What Channel Is Perry Mason on Comcast
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"Perry Mason" reruns are no longer airing on a local Portland TV station.
(File photo)
An old TV Guide ad shares the news of "Perry Mason" reruns moving into the noon time slot on Portland's KPTV-TV (12.)
It was the case of the show that wouldn't die. But at last, after 46 years of airing on KPTV-TV (12) and for the last two years on its affiliate, KPDX-TV (Channel 49/cable 13), "Perry Mason" reruns are no longer airing on a local Portland TV station.
As of Monday, Sept. 15, episodes of the show that starred Raymond Burr as the defense attorney with a talent for getting his clients off the hook -- often thanks to the true guilty party confessing on the stand, unable to stand up to Mason's probing questions and stern gaze -- no longer air at 8 a.m. weekdays on KPDX.
Loyal viewers weren't happy to tune in for their morning ritual Monday, only to find Season 2 of "The Queen Latifah Show" in what had been the "Perry Mason" 8 a.m. timeslot.
What force was powerful enough to do away with such a local institution? The culprit, it seems, was low ratings.
"We've been honored to run the program for 48 years," says Andy Delaporte, vice president and general manager of KPTV/KPDX. "But the ratings have been diminishing, and our contract with the syndication company is up. It's run its course."
Delaporte says that on Monday he received "quite a few emails and phone calls," from viewers who have made watching "Perry Mason" reruns -- at noon on KPTV for decades, and on KPDX for the past two years -- a Portland tradition.
"It has a very loyal, passionate audience," Delaporte says. "And we've been thrilled to give it such a long run, which is most unusual in the TV industry."
But dedicated as the fanbase for "Perry Mason" -- which originally aired on CBS from 1957 through 1966 -- remained, their numbers weren't large enough for KPDX to keep the show on.
"There's not room for it on our program schedule," says Delaporte. And schedules have a way of changing for all sorts of show. "The Queen Latifah Show" aired its first season on KPTV, but has now been moved to KPDX. "The Rachael Ray Show," which took over the "Perry Mason" noon weekday slot on KPTV in 2012, has also been shifted to KPDX, following Queen Latifah at 9 a.m.
Delaporte says that local viewers can still see "Perry Mason" reruns on the Hallmark Movie Channel, a cable station that airs episodes in the wee hours.
On Comcast, the Hallmark Movie Channel is 500, which airs two "Perry Mason" episodes nightly at midnight and 1 a.m.; or 719, the high-definition channel, which airs the episodes at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Where else to find the Hallmark Movie Channel?
Frontier cable (channels 239 and 739); DirecTV (565); DISH (187, 4187, 9444, 9537.)
What if you don't have cable? The KATU-TV (2) digital subchannel, Me-TV, can be seen over the air on channel 2.2. "Perry Mason" reruns are listed as part of its available programs, but the show hasn't been airing in Portland on Me-TV.
-- Kristi Turnquist
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What Channel Is Perry Mason on Comcast
Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2014/09/case_closed_after_48_years_per.html