TBS ( TV channel ) TBS ( Turner Broadcasting System ) is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner . It shows a variety of programming , with a focus on comedy , along with some sports coverage , including Major League Baseball and portions of the NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship . TBS originated as WTCG , a UHF terrestrial television station in Atlanta , Georgia . The " TCG " officially stood for Turner Communications Group , the forerunner to Turner Broadcasting System , but the station used " Watch This Channel Grow " as a promotional slogan . Availability . TBS is a national cable and satellite channel , available throughout the entire United States . Until October 1 , 2007 , the national TBS feed could not be viewed within its home media market of the Atlanta metropolitan area , due to the over - the - air presence of WTBS , which carried a nearly identical schedule , plus the required public affairs programming and E / I programming for children . The operations of WTBS ( channel 17 ) and TBS Superstation were split in October 2007 , with the over - the - air channel becoming WPCH - TV , a general - entertainment independent station focused on the Atlanta area only . For the first time , the national TBS feed is available to cable and satellite subscribers within channel 17 ' s viewing area . Internationally . TBS programming was previously made available to cable and satellite subscribers in Canada through the WTBS Atlanta feed . However , the Canadian Radio - television and Telecommunications Commission had only approved the Atlanta broadcast station signal to be carried on cable and satellite providers domestically across Canada , not the TBS cable feed . As a result , following the separation of TBS and WTBS / WPCH in 2007 , Canadian cable and satellite subscribers now have access to WPCH / Atlanta ( branded as " Peachtree TV " ) , instead of TBS . Most flagship TBS programming , such as postseason baseball and original series including " Conan " , is not broadcast on WPCH - TV , but is instead available through other Canadian channels . History . Early years . WTCG , which dated back to 1967 as a terrestrial station , had been microwave - link ed from that time to many areas of the Southeastern United States via cable companies picking up the UHF channel 17 signal by off - air and microwaving ( sometimes several times ) the signal back to their headends . Early programming included movies from the 1930s and 1940s ; such old sitcoms as " Father Knows Best " , " Green Acres " , " Hazel " , " I Love Lucy " , and " The Lucy Show " ; and such Japanese animated shows as " Astro Boy " , " Kimba the White Lion " , " Marine Boy " , " The Space Giants " , " Speed Racer " , and " Ultraman " . The station also carried sports , such as Atlanta Braves baseball , Atlanta Hawks basketball , Atlanta Flames hockey , and Georgia Championship Wrestling . WTCG also bid very low on programming , causing network affiliates in the market to get the stronger shows . But , because of commitments that the affiliates had to their networks , they kept the shows only a few years and rarely renewed them , after which WTCG bought second - hand shows at much lower prices . By the mid - 1970s , " The Andy Griffith Show " , " The Flintstones " , " Leave It to Beaver " , " The Little Rascals " , " My Three Sons " , " " , " The Three Stooges " , and many others were added to the schedule . In 1976 , most markets below the top 20 lacked independent stations running general entertainment and generally had only ABC , NBC , CBS , and an educational station . Cable systems in such areas carried stations from neighboring markets and if possible the independent station ( often 60 to 200 miles away ) . In some markets , however , this was not an option . This left cable systems with three markets lacking an independent station and two to three affiliates from each major network . WTCG gets beamed via satellite . As a result , Ted Turner decided to offer his station nationwide through satellite , enabling WTCG to be received nationwide , especially in markets lacking even a distant independent station . At 1 p . m . Eastern Standard Time on December 17 , 1976 , WTCG ' s signal was beamed via the Satcom 1 satellite aimed to all cable systems across the Americas . The first broadcast was the 1948 Dana Andrews and Cesar Romero film " Deep Waters " , which had been in progress 30 minutes . Instantly , WTCG went from its status as a small independent television station that was available only in Georgia and neighboring states to a major coast - to - coast operation . WTCG became a so - called " superstation " and set a precedent for today ' s basic cable television . By 1978 , WTCG was on cable systems in all 50 states . HBO had moved to satellite transmissions to distribute its signal nationally in 1975 , but that was a service cable subscribers were required to pay extra to receive . Ted Turner ' s innovation signaled the start of the basic cable revolution . Initial change to WTBS . WTCG was renamed WTBS in 1979 . The new call letters were acquired via a monetary