Pokemon in First-run Syndication, September 1998

[SpongeBobfan1987]

I would like to share this list that I found online of the stations that aired the Pokemon anime in first-run syndication in 1998.

This was before The WB Television Network's Kids' WB childrens' block acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to air future Pokemon episodes on February 13, 1999. At the time of Pokemon's first-run syndication, Pokemon aired on various Fox, UPN and WB affiliates at different time slots, with some opting to air Pokemon on weekdays or weekends on mornings or afternoons or both.

"Pokemon" Syndication List - for Week of September 7 - 13, 1998

Here was the very first syndication list for Pokemon.

New York, NY: WB 11 (WPIX) Weekdays at 7:00 am
Los Angeles, CA: UPN 13 (KCOP) Weekdays at 7:00 am
Chicago, IL: UPN 50 (WPWR) Weekdays at 7:00 am
Philadelphia, PA: UPN 57 (WPSG) Weekdays at 8:30 am
San Francisco, CA: UPN 44 (KBHK) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Boston, MA: UPN 38 (WSBK) Weekdays at 8:30 am
Dallas, TX: UPN 21 (KTXA) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Washington, DC: UPN 20 (WDCA) Weekdays at 3:30 pm
Atlanta, GA: UPN 69 (WUPA) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Detroit, MI: UPN 50 (WKBD) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Houston, TX: UPN 20 (KTXH) Weekdays at 7:00 am
Seattle, WA: UPN 11 (KSTW) Weekdays at 3:30 pm
Minneapolis, MN: UPN 9 (KMSP) Weekdays at 3:30 pm
Tampa, FL: UPN 44 (WTOG) Weekdays at 7:00 am
Miami, FL: UPN 33 (WBFS) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Phoenix, AZ: UPN 45 (KUTP) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Cleveland, OH: WB 55 (WBNX) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Denver, CO: FOX 31 (KDVR) Weekdays at 6:00 am
Sacramento, CA: UPN 31 (KMAX) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Orlando, FL: FOX 35 (WOFL) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Pittsburgh, PA: FOX 53 (WPGH) Weekdays at 6:30 am
St. Louis, MO: WB 11 (KPLR) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Portland, OR: WB 32 (KWBP) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Baltimore, MD: WB 54 (WNUV) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Indianapolis, IN: UPN 23 (WNDY) Weekdays at 3:30 pm
San Diego, CA: WB 69/cable 5 (KSWB) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Charlotte, NC: WB 55 (WFVT) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Hartford, CT: UPN 20 (WTXX) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Raleigh, NC: WB 22 (WLFL) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Nashville, TN: UPN 30 (WUXP) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Kansas City, MO: WB 62 (KSMO) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Cincinnati, OH: WB 64 (WSTR) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Milwaukee, WI: UPN 24 (WCGV) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Columbus, OH: UPN 53 (WWHO) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Salt Lake City, UT: WB 30 (KUWB) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Greenville, SC: FOX 21 (WHNS) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
San Antonio, TX: FOX 29 (KABB) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Grand Rapids, MI: FOX 17 (WXMI) Weekdays at 2:00 pm
Birmingham, AL: UPN 68 (WABM) Weekdays at 8:00 am
West Palm Beach, FL: UPN 34 (WTVX) Weekdays at 7:00 am
Memphis, TN: UPN 30 (WLMT) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Norfolk, VA: WB 33 (WTVZ) Weekdays at 8:00 am
New Orleans, LA: UPN 54 (WUPL) Weekdays at 3:30 pm
Greensboro, NC: UPN 48 (WUPN) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Oklahoma City, OK: WB 34 (KOCB) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Harrisburg, PA: FOX 43 (WPMT) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Buffalo, NY: WB 49 (WNYO) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Albuquerque, NM: WB 19 (KWBQ) Weekdays at 8:00 am & Saturdays at 10:00 am (starting 3/05/99)
Providence, RI: UPN 28 (WLWC) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Louisville, KY: WB 21 (WBNA) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Las Vegas, NV: WB 21/cable 2 (KVWB) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Fresno, CA: FOX 26 (KMPH) Weekdays at 6:00 am
Jacksonville, FL: WB 17 (WJWB) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Austin, TX: UPN 13 (K13VC) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Wilkes-Barre, PA: WB 38 (WSWB) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Albany, NY: FOX 23 (WXXA) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Tulsa, OK: FOX 23 (KOKI) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Richmond, VA: FOX 35 (WRLH) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Knoxville, TN: FOX 43 (WTNZ) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Dayton, OH: FOX 45 (WRGT) Weekdays at 8:30 am
Tallahassee, FL: FOX 49 (WTLH) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Yakima, WA: FOX 41 (KCYU) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Pensacola, FL: WB 35 (WFGX) Saturdays at 10:00 am (starting 2/13/99)
Lexington, KY: FOX 56 (WDKY) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Charleston, WV: FOX 11 (WVAH) Weekdays at 2:00 pm
Flint/Saginaw, MI: FOX 66 (WSMH) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA: FOX 21/27 (WJPR/WFXR) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Wichita, KS: KCTU 55 - Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Springfield, MO: UPN 15 (K15CZ) Weekdays at 4:30 pm
Green Bay, WI: UPN 32 (WACY) Weekdays at 3:00 pm
Toledo, OH: WB 5 (WT05/calbe only) Saturdays at 10:00 am (starting 2/13/99)
Tucson, AZ: WB 58 (KWBA) Weekdays at 6:30 am (starting 1/01/99)
Honolulu, HI: UPN 5 (KFVE) Saturdays at 10:00 am (starting 2/13/99)
Omaha, NE: UPN Cox 2 (KOXO) Weekdays at 3:30 pm
Portland, ME: FOX 51 (WPXT) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Des Moines, IA: FOX 17 (KDSM) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Syracuse, NY: FOX 68 (WSYT) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Fort Myers, FL: WB 46/cable 6 (WTVK) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Boise, ID: UPN 9 (KNIN) Weekdays at 6:00 am
Rochester, NY: UPN 40 (WBGT) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Paducah, KY: UPN 49 (WDKA) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Shreveport, LA: UPN 45 (KSHV) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Springfield/Champaign, IL: FOX 27/55 (WCCU/WRSP) Weekdays at 8:00 am
Columbia, SC: FOX 57 (WACH) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Eugene, OR: WB 36 (KTVC) Weekdays at 7:30 am
Madison, WI: UPN 57 (WHPN) Weekdays at 6:30 am (starting 6/28/99)
Chattanooga, TN: FOX 61 (WDSI) Weekdays at 6:30 am
South Bend, IN: WB 69 (WMWB) Saturdays at 10:00 am (starting 2/13/99)
Cedar Rapids, IA: FOX 28 (KFXA) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Dubuque, IA: FOX 40 (KFXB) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Jackson, MS: FOX 40 (WDBD) Weekdays at 2:30 pm
Plattsburgh, NY: WB 39 (WBVT) Weekdays at 6:30 am
Bristol, VA: WB 5 (WCYB-DT2) Saturdays at 10:00 am (starting 2/13/99)

