn=9781412835565}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sharbutt|first=Jan|date=March 26, 1987|title=HARMONY NETWORK ANNOUNCED|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-26-ca-211-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Clark|first=Kenneth R.|date=August 4, 1985|title='LIFESTYLES' -- VOYEURISM FOR MIDDLE AMERICA|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-08-04-8502200696-story.html|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> (1980–1988) (produced by [[Paramount Domestic Television]])
* ''Mom, the Wolfman and Me''<ref>{{YouTube|title=WGN Channel 9 - "Mom, The Wolf Man and Me" (Promo #1, 1980)|id=anVY1PUS09o}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://madefortvmayhem.blogspot.com/2010/01/mom-wolfman-me-1980.html|title=Mom, The Wolfman & Me (1980)|date=January 5, 2010|website=Made for TV Mayhem}}</ref> (1980){{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
* ''[[Yogi's First Christmas]]'' (1980) (produced by [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]])
* ''[[Goliath Awaits]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Pohle Jr., Hart, Pohle Baldwin|first=Robert W., Douglas C., Rita|date= 9 May 2017|title=The Christopher Lee Film Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqZ1DgAAQBAJ&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Goliath+Awaits&pg=PA98|publisher= Rowman & Littlefield|page=98|isbn=9780810892705}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Reyes|first=Amanda|date= 5 April 2017|title=Are You In The House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=No5XDwAAQBAJ&q=Operation+Prime+Time+Goliath+Awaits&pg=PT158|publisher= SCB Distributors|isbn=9781909394452}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://vaultedtreasures.blogspot.com/2015/01/goliath-awaits-1981.html|title=WITH "GOLIATH AWAITS" AND A SLEW OF TV SERIES AND FILMS, AL MASINI'S "OPERATION PRIME TIME" CHALLENGES THE (THEN) "BIG THREE" NETWORKS |date=January 25, 2015|website="Vaulted Treasures" Film Blog}}</ref> (1981)
* ''[[A Woman Called Golda]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Harmetz|first=Aljean|date=February 15, 1984|title=A COAST 'BAZAAR' OF PROGRAMS FOR TV SYNDICATION|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/15/arts/a-coast-bazaar-of-programs-for-tv-syndication.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Unger|first=Arthur|date=April 22, 1982|title=Ingrid Bergman as Golda Meir: an indelible portrait|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0422/042200.html|work=The Christian Science Monitor}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman|first=Jane|date=October 25, 1981|title=INGRID BERGMAN PLAYS A PRIME MINISTER|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/25/arts/ingrid-bergman-plays-a-prime-minister.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shales |first=Tom|date=May 3, 1982|title=The Shining 'Golda'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/05/03/the-shining-golda/0b3b89cc-8d81-48e1-81f4-75f6d30c70ef/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 16, 1982|title=Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 April 1982|url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=JPOST19820416-01.1.4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Harmetz|first=Aljean|date=September 20, 1982|title=INGRID BERGMAN WINS EMMMY FOR GOLDA MEIR ROLE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/20/arts/ingrid-bergman-wins-emmmy-for-golda-meir-role.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref> (1982)
* ''[[Sadat (miniseries)|Sadat]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=October 31, 1983|title=TV: LOUIS GOSSETT JR. PORTRAYS SADAT|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/31/arts/tv-louis-gossett-jr-portrays-sadat.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fraser|first=C. Gerald|title=TELEVISION WEEK|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/30/arts/television-week-006700.html|work=The New York Times|date=30 October 1983 }}</ref> (1983) (produced by [[Columbia Pictures Television]])
* ''[[Blood Feud (1983 film)|Blood Feud]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Corry|first=John|date=April 25, 1983|title=TV: HOFFA VS. KENNEDY, A 2-PART DRAMATIZATION|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/25/arts/tv-hoffa-vs-kennedy-a-2-part-dramatization.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Corkery|first=Phil|date=May 9, 1983|title=Robert Blake Still Mainly Battles Himself, but His Blood Feud Causes a Scrap|url=https://people.com/archive/robert-blake-still-mainly-battles-himself-but-his-blood-feud-causes-a-scrap-vol-19-no-18/|work=People}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shales|first=Tom|date=November 9, 1987|title='HOOVER VS. KENNEDYS' SLEAZY SOAP|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/11/09/hoover-vs-kennedys-sleazy-soap/3723fad2-eba4-44a7-ac32-8a3b4cfd5763/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor|first=Clarke|date=August 17, 1987|title=EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS : MINISERIES ADDS FUEL TO KENNEDY, KING STORIES|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-17-ca-1135-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kelley|first=Bill|date=March 5, 1985|title=BLAKE BOUNCES BACK, AGAIN|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-03-05-8501080531-story.html|work=Sun-Sentinel}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shales|first=Tom|date=May 11, 1983|title='Blood Feud': Jousting In Camelot|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/05/11/blood-feud-jousting-in-camelot/93c1168f-01ae-45a1-bccd-7848e09a06a9/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> (1983)
