The CRAZY CBS BROADCASTING CONTROVERSY at the End of the 1979 NFL Season

At the end of the 1979 NFL season, CBS made an incredibly controversial decision in Oklahoma City with their affiliate. Because after Oklahoma City got to watch all 15 of the games involving the Houston Oilers, CBS decided, for some reason, to not air their final regular season game, even though it was against the Philadelphia Eagles for the AFC Central title. Chaos ensued. This is the story behind the controversy
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[@toddbiesel4288]

I have a similar, lesser-known story from a nearby region in 2002. On the schedule release day twenty years ago, I could tell that there would be a problem in east Texas. Back then, there was no local CBS affiliate, so we used the one in Shreveport as such. Well, when the schedule came out, the Cowboys and the Saints were scheduled to host AFC teams in the same week at the same time. Well, I think you know where this is going. Fans in east Texas could not watch Jaguars/Cowboys, getting Browns/Saints instead. Sure, it was the crappy Dave Campo-era Cowboys, but you still hate to miss any of their games. Well, two years later, we got a local CBS affiliate, and nothing similar has happened since.

[@robmclean4352]

No CBS station in east Texas? Aren't both Dallas and Houston in eastern Texas?

[@toddbiesel4288]

@@robmclean4352 This is in the northeast part of Texas, too far away from Dallas and Houston to pick up their signals.

[@billygsell3625]

Is this in Tyler, TX? because Dallas and Houston has CBS stations in the area.

[@AustinCDavis]

I guarantee there were only about 2 people upset about this move. I grew up near OKC, and everybody in Oklahoma was a Cowboys fan in 1979.

[@1950Grendel]

Hasn't changed at all. Kansas City had more Oklahoma fans than Houston.

[@user-oq9mv8pc2g]

Yeah right. Dripping Oiler fans everywhere

[@anonymoususer450]

The thing about the Oilers-Eagles game was that it was actually quite meaningless for Houston. The scenario was (based on original broadcast from the Steelers-Bills game from that final week), if the Steelers beat the Bills they win the division, if they lose, the Oilers win the division (regardless of what happened in the Oilers game) and of course Dallas Washington decided a division title

[@nasetvideos]

I can't even imagine being a fan, going through the whole season, and then having that happen. "Chaos" is the perfect word here. Outstanding video, as always

[@KWCline91]

Kind of crazy that Oklahoma City had fans of a Houston team when Dallas was closer. Sometimes, the joke is that Dallas is part of southern Oklahoma.

[@DolFan316]

You underestimate how much the '70s Cowboys were hated. My dad's entire side of the family literally could not have cared less about the NFL but they despised Dallas.

[@altfactor]

In the 1970's, most Houston Oilers games were covered by NBC and most Dallas Cowboys games were on CBS. Most Sundays back then, Oklahoma City viewers would be able to watch the Cowboys on KWTV, or the Oilers on KFOR. Only for a Sunday afternoon game when the Oilers hosted an NFC team, or a Monday night game, would KFOR not carry the Oilers. And except for a Sunday afternoon game when they hosted an AFC team or a Monday night game, Cowboys games would always be on KWTV.

[@aaronholcomb237]

KFOR went by KTVY until about 1990.

[@WillWatchAnything]

And thus one of the reasons flex scheduling towards the end of the season exists today.

[@marcus813]

Not only that, but also cross-flexing. That term likely won't be a thing anymore when the new media deals kick in during the 2023-24 season due to the "traditional" FOX-NFC and CBS-AFC designations being stripped away because depending on the new system's terms, Sunday afternoon TV designations will be more of a free-for-all. Situations such as the one discussed in this video make me relieved and ecstatic that the NFL TV landscape has changed and will change even more.

[@82dorrin]

You'd think they would eventually learn from all of these broadcasting controversies. You would think...

[@luisreyes1963]

Just wait until NFL fans are forced to watch Thursday Night Football...on Prime Video. 😫

[@altfactor]

I believe that in the home cities of the two participating teams, the Amazon Prime Video streaming games will be simulcast on over-the-air TV stations. In the case of a Thursday night game between two big market teams, more viewers will probably end up watching the simulcast on local TV in the two cities playing than the Amazon stream.

[@troyturner173]

@@altfactor True-the Amazon game will be simulcast in home cities/markets, but it doesn't justify the deal, IMO

[@johnpazell8424]

I remember this and it was a moot point. Once the Steelers beat the Bills earlier in the day 28-0, the AFC Central race was over. The Oilers were a Wild Card no matter what. The choice was a no brainer for the OKC tv station.

