HBO's typical day ran from about 5PM-3AM ET weekdays, and 2PM-3AM on weekends. That changed in 1981 going 24 hours on weekends as a test (Friday sign-on to Sunday sign-off). It became permanent in 1982.
I miss the good old days when i was a kid things where so less stressful and fun. Now it's all screwed up now harmony morals went out the window t.v sucks and have to pay big bucks for it. I remember having a antenna on the roof of my house for t.v and didn't cost anything This country went backwards fast and is not getting any better.
. It's rare you see any network sign off at night as most are 24 hr. networks. I remember when HBO would sign on at 3 or 4 in the afternoon & posted the shows that would be on that night. They played this great modern jazz music in the background. Then at 5:30PM the actual programming started. While I'm glad HBO is 24 hrs. a day now. It was a simpler time back then. This was before the whole world lost it's mind & life was less complicated .
@Vipguy2003 I remember one set of music they used was this funky jazz fusion stuff that had a few selections featuring some jazz cello solos over a funk beat. I wish I could figure out who the artist was!
It sucks that you had to get HBO to see female nudity back then, whereas in Holland it was on free terrestrial TV.Why does USA have to be so sexually repressed?Guess its better than Saudi Arabia or Afganistan where you cant see naked women on TV at all!!!!! Free or Premium
I never knew HBO signed off at night. I can still remember when most tv channels did sign off at night, however. I guess Poltergeist couldn't happen that way today.
Man I don't even remember cable tv being out in the 70's. We got it in 84 when I was a very wee lad. I remember going to my grandparents in the very early 80's and being amazed they had so many channels though.
HA I so remeber this! Wasn't HBO like the ONE station back then that played movies? I remember hearing my friends talk about some movie they saw on HBO and was thinking, "That station must be awesome!"
@ARCTICCUISINE HBO, in those days, was a black box with a dial that sat on your TV. So, after this, it went to static. You would flip the dial back, to turn HBO 'off', since nothing else was coming. If you were up that late, hopefully there was a local station with a 'Frankenstein Meets the Whatever' type movie on, or you were SOL for TV. :)
I never saw this because even though I was 11 yrs old, my Mom didn't have cable. If I was visiting a friend or relative who had cable, I either wasn't up that late, or I wasn't watching that late because it was a rated R movie.
@ChaosAria I am kind of curious to know about your reply if HBO becoming a 24/7 channel was really a good or a bad thing? Can you please reply back and tell me later on? Thank you :-).
@Ibusers1 even though I like this sign off vid, I still think HBO becoming 24/7 was a good thing. I hated when there was nothing on and I couldn't sleep. (sorry to respond so late, had a death in the family)
Brings back a lot of memories when My parents first got Cable tv in 1981. I watched that quite a bit,I was always up until 12 or 1 at night. and went to school the next morning.
The other ubiquitous things that screamed late 1970's (besides the animation and drawing style) were the conga drums and bassy low tom-tom in the music.
Very, cute - very cute. Good comments on this video from everyone. NOW GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP. Just kiddin'... :-)
EZtalkman 2 weeks ago
I didn't get HBO until 1986, so I missed the sign-off. The sign-off is really cute.
MsSissiePooh 1 month ago
What? HBO began in the 1970's!? @_@
supamariosoniku 1 month ago
@supamariosoniku 1972. 2012 marks its' 40th anniversary.
HBO's typical day ran from about 5PM-3AM ET weekdays, and 2PM-3AM on weekends. That changed in 1981 going 24 hours on weekends as a test (Friday sign-on to Sunday sign-off). It became permanent in 1982.
sshuffield70 1 month ago
It's flash made!
Scsam2345 2 months ago
MOMMY IT'S OVER!