donation to the MIT student radio station , now WMBR . In the late 1970s , WTBS continued to acquire second hand programming such as " Popeye " made for TV cartoons , " The Brady Bunch " , " The Munsters " , and others . They did manage to acquire reruns of " All in the Family " and " Sanford and Son " in 1979 as well as " Little House on the Prairie " and " CHiPs " in 1981 . Other older shows would fall off the schedule . Movies from the 1950s , 1960s , and 1970s would also be mixed into the schedule more . The channel 17 transmitter was originally located at 1018 West Peachtree Street Northwest ( Now relocated to North Druid Hills , Georgia ) , with the antenna located on a large self - supporting tower . The building at this site was once home to the studios of WAGA - TV and , later , channel 17 , during its first three years under the callsign WJRJ . Soon after being purchased by Turner , the studios were moved to the former Progressive Club site , a few blocks west . Initially , WTCG was identified as " Channel 17 " both locally in Atlanta and on cable systems outside of Atlanta . Also , the same exact shows that ran locally ran nationally . In 1979 , Turner changed the callsign to WTBS , branding it " Superstation WTBS " with " 17 " as part of the logo . Many cable systems throughout the country even carried the channel on its customary channel 17 position . In 1981 , Turner decided to have all shows continue to air both locally and nationally , but to separate the feeds . The station would be known locally in Atlanta as " Superstation 17 . " The terrestrial signal would continue to air local commercials as well . Nationally , though , the station would not mention the channel number " 17 " and would have logos identifying it only as " Superstation WTBS " . Separate national advertising or per inquiry ads would air on the superstation feed . Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer library . In the 1980s , WTBS focused heavily on movies , running two during the day , and all movies after 8 p . m . with the exception of sports events . Other times , WTBS continued to run mostly classic sitcoms , and vintage cartoons . In 1986 , with Ted Turner ' s purchase of MGM , WTBS now had the rights to the entire MGM library as well ( including certain acquisitions by MGM ) . This gave WTBS many theatrical cartoons like " Tom and Jerry " as well as shows like " Gilligan ' s Island " and " The Addams Family " . WTBS began to run " The Little Rascals " , " Tom & Jerry " , " Looney Tunes " / " Merrie Melodies " cartoons released prior to 8 / 1 / 1948 , theatrical " Popeye " cartoons , and " Three Stooges " shorts under the banner " Tom & Jerry and Friends " between an hour and 90 minutes in the mornings and for an hour in the afternoons from 1986 to the mid - 1990s . In the late 1980s , they decreased movies slightly during the day and began to add 1970s sitcoms like " Happy Days " , " The Jeffersons " , " Good Times " , " One Day at a Time " , and others to the evening lineup . " Little House on the Prairie " ran late mornings continuously from 1986 to 2003 . Other programming . Music video s were also aired from 1983 to 1992 on its late night weekend lineup branded as " Night Tracks " with up to 14 hours of programming ( barring constant preemptions from sporting events running overtime ) . Beginning in 1991 , a handful of national shows ( mostly movies ) were pre - empted locally in order to broadcast FCC - mandated news , public service , and children ' s programming . This continued until the switchover to Peachtree TV . Programming on WTBS has always been Syndex proof . TBS was licensed to run all programming not only for the Atlanta market , but nationally . Most of these shows run nationally were also television syndication in local markets on the respective local stations through additional agreements . TBS was also the home of World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) , with a weekly show airing on Saturdays , " WCW Saturday Night " in 1992 ( the promotion was formally owned by Jim Crockett Promotions , which fell under the NWA umbrella ) . That show would run until 2000 , and was the flagship program for WCW before " WCW Monday Nitro " launched on sister station TNT . Also , in 1998 , another WCW show , " WCW Thunder " , debuted on Thursdays , and was moved to Wednesdays in 2000 . The show would run up until 2001 when TBS executive Jamie Kellner determined that wrestling didn ' t fit the demographics of TBS or TNT and would not be favorable enough to get the " right " advertisers to buy airtime , even though Thunder was the highest rated show on the network at the time . Throughout the 1980s to the early 1990s , TBS also carried the Electra teletext service on its VBI . Electra was discontinued in 1993 due to a lack of funding . In the early 1990s , shows like " The Flintstones " , " Brady Bunch " , " Scooby - Doo " , " The Jetsons " , " Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies " , " Gilligan ' s Island , " and others remained on the schedule as other older shows such as " Three Stooges " , " Little Rascals " , " Leave it to