[@edwardwetterman2641]

Such was life for us Oiler fans back in the day.

[@67marlins]

I grew up a Steelers/Dolphins fan as a kid, but also always respected the Houston Oilers under coach Bum Phillips.

[@dionr1168]

Although the 1979 season was before my time, I remember learning about the DAL/WAS regular season finale as a Cowboys fan. The detail that stood out to me most was the trash talk involving a funeral wreath.

[@romelovesdan]

Travesty that more 1979 and 1978 Houston Oilers game broadcasts are seemingly not preserved.

[@jimmyhawke]

How could this be CBS? On Sundays, NBC covered AFC games in the '70's while CBS covered NFC games.

[@blazer79]

The road team was Philadelphia. Problem was Washington at Dallas was the main game. CBS had the rights to both of those games. The league had scheduled both games at 4:00 PM.

[@leogetz3570]

The road team dictated network coverage in interconference games

[@BuccaneerBruce]

It has been 20+ years since that Cowboys/Foreskins game has been talked about.

[@shanetrimble9265]

It gets talked about in YT constantly

[@leogetz3570]

That's weird that the affiliate chose the Oilers over the Chiefs considering Kansas City is about 100 miles closer

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Like 1999 Colts/Dolphins over Jets/Giants in Maine, at least this Oklahoma City affiliate got a great game

[@tonyarmbrust]

Individual network affiliate stations don’t choose what games they air. The networks set the broadcast schedules, and what markets get what games.

[@jefferyespj]

I’m from Oklahoma City in the CBS affiliate is KWTV

[@crowtservo]

Here in Eastern Iowa, I think FOX these days I have trouble deciding between the Bears and Packers when they both play NFC teams or are on the road at the same time. When CBS had the NFC package, it was a no brainer. The Bears were better and more popular, go with them. When the NFC switched to FOX it was right after the Packers got Brett Favre and Reggie White, so they got more popular and FOX went with them more often. It’s not unusual to see the Packers on while you need Sunday Ticket or a big roof TV antenna to get the Bears on TV. My favorite era was in the mid-90’s when it came to watching the games, my parents had a huge roof top antenna and we got stations from all over. A bunch of times on Sunday I turned on the TV at noon, I could switch between 28 in Cedar Rapids which had the Cowboys, 18 in Davenport which had the Bears and 47 in Madison which had the Packers. My mom would get upset and told me to turn on one channel and stay on it.

[@christopherengel7436]

Yes bring me more NFL knowledge! Would've been a beast of a doubleheader. Of course with the Oilers being at 1 o'clock for the sisters who love there Cowboys. That Redskins/Cowboys game was awesome!

[@williamcoolidge9884]

There was nothing crazy about this situation.

[@chadwickwhite6107]

Well I don't BLAME CBS for NOT showing the Houston Oilers who are WAY WORSE than a 39.6 and should just SPIKE the football into the ground on EVERY single OFFENSIVE play!!!!

[@donsmith5479]

This isn't much of a controversy. If given the choice, the Cowboys were the obvious pick.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

Meantime I'm sat here seeing if I can guess which station was the CBS affilaite. I know which one it is now, but trying to remember if the networks switched around post 1979

[@altfactor]

KWTV is still the CBS affiliate and KFOR is still affiliated with NBC.

[@johnmanier7968]

I never understood why Eagles-Oilers didn’t start at 1 ET, or even 2 ET.

[@tommyparkerparker]

I can bet. If NBC had Sunday night football at the time and week 16 was open flexed based on what game to show, Washington/Dallas would have been the prime time game. The playoff implications and scenarios plus it involved the Dallas Cowboys.

[@russellseilhamer4552]

Cowboys/Redskins was the best rivalry in the NFL from the 70s to the early 90s. I think it was the greatest rivalry in the history of the sport, usually a playoff spot or playoff seeding was on the line. The 79 finale was a classic. My fave memory was the week before Thanksgiving 1991; Skins were undefeated, Cowboys were 6-5. I think Jimmy Johnson was 3 for 4 on 4th down attempts. The game itself was played like a title game. Cowboys won 24-21 that day. There’s nothing in todays NFL like Cowboys/Redskins

[@ericdagostino5682]

Not saying it wasn't it was definitely great rivalry why is it when most people think of the 70s I think most people think of Pittsburgh Oakland being the biggest rivalry in the '70s

[@shanetrimble9265]

I guess Colts Patriots in the 2000s comes closest

[@Coyotek4]

Speaking of broadcast stupidity ... why did the NFL schedule two MNF games on the same week (Week 2), overlapping for much of both games? Why didn't they do what they used to, with having one game pitting two west-coast foes starting after the other one ends?