* ''[[The Miracle Continues|Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=April 26, 1984|title=HELEN KELLER, THE MIRACLE CONTINUES|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/26/arts/helen-keller-the-miracle-continues.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0145482X8407800509?journalCode=jvba|title=Helen Keller … the Miracle Continues|last=Brooks|first=Catherine|date=May 1, 1984|journal=Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness|volume=78|issue=5|pages=222–224|doi=10.1177/0145482X8407800509|s2cid=220594142|url-access=subscription}}</ref> (1984)
* ''[[The Jesse Owens Story]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Farber|first=Stephen|date=June 26, 1984|title=THE MAKING OF 'JESSE OWENS'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/26/arts/the-making-of-jesse-owens.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://patrickmurfin.blogspot.com/2019/05/jesse-owens-smashed-records-defied.html|title=Jesse Owens Smashed Records, Defied Expectations|last=Murfin|first=Patrick|date=May 25, 2019|website=Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Competitive Implications of the Seven-station-rule Modification: Hearing ...|year= 1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHXZypt-zkIC&q=Operation+Prime+Time+The+Jesse+Owens+Story+1984&pg=PA90|page=18}}</ref> (1984)
* ''[[Solid Gold (TV series)|Solid Gold Hits]]'' (1984)
* ''[[A Woman of Substance (1985 TV series)|A Woman of Substance]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connor|first=John J.|date=November 26, 1984|title=TV REVIEWS; 'WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/26/arts/tv-reviews-woman-of-substance.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Carmody|first=John|date=August 6, 1985|title=THE TV COLUMN|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/08/06/the-tv-column/28e24238-e5bd-4305-9c37-5045f61f6f83/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sharbut|first=Jay|date=September 23, 1985|title=Cosby Show Wins Emmy for Best TV Comedy Series|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-23-mn-19480-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Margulies|first=Lee|date=August 5, 1985|title='MIAMI VICE' LEADS EMMY LIST WITH 15 CITATIONS|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-06-ca-5019-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> (1985)
* ''[[The Key to Rebecca]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson|first=Jon|date=May 5, 1985|title=FOLLETT'S 'REBECCA' TRANSLATES WELL AS SUSPENSEFUL TV|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-05-8501280732-story.html|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://insidepulse.com/2019/02/22/dvd-review-the-keys-to-rebecca/|title=DVD Review: Ken Follett's The Key To Rebecca|last=Corey|first=Joe|date=February 22, 2019|website=Inside Pulse}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|title=PIX Promo: The Key to Rebecca (60 sec version - 1985)|id=mVlj3orzEzs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://drunktv.net/2019/03/22/the-key-to-rebecca-1985-tv-miniseries-review/|title='THE KEY TO REBECCA' (1985): INTRIGUE, SUSPENSE & THREESOMES POWER INDIE SPY MINISERIES|date=March 22, 2019|website=Drunk TV}}</ref> (1985)
* ''[[Jenny's War]]''<ref>{{cite news |date=November 10, 1985|title=Dyan Cannon takes on a true-life role...|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-10-tv-3139-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buck|first=Jerry|date=October 26, 1985|title='Jenny's War' a challenge for actress|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19851026.2.158&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|work=Desert Sun}}</ref> (1985)
* ''[[Hold the Dream]]''<ref>{{cite news |date=November 2, 1986|title=In "A Woman of Substance," Emma Harte...|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-02-tv-15473-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kelley|first=Bill|date=September 14, 1986|title=LOCAL STATIONS MIXING NEW, OLD|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1986-09-14-8602240307-story.html|work=Sun-Sentinel}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mills|first=Bart|date=April 15, 1990|title=RELATIONSHIPS GO TO 'HEART' OF WAGNER MINI|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-04-15-9002050859-story.html|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> (1986)