Beaver " fell off and made way for more 1980s sitcoms such as " Three ' s Company " , " Who ' s the Boss ? " , " Growing Pains " , " The Cosby Show " , " Family Ties " , " Saved by the Bell " , and others . Original animated programming such as " Captain Planet and the Planeteers " , " 2 Stupid Dogs " , and " " were added as well . In 1996 , Turner was bought by Time Warner . Among the programming changes instituted after the merger was the addition of later " Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies " cartoons , released no earlier than August 1 , 1948 . Shift towards comedy . In 1997 , TBS began to collect subscriber fees directly from cable operators , effectively making the national feed operating under the conventions of a basic cable network , though still technically a superstation . In exchange , TBS began to lease advertising slots to cable operators to carry local commercials ; as a result the channel began to broadcast fewer Atlanta Braves season games to a national audience . In 1999 , WTBS dropped all of its remaining cartoons ( which at the time were running under the banner of the " Disaster Area " ) , several months later making those shows the core of a new TV channel devoted to classic cartoons , Boomerang . WTBS continued to run a mix of movies , sitcoms , and drama shows . By 2001 , shows like " Full House " , " Family Matters " , " Cosby " , " Friends " , " Seinfeld " , " Home Improvement " , and other 1990s sitcoms moved onto the schedule , many of them part of the afternoon " Non - Stop Comedy Block " by 2002 . In 2003 , WTBS dropped " Little House on the Prairie " and other dramatic programming as a part of its new focus on comedic programming , such as sitcom reruns and originally - produced reality series and comedy feature films . As part of this focus , TBS adopted the slogan " Very Funny " and its current logo in June 2004 . It is intended as a direct contrast to sister channel TNT , which had focused on old movies initially but moved toward and now focuses on dramatic programming . On September 1 , 2007 , a high definition version of the " Superstation " feed of TBS was launched . A digital version of WTBS could already be viewed over - the - air in Atlanta prior to September 1 , which was replaced by the " Superstation " HD simulcast , instead of simulcasting Peachtree TV . At this time , TBS dropped its regular Braves coverage , but began airing Major League Baseball postseason games . It also carries some of the NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship with other Turner networks and longtime tournament broadcaster CBS as of 2011 . TBS currently airs a mix between original sitcoms and reruns . During the first quarter of 2012 , TBS topped all cable networks in the 18 - 49 age demographic , in spite of not airing any original shows in primetime or having a show in the top 50 cable programs . Late - night talk shows . In November 2009 , TBS debuted its first late - night talk show , " Lopez Tonight " , which was hosted by comedian George Lopez . One year later , the network expanded its late - night offerings with the addition of Conan O ' Brien on the heels of the former " Tonight Show " host ' s controversial exit from NBC . O ' Brien ' s show , " Conan " , debuted on November 8 , 2010 . " Lopez Tonight " was canceled on August 10 , 2011 , due to a steep decline in ratings , and the final episode aired on August 12 , 2011 . Split . In late June 2007 , Turner Broadcasting announced that WTBS would change call letters and become WPCH - TV , and would be rebranded as Peachtree TV . According to Turner , the new channel 17 would offer sitcoms and movies geared specifically toward an Atlanta audience . The new station would also broadcast 45 Atlanta Braves baseball games next season . The change occurred on October 1 . In addition , the channel 17 change allowed Atlanta cable and satellite television viewers , for the first time since the early 1980s , to receive the national TBS signal as of that date . Most cable and satellite companies previously carried WTBS ' s local Atlanta signal instead of the national TBS channel . Following the change , cable systems in Canada were legally required to continue carrying the local Peachtree TV signal , instead of switching to the national TBS feed . Evolution of TBS branding . Over the years TBS has had several logo s and name changes . From 1979 the name was SuperStation WTBS . In 1987 , the " W " from the " TBS " name was dropped to emphasize the channel ' s national programming prominence , with WTBS in Atlanta assigned the brand Superstation 17 . On September 28 , 1989 , SuperStation TBS was renamed to TBS Superstation to reflect the strong national standing of the channel . In 1990 , the word Superstation was removed from the on - air logos and ads and remained that way until December 17 , 1996 , when TBS celebrated its 20th national anniversary by bringing back the word " Superstation . " This branding would last until early 2004 , when " Superstation " was once again dropped months before the current TBS logo was adopted . On May 24 , 2011 , TBS reimaged itself