You don’t want to move from the couch because it’s New Year’s Day. Don’t worry—if you’ve got cable, no fret—it’s time for a TV marathon. For those who remember, TV marathons were all the rage back in the day. I know, I know that streaming services and digital content have made marathon TV watching a common affair today, but who can remember those old times when a regular TV station would pre-empt regular programming and broadcast one show, episode after episode, all day long? Welcome to the memories of the New Year’s Day TV marathon.
WPIX, a New York-based television station, is often credited with popularizing “binge-watching” with its New Year’s Day tradition of airing a marathon of The Three Stooges shorts, which began in 1972. This annual marathon became an event many viewers would tune in, watching multiple back-to-back episodes. While WPIX didn’t invent binge-watching in the way we think of it today (thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix), it played a key role in making the practice of watching multiple episodes or films in one sitting part of popular culture, particularly on New Year’s Day.
Step aside college football; it’s Marathon rerun day!
Which one do you remember binge-watching?
Here are (were) some of the great New Year’s Eve/Day marathons:
Other TV Marathons Remembered Over the Years
- Twilight Zone Marathon- Science Fiction Channel
- The Honeymooners – WPIX NY Channel 11
- Hitchcock Movie Marathon (AMC)
- Three Stooges, 6 am New Year’s Eve through 5 am New Year’s Day (AMC)
- Law & Order: SVU marathon (6 a.m-6 a.m. Jan. 2, USA)
- Biggest Loser marathon (8 a.m.-8 p.m., Bravo)
- Cheaters marathon (9 a.m.-9 p.m./ET, 6 a.m.-6 p.m./PT, G4)
- One Tree Hill (2 p.m.-midnight Jan. 2, SoapNET)Mythbusters – Discovery Channel
- Cartoon Network once again kicks off the new year with a marathon of Looney Tunes from 8 am-7 pm.
- How about MTV’s The Jersey Shore w/ The Situation? (just kidding – we hope that’s not on!)
Personally, nothing beats SyFy’s The Twilight Zone Marathon
Vote for your favorite.
Let us know if we missed any that you remember.
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Originally Posted December 29, 2009
More Fun Local History
God, how I used to love marathons. “Binge watching,” for some reason, just isn’t the same. I mean, it is the same. But it isn’t