Yule Log (TV Program) - Legacy

Legacy

In 2003, Tribune Broadcasting, parent company of WPIX, announced that in addition to being broadcast in New York City, The Yule Log would be broadcast in additional U.S. television markets on other Tribune-owned television stations, and would also be broadcast by high definition television that year as well. The program made its "national" debut in 2004 on Chicago's WGN-TV and its sibling station, now known as WGN America. However, in 2008 the stations did their own version, with holiday themed old-time radio programs in the background instead of music. This was abandoned after one year, and the original WPIX version was used in 2009. WGN America did not broadcast The Yule Log in 2010 and 2011, citing the economic infeasibility of devoting several hours to commercial-free programming on a national channel; however, the program was broadcast locally by WGN-TV Chicago, and by the other Tribune-owned local stations. WGN-TV and the other Tribune stations didn't air The Yule Log in 2011, choosing to air other holiday programming instead. There are also plans to broadcast The Yule Log on Tribune's new digital subchannel network, Antenna TV, beginning in 2011, bringing the concept to many more additional markets without dependence on WGN America. In 2010, The Yule Log was broadcast on the Gospel Music Channel (GMC), for 24 hours starting at 8:00 P.M. Christmas Eve until 8:00 P.M. Christmas night. WPIX and KTLA had The Yule Log on Christmas Morning for 4 hours.

Other stations (and cable channels) have spawned imitations. Fellow Tribune station WDCW (then known as WBDC) in Washington, DC has done their own version, filming a log burning at Colonial Williamsburg. Beginning in 2003, Jason Patton, an executive at INHD (the now-defunct MOJO HD) was inspired as a youth by WPIX's Yule Log, he produced his own version, which broadcasts every Christmas via Movies On Demand. Broadcasters as diverse as Oregon Public Broadcasting, the MSG Network (as well as its former competitor, the Empire Sports Network) and the CHUM Television group in Canada have also borrowed the concept. WKBW-TV in Buffalo (not owned by Tribune), as a replacement for that day's morning newscast, introduced the Yule Log as a replacement in 2008; it did not return in 2009. KSTC-TV, owned by Hubbard Broadcasting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, also produces a local version of the Yule Log. In its early years, the Home Shopping Network also aired a Yule Log for the network's only non-broadcasting day before moving to a loop of Tampa Bay Area choirs singing Christmas carols and host wishes in subsequent years. PBS Kids Sprout offers a twelve hour loop called Goodnight of Sweet Dreams on Christmas Eve evening, which features scenes of sleeping characters from the network's programming set to soft music to soothe children to sleep before the arrival of Santa Claus.

Some of the stations and cable channels that have broadcast imitations of the Yule Log simulcast the Christmas music from a radio station that is playing it, and before 1989, the WPIX version also secondarily promoted the playing of the same Christmas music in a simulcast over their sister FM station, WPIX-FM (101.9), for those unable view the Yule Log on television.

A great many video fireplace productions with a similar format have also been marketed on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, some of which are entitled "Yule Log" The Yule Log program also helped influence the "Puppy Bowl", an annual special broadcast by cable network Animal Planet on the day of the Super Bowl.

In 2005, Tribune began making a version of the Yule Log video recorded in AVI format available for download, advertising it as a "Portable Yule Log" for those traveling.

In December 2006, to commemorate the program's 40th anniversary, WPIX broadcast a one-hour special about its history. Titled A Log's Life, the documentary included commentary by Fred Thrower's son Mitch, Bill Cooper's widow Kay, and Malzone. The program was broadcast four times, including once on Christmas Day, directly after a completely restored three-hour version of the 1970 "Log". Researched and compiled by Malzone and Arcuri, a Christmas musicologist, this latest incarnation features a newly re-digitized play list of the original soundtrack, which includes a number of tunes of the 1970 version that are not currently available on compact disc, but only on LPs now out of print.

In 2008, the company Outback Steakhouse used this holiday tradition by having the first 20 seconds of a 30-second advertisement feature a CGI version of the log, then focusing on some steaks. Also in 2008, animation director PES released a free screensaver that reimagined the Yule Log in food, with pretzels for the log and candy corn for the flames.