==Stations==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2020}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!'''City'''
!Call sign
!Channel
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Atlanta]]
![[WSB-TV]]
|2
|-
![[WAGA-TV]]
|5
|-
|[[Baltimore]]
![[WBAL-TV]]
|11
|-
|[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]]
![[WVLA-TV]]
|33
|-
|[[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]]
![[WBRC-TV]]
|6
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Boston]]
![[WNAC-TV]]/
[[WNEV-TV]]
|7
|-
![[WLVI]]
|56
|-
|[[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]
![[WBTV]]
|3
|-
|[[Chicago]]
![[WGN-TV]]
|9
|-
|[[Cincinnati]]
![[WKRC-TV]]
|12
|-
|[[Cleveland]]
![[WUAB]]
|43
|-
|[[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]]
![[WTVN-TV]]
|6
|-
|[[Detroit]]
![[WKBD-TV]]
|50
|-
|[[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] / Detroit
![[CBET-DT]]
|9
|-
|[[Dothan, Alabama|Dothan]]
![[WDHN]]
|18
|-
|[[El Dorado, Arkansas|El Dorado]] / [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]
![[KTVE]]
|10
|-
|[[Fort Wayne, Indiana|Fort Wayne]]
![[WKJG-TV]]
|33
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]]
![[KTVT]]
|11
|-
![[KTXA]]
|21
|-
|[[Greenville, South Carolina|Greenville]]
![[WHNS]]
|21
|-
|[[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]]
![[WJAC-TV]]
|6
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]
![[WDAF-TV]]
|4
|-
![[KSHB-TV]]
|41
|-
|[[Lafayette, Louisiana|Lafayette]]
![[KADN-TV]]
|15
|-
|[[Lake Charles, Louisiana|Lake Charles]]
![[KVHP]]
|29
|-
|[[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]]
![[WILX-TV]]
|10
|-
|[[Lima, Ohio|Lima]]
![[WLIO]]
|35
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Los Angeles]]
![[KTLA]]
|5
|-
![[KCOP-TV]]
|13
|-
|[[Miami]]
![[WFOR-TV|WCIX]]
|6
|-
|[[Milwaukee]]
![[WVTV]]
|18
|-
|[[New Orleans]]
![[WGNO]]
|26
|-
|[[New York City|New York]]
![[WPIX]]
|11
|-
|[[Oakland, California|Oakland]] / [[San Francisco]]
![[KTVU]]
|2
|-
|[[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]]
![[KETV]]
|7
|-
|[[Philadelphia]]
![[WTAF]]
|29
|-
|[[Pittsburgh]]
![[WPXI]]
|11
|-
|[[Portland, Maine]]
![[WCSH]]
|6
|-
|[[Portland, Oregon]]
![[KPTV]]
|12
|-
|[[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]]
![[WPRI-TV]]
|12
|-
|[[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]]
![[WDBJ]]
|7
|-
|[[Rochester, New York|Rochester]]
![[WUHF]]
|31
|-
|[[Rock Island, Illinois|Rock Island]] / [[Quad Cities]]
![[WHBF-TV]]
|4
|-
|[[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] / [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] / [[Sarasota, Florida|Sarasota]]
![[WTOG]]
|44
|-
|[[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]] / [[Minneapolis]]
![[KSTP-TV]]
|5
|-
|[[San Diego]] / [[Tijuana]]
![[XETV-TDT|XETV]]
|6
|-
|[[Schenectady, New York|Schenectady]] / [[Albany, New York|Albany]]
![[WRGB]]
|6
|-
|[[Seattle]]
![[KSTW]]
|11
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]]
![[KREM (TV)|KREM]]
|2
|-
![[KXLY-TV]]
|4
|-
|[[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]]
![[WWLP]]
|22
|-
|[[St. Louis]]
![[KPLR-TV]]
|11
|-
|[[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]]
![[WGTE-TV]]
|30
|-
|[[Washington, D.C.]]
![[WDCA]]
|20
|-
|[[Waterbury, Connecticut|Waterbury]] / [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] / [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]]
![[WTXX-TV]]
|20
|}

{{see also|Solid_Gold_(TV_series)#Local_syndication_listings}}

==See also==
{{Portal|1980s}}
*[[Fourth television network]]
*[[Mobil Showcase Network]]
*[[SFM Holiday Network]]
*[[Paramount Television Service]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline}}

{{American broadcast television}}
{{Operation Prime Time}}

[[Category:Operation Prime Time| ]]
[[Category:Television programming blocks in the United States]]
[[Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass media companies established in 1977]]
[[Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 1987]]
[[Category:Television syndication packages]]