Just a few random TV related events that happened on August 31 (big day). Discuss or comment as you please……
1916: Journalist Daniel Schorr is born in New York City. 55 years after joining CBS News as one of Edward R. Murrow’s recruits, the 91-year old is still active, doing weekly commentaries on NPR radio.
1924: Comedian Buddy Hackett is born (as Leonard Hacker) in Brooklyn, New York.
1939: The manufacture of TV receivers in Britain is suspended due to World War II, after 18,999 sets have been sold.
1950: Television comes to Mexico with the sign-on of XHTV (channel 4).
1953: WTAO-TV (channel 56) hits the airwaves in Cambridge (Boston), Massachusetts. The oldest licensed UHF in Boston, it would last less than 3 years before succumbing to low viewership and lack of revenue. The channel briefly came back to life in 1962 as WXHR-TV for a six-month FCC study, then would be permanently reactivated in 1966 as WKBG-TV (now WLVI-TV).
1954: WBZ-TV (channel 4, Boston) is knocked off the air when Hurricane Carol topples the station's self-supporting tower over its studios.
1954: The famous Mt. Washington transmitter site comes to life as WMTW-TV (channel 8 ) first signs on the air from its lofty perch 6288 ft. above sea level.
1955: KTRE (channel 9) signs on in Lufkin, Texas.
1962: The Trinidad and Tobago Television Company begins broadcasting on channels 2 and 13.
1969: KVVV-TV (channel 16) in Galveston, Texas leaves the air after a brief life of just 18 months on the air. The equipment and tower used by KVVV were eventually sold to new PBS member station in Corpus Christi, KEDT, which signed on in 1972.
1970: KRET-TV (channel 23), a rather low-powered Dallas-area station licensed to the Richardson Independent School District, goes dark after 10 years on the air and converts into a closed-circuit network. The station had broadcast only during school hours, and not at all during the summer. It was the first broadcast TV station in the nation to be wholly owned by a school district, and actually the first educational TV station in the Dallas area (beating KERA-TV to the air by about 6 months).
1974: WEVU-TV begins operations on channel 26 in Naples, Florida, bringing a local ABC affiliate to the Fort Myers market for the first time. Calls would change to the present WZVN in 1995. The station eventually became noted for totally suppressing mention of their actual on-air UHF channel, choosing to identify in promos and advertising as “Channel 7” (and even using the ABC “Circle 7” logo) due to its being carried on that channel on most CATV systems.
1975: KCND-TV (channel 12, Pembina, North Dakota) signs off and CKND-TV (channel 9, Winnipeg, Manitoba) signs on. The switch occurs after a new allocation to Winnipeg makes it possible for the owners to relocate on Canadian soil instead of “rim-shotting” the market from across the border. The first program broadcast on the new CKND is the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
1976: Alice debuts on CBS.
1991: NICAM stereo sound is introduced on BBC Television.
1997: Diana, Princess of Wales loses her life in a car crash. Most U.K. terrestrial channels stay on all night with coverage, a practice still very unusual at the time. Her funeral was later watched by a worldwide audience estimated at 2.5 billion viewers, recognized by Guinness as the biggest TV audience for a single live broadcast.
1998: The PAX TV network begins broadcasting.
2001: It’s a sad, sad day in the neighborhood as the last original episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is broadcast.
2006: Bob Schieffer ends his stint as interim weekday anchor of the CBS Evening News.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)
1916: Journalist Daniel Schorr is born in New York City. 55 years after joining CBS News as one of Edward R. Murrow’s recruits, the 91-year old is still active, doing weekly commentaries on NPR radio.
1924: Comedian Buddy Hackett is born (as Leonard Hacker) in Brooklyn, New York.
1939: The manufacture of TV receivers in Britain is suspended due to World War II, after 18,999 sets have been sold.
1950: Television comes to Mexico with the sign-on of XHTV (channel 4).
1953: WTAO-TV (channel 56) hits the airwaves in Cambridge (Boston), Massachusetts. The oldest licensed UHF in Boston, it would last less than 3 years before succumbing to low viewership and lack of revenue. The channel briefly came back to life in 1962 as WXHR-TV for a six-month FCC study, then would be permanently reactivated in 1966 as WKBG-TV (now WLVI-TV).
1954: WBZ-TV (channel 4, Boston) is knocked off the air when Hurricane Carol topples the station's self-supporting tower over its studios.
1954: The famous Mt. Washington transmitter site comes to life as WMTW-TV (channel 8 ) first signs on the air from its lofty perch 6288 ft. above sea level.
1955: KTRE (channel 9) signs on in Lufkin, Texas.
1962: The Trinidad and Tobago Television Company begins broadcasting on channels 2 and 13.
1969: KVVV-TV (channel 16) in Galveston, Texas leaves the air after a brief life of just 18 months on the air. The equipment and tower used by KVVV were eventually sold to new PBS member station in Corpus Christi, KEDT, which signed on in 1972.
1970: KRET-TV (channel 23), a rather low-powered Dallas-area station licensed to the Richardson Independent School District, goes dark after 10 years on the air and converts into a closed-circuit network. The station had broadcast only during school hours, and not at all during the summer. It was the first broadcast TV station in the nation to be wholly owned by a school district, and actually the first educational TV station in the Dallas area (beating KERA-TV to the air by about 6 months).
1974: WEVU-TV begins operations on channel 26 in Naples, Florida, bringing a local ABC affiliate to the Fort Myers market for the first time. Calls would change to the present WZVN in 1995. The station eventually became noted for totally suppressing mention of their actual on-air UHF channel, choosing to identify in promos and advertising as “Channel 7” (and even using the ABC “Circle 7” logo) due to its being carried on that channel on most CATV systems.
1975: KCND-TV (channel 12, Pembina, North Dakota) signs off and CKND-TV (channel 9, Winnipeg, Manitoba) signs on. The switch occurs after a new allocation to Winnipeg makes it possible for the owners to relocate on Canadian soil instead of “rim-shotting” the market from across the border. The first program broadcast on the new CKND is the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
1976: Alice debuts on CBS.
1991: NICAM stereo sound is introduced on BBC Television.
1997: Diana, Princess of Wales loses her life in a car crash. Most U.K. terrestrial channels stay on all night with coverage, a practice still very unusual at the time. Her funeral was later watched by a worldwide audience estimated at 2.5 billion viewers, recognized by Guinness as the biggest TV audience for a single live broadcast.
1998: The PAX TV network begins broadcasting.
2001: It’s a sad, sad day in the neighborhood as the last original episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is broadcast.
2006: Bob Schieffer ends his stint as interim weekday anchor of the CBS Evening News.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)
