Editing Hee Haw (section)

=== Syndication ===
Undaunted, and noting that one instigating factor for the rural purge—the [[Prime Time Access Rule]]—had opened up an opportunity for independent syndicated productions, ''Hee Haw's'' producers put together a syndication deal for the show, which continued in roughly the same format for the rest of its run. Peppiatt and Aylesworth's company, Yongestreet Productions (named for [[Yonge Street]], a prominent thoroughfare in their home city of [[Toronto]]), maintained ownership of the series.

At its peak, ''Hee Haw'' often competed in syndication against ''[[The Lawrence Welk Show]]'', a long-running ABC program which had likewise been canceled in 1971, in its case in a purge of the networks' older demographic-leaning programs. Like ''Hee Haw'', ''Lawrence Welk'' was picked up for syndication in the fall of 1971, in some markets by the same stations. The success of the two shows in syndication, and the network decisions that led to their respective cancellations, were the inspiration for a novelty song, "[[The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka]]", performed by Clark; it rose to become a top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart in the fall of 1972.

''Welk'' and ''Hee Haw'' also competed against another music-oriented niche program that moved to syndication in 1971, ''[[Soul Train]]''. Originally a local program based in Chicago, the black-oriented program also went on to a very long run in syndication; unlike either program, ''Soul Train'' entered the market after achieving success at the local level.

In 1981, Yongestreet was acquired by [[Ryman Hospitality Properties|Gaylord Entertainment]] (best known for the ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]'' and its related businesses).<ref>{{Cite web| title = Gaylord Production Acquires "Hee Haw'| date = November 11, 1981| access-date = February 2, 2019| url = https://newsok.com/article/1963420/gaylord-production-acquires-hee-haw}}</ref> Mirroring the long downward trend in the popularity of variety shows in general that had taken place in the 1970s, ratings began to decline for ''Hee Haw'' around 1986. That year, Owens departed as host, leaving Clark to continue with a celebrity guest host each week. The ratings decline continued into the early 1990s. In the fall of 1991, in an attempt to win back viewers, attract a younger audience, and keep pace with sweeping changes in the country music industry of the era, the show's format and setting underwent a dramatic overhaul. The changes included a new title (''The Hee Haw Show''), more pop-oriented country music, and the barnyard-cornfield setting replaced by a city street and shopping mall set. The first of the new episodes aired in January 1992. The changes alienated many of the show's longtime viewers while failing to gain the hoped-for younger viewers, and the ratings continued their decline.

During the summer of 1992, a decision was made to end first-run production, and instead air highlights of the show's earlier years in a revamped program called ''Hee Haw Silver'' (as part of celebrating the show's 25th season).<ref group='notes'>The show debuted as a mid-season replacement in June 1969 and because of this, its first season is considered to be those first few months on the summer schedule. Its 24th season is referred to the batch of shows that aired from January through May 1992 when it was re-titled ''The Hee Haw Show''. The fall of 1992 marked the beginning of the program's 25th season on the air.</ref> Under the new format, Clark hosted a mixture of classic clips and new footage.

''Hee Haw Silver'' episodes also aired a series of retrospective looks at performers who had died since performing in highlighted content, such as [[David "Stringbean" Akeman]], Archie Campbell, Junior Samples, and Kenny Price. According to the show's producer, [[Sam Lovullo]], the ratings showed improvement with these classic reruns; however, the series was finally canceled in June 1993 at the conclusion of its 25th season. ''Hee Haw'' continued to pop up in reruns throughout the 1990s and later during the following decade in a series of successful DVD releases from [[Time Life]].