yet again , even though it kept its logo and slogan " very funny " ( now with no space between the words ) , with a new theme , which includes flipping panels , the semicircle portion of the logo bouncing around and acting as if it is alive , and a new four - note jingle . TBS HD . TBS HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of TBS . Much like sister channel TNT , TBS airs a moderate amount of standard definition content stretched to through a nonlinear process similar to the " panorama " setting on many HDTVs that some viewers have nicknamed Stretch - o - Vision after it was first used by TNT ; though other simulcasted HD cable channels have also fallen into this practice . The nonlinear stretching process leaves objects in the center of the screen with approximately their original aspect ratio ; objects at the left and right edges are distorted . Horizontal panning makes the distortion especially apparent . In addition to true HD content at 16 : 9 , TBS HD also airs unstretched upconverted standard definition content in its original aspect ratio , but commercials are aired in either format without stretching for ads produced in 480i . TBS launched a West Coast feed on June 18 , 2010 . Programming overview . Turner Time . On June 29 , 1981 , TBS Superstation began to use " Turner Time . " While other television offerings generally began at the top and bottom of each hour , TBS decided to begin airing programs five minutes later , at : 05 and : 35 . By using " Turner Time , " TBS Superstation programs were listed under their own time entry in " TV Guide " during the log listings era , thus enabling the program listings to catch potential viewers ' eyes more readily . It also encouraged channel surfers who could not find anything interesting to watch at the top of the hour to still be able to watch a TBS program without missing the first few minutes . Most importantly , since shows ended five minutes later than normal , from a strategic standpoint the off - time scheduling usually encouraged viewers to continue watching TBS rather than flip to watch another program already in progress . TBS Superstation started to cut back " Turner Time " in 1997 and scrapped it completely by 2000 . Currently , TBS usually schedules programs conventionally , at the top and bottom of the hour . However , movies that run anywhere between 2 and 2½ hours ( or more , depending on the film ' s length with commercials added ) , will cause unconventional start times to be used ( for example , such a movie that starts at 7 p . m . ET may cause subsequent programming to start within the half - hour , such as at : 15 and : 45 after the hour ) . This often causes major disruptions in the start times of programming . In some circumstances , conventional " top - and - bottom " start times would not be restored until the next day . While this is not exactly related to the " Turner Time " technique , it could strategically serve the same purposes due to the off - time scheduling . News programming . One type of programming that TBS does not produce presently is news . Nevertheless , TBS Superstation did produce a twenty - minute newscast from 1976 to 1979 . The program , entitled " 17 Update Early in the Morning " , was taped at the end of the workday and aired around 3 or 4 a . m . Eastern between movies . Its format was similar to the " Weekend Update " segment on NBC ' s " Saturday Night Live " and was , to a certain extent , a forerunner to Comedy Central ' s " The Daily Show " . The time slot and the snide content were a reaction to FCC rules at the time requiring stations to carry some news and informational content — although TBS had to broadcast news , the FCC couldn ' t say " when " it aired or demand that the news have a serious tone . The news show was cancelled months before Turner began his serious news venture , CNN . TBS Superstation also began airing its own newscast called " TBS Evening News , " which was produced by CNN . The one - hour program ran usually at 10 p . m . Eastern on weeknights during the early 1980s . WTBS also simulcast 30 minutes of programming from CNN ' s sister channel , Headline News ( now known as HLN ) , at 6 a . m . ; this was only carried in Atlanta and those cable systems receiving the local feed . Currently , as WPCH - TV , HLN programming is simulcast for one full hour at 6 a . m . TBS SuperStation , along with TNT , Court TV , Headline News , CNNfn , and CNNSI carried CNN coverage of the September 11 , 2001 attacks . During sports blackouts in some areas ( particularly in markets where a channel such as a local broadcast station or regional sports network has the regional or local broadcast rights to a particular sporting event also scheduled to air on TBS ) , TBS carries rolling news coverage from HLN in its place . Movies . TBS airs movies mostly of the comedy genre due to its format , however some non - comedic films continue to air on the channel ; these movies generally air during the overnight hours on a daily basis and during much of the day on weekends ( except from between 5 - 9 a . m . and 3 : 30 - 8 p . m . ET on Saturdays and 5 - 10 