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Affiliates which have kept the same network the longest

B

bpatrick

In North Carolina we have these:

WFMY Ch. 2 Greensboro (CBS, 1949)
WBTV Ch. 3 Charlotte (CBS, 1949)
NOTE: These are the two oldest CBS affiliates south of Washington. WBTV signed on in July, WFMY in September. Even when they carried more than one network, CBS was the primary one.

WWAY Ch. 3 Wilmington (ABC, 1964)
WECT Ch. 6 Wilmington (NBC, 1954) (original call letters: WMFD)
WITN Ch. 7 Washington (NBC, 1955)
WNCT Ch. 9 Greenville (CBS, 1953)
WCTI Ch. 12 New Bern (ABC, 1963) (original call letters: WNBE)
WXII Ch. 12 Winston-Salem (NBC, 1953) (original call letters: WSJS)
WLOS Ch. 13 Asheville (ABC, 1954)

NOTE: WLOS is the second-oldest ABC affiliate south of Washington. Sister station WSET/13 Lynchburg, VA signed on in 1953.
The Roanoke/Lynchburg market has been the most stable in Virginia: WSLS/10 has been with NBC from sign-on in 1952, while WDBJ/7
has been with CBS since sign-on in 1955.

WLOS's two main competitors have also kept the same networks: WYFF (originally WFBC)/4 has been with NBC since sign-on in 1953;
WSPA/7 has been with CBS since sign-on in 1956.

Also in South Carolina we have:

WCSC Ch. 5 Charleston (CBS, 1953)
WIS Ch. 10 Columbia (NBC, 1953)
WBTW Ch. 13 Florence (CBS, 1954--originally on Ch. 8 but moved to 13 in the early '60s to accommodate WGHP High Point, NC)
WPDE Ch. 15 Florence (ABC, 1981)
WLTX Ch. 19 Columbia (CBS, 1953--originally WNOK on Ch. 67--I'm not sure when it moved to Ch. 19)
WOLO Ch. 25 Columbia (ABC, 1961)--this is the second incarnation of the station (was WCCA before it got its present calls) as there was a station on 25 in 1953 (ABC then, I believe)
WMBF Ch. 32 Myrtle Beach (NBC, 2008) (This is actually its digital channel--it signed on with a digital, rather than an analog, channel.)
 
In Michigan (all have had their affiliations for over 50 years; some may have had secondary affiliations):
WWMT Ch. 3 Kalamazoo (CBS, 1950) (originally WKZO)
WDIV Ch. 4 Detroit (NBC, 1947) (originally WWDT then WWJ)
WLNS Ch. 6 Lansing (CBS, 1950) (originally WJIM)
WPBN Ch. 7 Traverse City (NBC, 1954)
WXYZ Ch. 7 Detroit (ABC, 1948) (was an ABC O&O for many years)
WOOD Ch. 8 Grand Rapids (NBC, 1949) (originally WLAV on Ch. 7, but moved to 8 in 1953 to reduce interference to WENR [now WLS] and WXYZ and to allow WPBN to sign on)
WWTV Ch. 9 Cadillac (CBS, 1954) (originally on channel 13 but moved to 9 to make room for WZZM in 1962)
WILX Ch. 10 Onondaga (NBC, 1959) (originally shared channel 10 with NET member WMSB until 1972)
WJRT Ch. 12 Flint (ABC, 1958)
WZZM Ch. 13 Grand Rapids (ABC, 1962)
WGTU Ch. 29 Traverse City (ABC, 1971)
 
In Des Moines Iowa

WOI 5 (ABC 1955 - Present, 1950-1955 it was a secondary channel along with NBC until 1954. It's main channel was CBS from 1950-1955)

KCCI 8 (CBS from the start when it launched in 1955. Previously it was KRNT until 1974 but stayed a CBS affiliate)

WHO 13 (NBC affiliate from the start when launched in 1954.)

KDSM 17 (A Fox affiliate since it launched Fox in 1986, 1987 formally for primetime. Previously an independent network from 1983 when it signed on till 1986 with the call signs KCBR. It was known as The Great Entertainer during it's independent affiliation.)

KCWI (A CW affiliate from 2006 to present. Previously KPWB from 2001 to 2006 when it was a WB affiliate.)
 
Some in Minnesota and neighboring markets that cover MN

WCCO Minneapolis CBS since 1953
KEYC Mankato CBS since 1961
KBJR Duluth NBC since 1955
KTTC Rochester NBC since sign on in 1953
KIMT Mason City, IA CBS since sign on in 1954
WKBT LaCrosse, WI CBS since sign on in 1954
 
Sacramento-
KCRA kept it's NBC affiliation the longest since 1955 sign on.
KVIE been a Net affiliate initially at sign on in 1959 before it became a PBS affiliate since 1970.
KTXL have kept it's Fox Affiliation since they agreed to a contract with them since late 1980's.

San Francisco
KTVU kept it's Fox Affiliation since the late 1980's when Cox signed an agreement with the network. Subsequently the station was converted into a Fox Owned station in 2014.

KPIX was initially a contract CBS station with Associated Broadcasters and Westinghouse prior to being converted into a CBS O&O in the 1995-1996 timeframe when CBS and Westinghouse merged.

KGO-TV since the 1949 sign on is an ABC Owned station.

KQED initially a NET affiliate at sign on in 1954 prior to being a PBS affiliate in the 1970's.


Los Angeles

KECA-TV/KABC-TV is Owned by ABC since 1949 Sign on

KNBH-TV/KRCA-TV/KNBC-TV is owned NBC since 1949 sign on

KTSL/KNXT/KCBS-TV is owned by CBS since 1951 after CBS pulled affiliation from KTTV.