BBC600 2 months ago
wow. that was amazing.
crucialconflict02 2 months ago
I miss the good old days when i was a kid things where so less stressful and fun. Now it's all screwed up now harmony morals went out the window t.v sucks and have to pay big bucks for it. I remember having a antenna on the roof of my house for t.v and didn't cost anything This country went backwards fast and is not getting any better.
getalife67 2 months ago
It not only makes you feel like a kid again, it also makes you remember America and how fun it was then
lunchmeat400 3 months ago
oh man everytime i watched this it feels so cold.oh how i miss being young
spongebob12335 3 months ago
Winding watches! OMG, I haven't seen that in forever.
murielsartre 3 months ago
LOL...I feel like a kid again...
kieralinn 3 months ago
makes me sleepy just watching this.
shelbielynnVEVO 4 months ago
Yes there used to be sign offs on TV.
Sheri451 4 months ago
...I had HBO in Atlanta in '79 and I don't remember it going off the air at night?.....and it was on all night alot with my parents....
BlackHole1217 4 months ago
GO THE FREAK TO BED.
Tenorsax621 5 months ago
i think that was a subliminal for time to have sex @ :38- :43
tragik445 5 months ago
once upon a time, all stations used to sign off around 1AM...believe it or not.
blackphoenix77 6 months ago
@blackphoenix77 i believe it because i remember it
TheSteelersrock1010 4 months ago
I like the putting the milk bottle out for the night. How many people remember that?
tritonrocks 6 months ago
@tritonrocks Totally, MOST of the things illustraited in that vid people won't know what they are by 2015.
michaeltgrace 6 months ago
I had no idea the cable stations weren't on 24 hours. But then again, I never had cable until the mid 80s.
quazzie11 7 months ago
What time was this?
MrBobTomato 7 months ago
Wait a minute!? They didn't sign off to porno back then!? Wow!
MADDOG6400 8 months ago
I'll bet most kids today would have no idea what those people are doing with their wristwatches and wind-up alarm clocks.
BradTheProducer 8 months ago 6
OMG HBO wasn't always 24 hours?
lovelykitkat25 9 months ago
y they make the sign off music sound so sad lol
tragik445 9 months ago
Nice!
DougMcDave 10 months ago
. It's rare you see any network sign off at night as most are 24 hr. networks. I remember when HBO would sign on at 3 or 4 in the afternoon & posted the shows that would be on that night. They played this great modern jazz music in the background. Then at 5:30PM the actual programming started. While I'm glad HBO is 24 hrs. a day now. It was a simpler time back then. This was before the whole world lost it's mind & life was less complicated .
Vipguy2003 11 months ago 4
@Vipguy2003 I remember one set of music they used was this funky jazz fusion stuff that had a few selections featuring some jazz cello solos over a funk beat. I wish I could figure out who the artist was!
KCJazzKeys 8 months ago
It sucks that you had to get HBO to see female nudity back then, whereas in Holland it was on free terrestrial TV.Why does USA have to be so sexually repressed?Guess its better than Saudi Arabia or Afganistan where you cant see naked women on TV at all!!!!! Free or Premium
MrJacMac1986 11 months ago 2
Amazing.
LogicSmash 1 year ago
I never knew HBO signed off at night. I can still remember when most tv channels did sign off at night, however. I guess Poltergeist couldn't happen that way today.
Chasenip 1 year ago
So at what time did HBO sign off and on?
vivaeljason 1 year ago
@vivaeljason It would come on at 4:00pm until 1:00am, then later it was on 24hours on the weekend
Abraxazz45 1 year ago
I remember seeing a video of this with DTMF-like tones after the animation, and then color bars.
I guess the satellite feed went to color bars, but at the cable head end, they switched the feed off with the DTMF-like tones
Kargaroc286 1 year ago
Don't remember this...ofcourse, I was 3. We didn't get HBO until 1982 or so.
farleyfarkle 1 year ago
Anyone know who wrote this piece?
wdbernal 1 year ago
:58 ???
johnjhuff 1 year ago
Ha ha...I remember this! I'm old! ^_^
MelanieLouM 1 year ago
Man I don't even remember cable tv being out in the 70's. We got it in 84 when I was a very wee lad. I remember going to my grandparents in the very early 80's and being amazed they had so many channels though.
