Retro TV fans will be pleased: CBS4 launched a digital subchannel, 4.2, Friday at 10 p.m. called “Decades.”
The service, distributed by CBS nationally, includes 100 vintage TV series titles — “F Troop,” “Get Smart,” the various “Lucy” shows, Doris Day, Phil Silvers — and themed programming. It will run 24/7.
Programming on Denver’s traditional Channel 4 will not be affected by this addition.
The idea is to make use of the station’s extra digital-spectrum space using decades’ worth of content from the CBS library.
“Decades,” in conjunction with Weigel Broadcasting, will include themed programs to supplement the reruns. A weekday one-hour “time capsule presentation of entertainment, popular culture and news,” called “Through the Decades,” will be hosted by Bill Kurtis and produced around the news events and cultural touchstones of a specific day or theme. The Kurtis series will have access to CBS News and “Entertainment Tonight” archives.
In addition to being available as an over-the-air broadcast channel, “Decades” will appear on local cable systems and other multichannel video programming distribution services along with the station’s primary channel.
This is a soft launch on 16 CBS stations; a wider launch is set for May.