KTTV is Owned by Fox since 1986.

KVCR initially affiliate with NET at sign on in 1962 have been with PBS since 1970.

San Diego
KFMB have been with CBS since the 1949 sign on.

KEBS/KPBS (Note San Diego State owns KPBS and is a sister station to Capital Public Radio in Sacramento)

Have been with PBS since 1970 initially at sign on in 1967 was with NET.
 
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WPVI Philadelphia is ABC's longest running affiliate along with WJLA they were ABC affiliates in April 1948 this was when ABC O&O division was in the Construction permit stage. Note WJZ Now WABC-TV did not sign on for New York until August 1948.

WCBW/WCBS is a CBS owned station since sign on in 1941

WNBT/WRCA/WNBC is owned by NBC since 1941.
 
February 1953, KOLD-TV CBS
September 1953, KVOA-TV NBC
March 1959, KUAT-TV NET/PBS (first public television station in Arizona)
KDWI-TV 1956, ABC affiliation 1957
KMSB On-air 1967, Fox affiliate in 1985
 
kwthom said:
February 1953, KOLD-TV CBS
September 1953, KVOA-TV NBC
March 1959, KUAT-TV NET/PBS (first public television station in Arizona)
KDWI-TV 1956, ABC affiliation 1957
KMSB On-air 1967, Fox affiliate in 1985
Click to expand...
For the record, that's Tucson AZ. :D

KOLD-TV was originally KOPO-TV. It became KOLD-TV in 1957. KDWI-TV became KGUN-TV, also in 1957.

In Phoenix, the only station that has kept its original major-network affiliation is Tegna's KPNX/12 (formerly KTYL-TV, KVAR, and KTAR-TV), having been with NBC since Day One in 1953. It had split Dumont with KPHO-TV/5 until that network went under in 1956.

Speaking of KPHO, one might say that it has its original CBS affiliation. Of course, there was that 39-year gap between 1955 and 1994 when it was an independent.

Flagstaff's KNAZ/2 (formerly KOAI) has been NBC since it signed on on 1970. It was originally a stand-alone station but morphed into a satellite of KPNX since Gannett/Tegna took it over in 1997. It became a full satellite in 2008.
 
In Memphis WMC 5 has carried NBC since 1948. WREC/WREG 3 has carried CBS since 1956.

In Jackson, TN WBBJ 7 has carried ABC since 1967.

In Nashville WSM/WSMV 4 has carried NBC since 1950. WLAC/WTVF 5 has carried CBS since 1954.
 
Another thread that's quickly turning into "lists of everything"!

The actual answer to the OPs question does appear to be KSD/KSDK St. Louis, followed by WWJ/WDIV in Detroit and WTMJ Milwaukee, which have all been with NBC since 1947. WLWT Cincinnati joined in early 1948.

WBEN/WIVB Buffalo and WHEN/WTVH Syracuse have both been with CBS since 1948, though both carried multiple networks in their first few years, as did most stations in one-station markets.

WFIL/WPVI Philadelphia, WMAL/WJLA Washington and WXYZ Detroit have all carried ABC since it started network programs in 1948. WPVI became an O&O later, and WXYZ was an O&O when it signed on.

Everything else that's 1948 or older either started as an O&O (the NYC stations) or has changed affiliation along the way (WRGB, WPTZ/KYW, WBZ, WNAC/WHDH, WNHC/WTNH, WEWS).
 
A few more from near my area that I could get before the digital conversion:

WPSD 6 Paducah, KY NBC since 1957
KAIT 8 Jonesboro, AR ABC since 1965
KFVS 12 Cape Girardeau, MO CBS since 1954
 
WSAZ-3 Huntington WV has been NBC since 11/14/49, 72 years. They also carried ABC, CBS, and DuMont until the mid-1950s. They have always been a primary NBC affiliate.

WAVE-3 Louisville KY has likewise been a primary NBC affiliate since it went on the air 12/24/48.

Incidentally, both stations started out on channel 5. The midpoint between the two cities (center city to center city) is somewhere around Carlisle KY in Nicholas County, which presumably would have favored viewing from Cincinnati, closer to Carlisle than either Huntington or Louisville.
 
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Atlanta:
WGTV/8 and WABE (WETV/WPBA)/30 have been PBS since 1970. Everything else network-wise had been in a state of flux.
 
Amarillo, TX

KAMR has had NBC since 1953 with original call letters KGNC-TV which were changed in 1974 to KAMR-TV.

KVII has had ABC since 1957 but carried some select PBS programming until 1988 when KACV signed on.

KFDA has had CBS since 1953 but had a secondary ABC affiliation until 1957 when KVII signed on.

KCIT has had Fox since 1986 when it flipped to it from independent status but originally had the KJTV call letters until 1985.

KCPN-LP has been with MyNetworkTV since 2006 when it flipped to that network from independent status.

KACV has been with PBS since 1988.
 
For Seattle

KCPQ had Fox the longest since Kelly Broadcasting signed contracts with the network in the late 1980's

KOMO-TV have ABC since 1958.

KING-TV have NBC since 1959 as a primary.

KCTS have NET during sign on in 1954 and PBS since 1970.
 
In Atlanta, WGCL/46 has been CBS longer (28 years) than when it was independent (23 years).

Conversely, WSB/2 has had ABC for 42 years to the 32 years they were NBC. WXIA/11 has had 42 years with NBC to the 29 years they had ABC.
 
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