Rushthatspeaks 1 year ago
@Rushthatspeaks I first got cable in 1984 myself...it amazed me too, even at the age of 22! ^_^
MelanieLouM 1 year ago
Ahhhh... the good old days. Bring back all the old stuff! Out with the new, in with the old!
BenBopper 1 year ago 4
HA I so remeber this! Wasn't HBO like the ONE station back then that played movies? I remember hearing my friends talk about some movie they saw on HBO and was thinking, "That station must be awesome!"
Lesrevesdhiver 1 year ago 2
what happened after this? color bars?
ARCTICCUISINE 1 year ago
@ARCTICCUISINE HBO, in those days, was a black box with a dial that sat on your TV. So, after this, it went to static. You would flip the dial back, to turn HBO 'off', since nothing else was coming. If you were up that late, hopefully there was a local station with a 'Frankenstein Meets the Whatever' type movie on, or you were SOL for TV. :)
DevSodDribble 1 year ago
Brings chills up my spine, takes me back to a different time.
llioncat 1 year ago
Remember this well from '79,also thought it sucked because nothing else was on and it was time to go to bed.
hamtrak 1 year ago
I never saw this because even though I was 11 yrs old, my Mom didn't have cable. If I was visiting a friend or relative who had cable, I either wasn't up that late, or I wasn't watching that late because it was a rated R movie.
HGbunny 1 year ago
HBO went 24/7 in 1981, two years before I was born.
JeterSwisherFan88 1 year ago
I so remember that. It's true, HBO didn't run 24/7 like it does now and I do remember when it changed to 24/7.
Good stuff!
ChaosAria 1 year ago
@ChaosAria I am kind of curious to know about your reply if HBO becoming a 24/7 channel was really a good or a bad thing? Can you please reply back and tell me later on? Thank you :-).
Ibusers1 1 year ago
@Ibusers1 even though I like this sign off vid, I still think HBO becoming 24/7 was a good thing. I hated when there was nothing on and I couldn't sleep. (sorry to respond so late, had a death in the family)
ChaosAria 1 year ago
Brings back a lot of memories when My parents first got Cable tv in 1981. I watched that quite a bit,I was always up until 12 or 1 at night. and went to school the next morning.
MrDS67 2 years ago
I remember being a kid in grade school and it was a big deal if you stayed up late enough to see this HBO signoff video. LOL
Paynekillah 2 years ago 30
This was like a little over 30 years ago! Man, time just goes by quickly!
Ibusers1 2 years ago 2
I'm currently watching this at 12:30 at night... it's like it's telling me to go to bed. =P
singinglawnchair 2 years ago 5
finalizaba sus tramisiones hbo en ese tiempo?
fernan2chile 2 years ago
@fernan2chile Si. lo hacia.
logostrikebeta2 1 year ago
ahh good times..
TheBlackStatic 2 years ago 3
0:21
Klaus: I'm not a parrot! That trick won't work on...zzzzzzzzzzz
SpeedyRaven2000 2 years ago 4
One of the best sign-offs I've seen. Class all the way!
jailynx 2 years ago 32
you mean it creeps you out a little?
kargaroc386 2 years ago 3
this guy had a lot to do before he went to bed lol
arnoldwarrior15 3 years ago 7
IT was showing several different people not just one.
jhwink 3 years ago 4
Please feel free to visit my Yahoo group dedicated to Vintage HBO Guides from 1976 to 1985!
Just go to yahoo groups and type in:
Vintage HBO Guides
verranth1 3 years ago
The other ubiquitous things that screamed late 1970's (besides the animation and drawing style) were the conga drums and bassy low tom-tom in the music.
wmbrown6 3 years ago 4
@wmbrown
Not to mention the prominent slap bass and the brass section.
singinglawnchair 2 years ago
old school man toke up--
pekoe 3 years ago