a . m . ET on Sunday mornings ( with the start time subject to variation ) , due to sitcom blocks that typically air in those timeslots ) . TBS broadcasts movies from sister companies Warner Bros . Pictures and New Line Cinema , along with films produced by Touchstone Pictures , Columbia Pictures , Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures . In the recent past , TBS had frequently aired its primetime movies interspersed with other content and commentary ( e . g . , " Dinner and a Movie " includes cooking , while " Movie and a Makeover " adds fashion content ) ; these wraparound segments have since moved to weekend afternoon film presentations . Every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day , the 1983 film " A Christmas Story " airs for 24 hours , which is also done by sister channel TNT at the same time as TBS . Once each weekend , TBS airs a movie in primetime with limited commercial interruption , branded in promo advertisements under the title " More Movie , Less Commercials " ( sister channel TNT also runs a primetime movie each weekend , that is telecast with limited commercial interruption ) . Sports . Baseball . Coverage of the formerly - Ted Turner - owned Atlanta Braves baseball team was perhaps TBS ' s signature program , due mainly to its high popularity in Georgia and neighboring states . Turner once famously tried to get Andy Messersmith to use his jersey , which was # 17 , to promote TBS Superstation in its early years . The back of the jersey read , " CHANNEL 17 . " Major League Baseball immediately stopped Turner from proceeding because team jerseys are not allowed to have advertising other than that of the jersey manufacturer . At the 2006 MLB All - Star Game , it was announced that TBS would begin carrying a package that includes all major league teams . It premiered in 2007 in two phases , as follows : During the 2007 transitional year , TBS Superstation aired 70 regular - season Braves games . In 2008 and thereafter , only 45 games will be produced , and they will air on WPCH - TV in Atlanta . Turner sells the package to other stations or cable channels for broadcast in the remainder of the Braves ' designated market . The final Braves game aired on TBS on September 30 , 2007 . The first divisional playoff game ( a tie - breaker ) aired one day after , on October 1 , 2007 ( when the TBS / WPCH split occurred ) . On October 18 , 2008 , a technical problem in Atlanta prevented the channel from showing the first inning of Game 6 of the American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays . The channel aired " The Steve Harvey Show " instead . College basketball . Beginning in 2011 , TBS shares duties of broadcasting the NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Tournament with fellow Turner properties TNT and truTV , and with CBS . This presently consists of early rounds to the Sweet Sixteen , but in 2016 will expand to include the regional finals , Final Four and national championship game on an alternating basis with CBS . College football . College football games from the Big 12 and Pac - 10 aired for several years in a sublicensing agreement with Fox Sports . That agreement ended after the 2006 season . National Basketball Association . National Basketball Association games were aired before being moved entirely to TNT ; some Atlanta Hawks ( also owned by Turner ) games were shown on TBS Superstation until the TBS and TNT telecasts became subject to blackout within 35 miles of the home - team ' s arena ( this restriction was dropped when TNT gained the right to be the exclusive broadcaster of any game it chose to carry ) . Professional wrestling . Professional wrestling aired on TBS from 1971 to 2001 under several different companies including Jim Barnett - owned Georgia Championship Wrestling ( 1971 – 1984 ) , Vince McMahon ' s World Wrestling Federation ( 1984 – 1985 ) , Bill Watts ' Mid - South Wrestling and Jim Crockett , Jr . ' s Jim Crockett Promotions ( 1985 – 1988 ) , which eventually became Turner owned World Championship Wrestling ( 1988 – 2001 ) . Through the early 1990s , the wrestling programs were among basic cable ' s highest - rated offerings , due to , like Braves baseball coverage , heavy viewership in the Southeastern U . S . NASCAR . In addition , select NASCAR Winston Cup Series ( now Sprint Cup Series ) , Busch Series ( now Nationwide Series ) , and Craftsman Truck Series ( now Camping World Truck Series ) races were aired on TBS up to the 2000 season . For several years in the late 1990s , the only Cup races aired on TBS were the two regular Cup series races from Lowe ' s Motor Speedway ( TBS did not have rights to The Winston , which usually aired on TNN ) , and the July race at Pocono Raceway . TBS was also the home of the post - season exhibition races held at Suzuka Circuit and the Twin Ring Motegi tracks in Japan from 1996 – 1998 . Races were switched to TNT in 2001 as part of the then - new NASCAR TV deal , although the initial plans were for TBS Superstation to carry the races . Instead , Turner decided that NASCAR would better fit TNT ' s " We Know Drama " slogan .