JBTV AWOL

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 4, 2007 8:17PM

Anyone expecting to get their usual dose of local music videos via JBTV was sorely disappointed, as the show was pre-empted on WJYS Channel 62 for one of the many ministries broadcast on the station (though it did air on its sister station WEDE Channel 34). Then today we saw this on JBTV’s MySpace blog:

At 11pm this Wednesday night WJYS Did NOT air JBTV. We have NO reason why, as it is airing on WEDE channel 34. I guess this is how corporate America treats everything these days, with No respect. It is all about PAID programming and Info commercials! WJYS did not even call JBTV to inform us. We had our BEST episode ever with the SMOKING POPES.

I guess this is the end of JBTV, as there are NO Broadcast TV stations in Chicago that care about local programming anymore.

Sincerely, Jerry Bryant

Lumping WJYS in with “corporate America” seems a bit disingenuous, especially since Bryant said in his last blog entry “Thank GOD, that WJYS is NOT a Big Corporate Tv station.” But the station does air a lot of paid advertisements, so we thought he might have a point.

Chicagoist contacted WJYS and spoke with an employee named Luis, who was able to field our questions. He acknowledged the show was pre-empted and that the station had received some calls. When asked about JBTV’s future, Luis replied “I’m not sure if it’s a permanent thing or not.” He said a decision would be made tomorrow as these types of discussions are had during their sales meetings when the owner of the station is present.

When we were growing up sans cable, we had two options for music videos: Friday Night Videos and JBTV. The latter was always unassailably cool, and made the world of rock and roll seem a little less untouchable. JBTV’s existence was (and is) fan-driven, thanks to the tireless efforts of Jerry Bryant. Its content is driven by the artists featured on the show, and seems less about celebrity and more about great music.

Though Luis said he believed that JBTV would still air on the station, you never know. So the show might benefit from a little “fan-driven” help. If you’d like to let WJYS know how important you think the show is, you can call WJYS at 708-633-0001 or send a letter to the owner and president of the station at the following address:

Joseph Stroud
President, Jovon Broadcasting Corporation
WJYS
18600 S.Oak Park Ave.
Tinley Park, IL 60477