Here are some local commercials from the Pokemon anime's brief period in first-run syndication from September 1998:

Here's the very first Kids' WB commercial, which aired February 13, 1999, the day Pokemon officially premiered on Kids' WB after acquiring the exclusive broadcast TV rights to Pokemon:




I hope you enjoyed this fascinating piece of early Pokemon anime history!

 

[Combusto82]

i'm from Syracuse, NY and i don't know that Pokemon was on Fox! awesome!

but i know Pokemon was aired on Kids WB then Cartoon Network and now Disney XD

awesome article by the way! (yes i do like Pokemon anime however, i only like the ones that had Brock from Indigo to Diamond & Pearl due to his hilarious romance failures lol)

 

[SpongeBobfan1987]

Since I live in the Green Bay/Appleton, Wisconsin region, I remember when Pokemon first aired on WACY-TV UPN 32's "Wacky 32" childrens' block in syndication, since the network had a primary affiliation with UPN and a secondary affiliation with The WB. When the local PAX TV owned station, WPXG 14 was converted into a primary WB Network affiliate, WIWB, "WB 14" on June 2nd, 1999, all WB programming moved over there (including Kids' WB, who acquired the broadcasting rights to Pokemon earlier that year in February). The station still aired PAX TV overnights. I guess the Fox and UPN affiliates were hit hard by the loss of Pokemon when it became a Kids' WB exclusive, but it helped boost the ratings of Pokemon, since Kids' WB had the brand recognition of Warner Bros., plus a strong line-up of anime and cartoons on broadcast TV at the time...It also helped that Pokemon's first film was months away from when Kids' WB acquired the rights of the anime during the middle of the Pokemon craze, which included the trading card game, toys and Game Boy video games...

 

[Waterbubble]

i'm from Syracuse, NY and i don't know that Pokemon was on Fox! awesome!

but i know Pokemon was aired on Kids WB then Cartoon Network and now Disney XD

awesome article by the way! (yes i do like Pokemon anime however, i only like the ones that had Brock from Indigo to Diamond & Pearl due to his hilarious romance failures lol)

And now, it's a Netflix exclusive!
(In the US)

 

[SpongeBobfan1987]

And now, it's a Netflix exclusive!
(In the US)

The Pokemon anime can also be viewed on the official Pokemon app. I installed it on the Roku box I purchased with the Christmas money that my daddy sent me.