[@propenguin9956]

No clue why. Viewers in Nashville and buffalo probably won't be able to watch MIN vs PHI because TEN vs BUF will be on the local ABC station

[@CTubeMan]

Experiment?

[@doylelonigan9295]

I don’t get that one either.

[@longhorns4ever824]

that cowboy-redskin game was the regular season game of the decade

[@troyturner173]

Actually, DEN-SD for the AFC West title on MNF was. The Chargers won, clinching home field advantage. The Oilers defeated Denver in the WC game at the Dome 13-7-then went out to SD and beat the Chargers 17-14

[@djohns808]

You talk about markets being free agents. Being in Wisconsin, with the closest TV stations in Minnesota, there was a lot of Sundays we didn't get an AFC game because the closest team was Indianapolis and had no following. That changed in 2002 (I believe) when the broadcast contracts changed so that the affiliates had to show a game. I remember one season, during the week the Vikings were on a bye, instead of showing a game, the local Fox affiliate just showed highlights, interviews, and retrospectives of the team's games during that season.

[@DolFan316]

Local CBS affiliates: It's CBS's fault! We have no choice! CBS: It's the NFL's fault! They suck at making schedules! Fans in OKC: We're pissed and as far as we're concerned it's all ya'll's fault, dagnabit!

[@marcus813]

CBS did some dumb stuff back then with its NFL game distribution, but I can't put this situation on the network. The NFL booked itself into a corner. I'm sure that Tulsa's CBS station, KOTV, and nearly all Texan CBS stations also went with WAS/DAL in that window (I'm assuming that includes Beaumont/Port given that the Oilers were at home instead of away). The Texans aren't as popular in that region as the Oilers were at the latter's peak, so the NFL has the Texans and the Cowboys on the same network and window without quite the same issues discussed here. Here in Florida, I've seen some cases when all 3 of the state's franchises are on the same network either when the network can air only one game per market or in the same window of a doubleheader and I wonder what the NFL's scheduling people were thinking. It drives me nuts.

[@aaronholcomb237]

KWTV in Oklahoma City and KOTV in Tulsa are owned by the same company (Griffin, for those who know the Oklahoma TV markets) and I would expect both stations to show the same game. It isn't always the case. I lived in Stillwater between 1991 and 1995 and got both stations while at Oklahoma State and they could show different NCAA Tournament basketball games. One that stands out was when Tulsa upset UCLA in 1994, KWTV cut away from the game while KOTV stayed with it.

[@royveteto4134]

as a lifetime dfw resident ; one thing interesting about that cowboy redskin game that i remember was due to the crazy ending to that game was that cbs chose to replay that game that week. i don't remember that happening to any other game

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made videos about the following 49ers games: 1. In their first Super Bowl championship season of 1981, when San Fran fans couldn’t see them play on TV against Cleveland, even though Candlestick Park was sold out. 2. In 1992, when fans in Sacramento missed the beginning of the 49ers historic punt free game against the Bills. You also made a video about the next Oilers-Eagles game in 1982, and how the NBC affiliate in Lancaster, PA made a clever decision with that game that violated NFL rules.

[@billygsell3625]

and i thought Houston Oilers' bad broadcast decisions wonders why Tennessee Titans fans outside the state right now are most likely have a Amazon Prime membership to watch two out of 17 games this season and binge-watch The Lord Of The Rings.

[@PAGoTribe1963]

Cowboys Broadcast Service

[@cary3517]

Lot of chiefs fans here in OKC

[@vdubproductions2646]

To think how far broadcasting rules have changed as far as now flex scheduling. If there was SNF back in 1979 the Washington vs Dallas game would've flexed to SNF.

[@WaltGekko]

That it definitely would have.

[@kibitznec700]

Youre completely wrong, in the first Dal-Was game the Skins did not ran up the score. In case you forget and you made a video of that, in 1979 the NFL tiebreakers were different from today, and one of the top tiebreakers was point differential, so that meant that you had to score points a lot. Washington missed the playoffs because they finished with 4 less point differential than the Bears (+57 to +53). So, in 1979 scoring a lot was very important.

[@kibitznec700]

But nada, cierra tu jeton otlub.

[@WaltGekko]

And if the Redskins had made the playoffs, it would have marked the first time in NFL history a third place team in a division made the playoffs (something that would happen two years later in 1981 when the Bills and Giants both made the playoffs as third-place teams in the AFC and NFC East respectively.

[@shanetrimble9265]

The Redskins did kick a meaningless field goal at the end of the Dallas Redskins game at RFK. I remember John Riggins trying to wave the field goal team off the field. Moseley kicked the field goal and was then hit late by a ticked off Cowboy defender.

[@radioblipmode3143]

Trade Brittany Griner for “The merchant of death”, two WNBA players and an undisclosed amount of cash! Blockbuster deal!

[@kyle1910]

Clarifications: PHI would have taken the NFC East with a win @ HOU + WAS-DAL tie By the time the Oilers game kicked off, PIT had already captured the AFC Central. Their 28-0 win vs BUF clinched it. They would have won the tiebreaker vs HOU on net points vs division opponents. With the HOU loss they were still assured of hosting the Wild Card game regardless of the outcome of their game vs PHI and regardless of the outcome of the DEN-SD game thr next night

[@CTubeMan]

So a Washington win would not have given the East to Philadelphia? What would have been the tiebreaker?

[@kyle1910]

Net points against division opponents. Heading into Week 16, WAS at +44 and PHI at +21. Also of note: common opponents was not a metric in 1979 for either division or conference tiebreakers. If it was Washington would have been the second Wild Card, since they had a 4-2 common opponents record to CHI 3-3

[@CTubeMan]

@@kyle1910 I was thinking if this situation existed now (even though the NFL only has division games in the final week) the NFL would have to air both the Washington-Dallas and Philadelphia-Houston games at the same time. For that matter the Buffalo-Pittsburgh game would also have to be at that time, though that game would be on NBC.

[@CTubeMan]

@@kyle1910 And thank you for the explanation.

[@WaltGekko]

To think if Raphael Septien missed one of those two extra points late in the Cowboys game and it played out to a five-quarter tie how many people would have been PO'ed.

[@DolFan316]

1:03 The Oilers were called for holding on that play, right? *RIGHT?!?!*

[@etexbassfreak]

No the NFL is rigged for gambling purposes. Your welcome

[@gregwroblewski7891]

I enjoy your videos, but this one was very simplistic. Of course the Cowboys are going to be shown. It’s a no brainer. I feel there is no need to make a video about the viewers in Oklahoma City.

[@DolFan316]

For those who don't remember or know, the *Redskins* (that was their name then no matter what SJWs say) were up early on Dallas 17-0, then fell behind 21-17, then retook the lead 34-21 before losing by a point. So yeah, it was a pretty decent game.

[@DolFan316]

BTW I can't help but wonder why people don't go out of their way to call the Oilers from back in the day the Titans, since that's the franchise's name now. It's the same logic as deciding that another certain team needs to be called the Commanders throughout their entire existence, right?

[@thomash.schwed3662]

On the contrary, I do the exact opposite: I still refer to them as the Houston Oilers even now. Incidentally, I still refer to the Baltimore Colts (which has the added advantage of showing what I think of that progam's owners and of the rank hypocrisy of one Art Modell (who, thankfully, the superleague somewhat penalized, in one of its better decisions)), the Oakland Raiders (even during their extended stay at Los Angeles), the Cleveland Rams (inasmuch as that's where that program got its start), etc. For that matter, I still refer to both the American Football League and the National Football League in the present tense. Indeed, at this point, I'm of the belief that the two leagues should rescind the merger, albeit under the post-1970 alignment for divisional purposes (thereby retaining the Cincinnati-Cleveland and Cincinnati-Pittsbugh rivalries, even though I've personally never liked either the Browns or the Steelers), and not have interleague games during either the pre-season or the regular season (and, obviously, the league playoffs), thereby leaving the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (the Super Bowl) as the sole interleague game. As for having either a combined Pro Bowl or two Pro Bowls (one for each league), that would be up to the two leagues to determine between themselves. Admittedly, I realize that the National Football League side of the ledger would absolutely despise this idea, but, as an AFL fan, I think it would be great!