Channels 37 & 70-83 allocated by the FCC in 1952

[KeithE4]

Looking over the original 1952 allocations table (thanks, W9WI), I found it interesting that channels 37 and 70-83 appeared in the listings. I know there were some stations higher than Ch. 70 in the early years, but I didn't realize that there were so many of these channels allocated.

Interestingly, some of the stations that did go on the air on channels higher than 70 were never allocated (WMGT Adams MA on Ch. 74 and WBGU-TV Bowling Green OH on Ch. 70, for instance). Also, while Lima OH has always had Channel 35 allocated to it, WNOK-TV started on Channel 73, which wasn't allocated to Lima, and moved to Ch. 35 a couple of years later.

And I thought Ch. 37 was removed from TV use before the 1952 R&O.

* Non-commercial allocation

AL: Anniston 37
AR: Blytheville 74
CT: Bridgeport *71, New London 81
GA: Valdosta 37
IN: Muncie *71
IA: Algona 37
KY: Winchester 37
MI: Bay City *73
MS: Brookhaven 37
MO: Sikeston 37
NV: Carson City 37
NH: Claremont 37
NJ: Camden *80, Freehold *74, Hammonton *70, Montclair *77, Paterson 37
OH: Cincinnati 74, Youngstown 73
OK: Norman *37
OR: Baker 37, Springfield 37
PA: Harrisburg 71, Meadville 37, Scranton 73
SC: Newberry 37
TX: Beaumont/Pt. Arthur *37, Dallas 73
VA: Pulaski 37
WA: Grand Coulee 37
WI: Beaver Dam 37

 

[4dude]

A friend of mine said the highest channel ever was 85 (I dont remember where,etc)

 

[mjlarochelle]

A friend of mine said the highest channel ever was 85 (I dont remember where,etc)

I highly doubt that ever happened, unless it was when UHF was first created.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

The 1952 allocations list also showed a non-commercial allocation on Channel 37 in Peoria, IL.

 

[KeithE4]

The 1952 allocations list also showed a non-commercial allocation on Channel 37 in Peoria, IL.

Yep, you're right. I guess I scanned those pages a bit fast.

 

[Davros2006]

In Toronto, CITY-TV (CityTV) began life on UHF Channel 79 back in 1972 (yep, CRTC's allocations differed from those of the FCC's for a while) before moving to Channel 57 in 1983 (and seen on Cable 7 mostly throughout).

 

[w9wi]

Interestingly, some of the stations that did go on the air on channels higher than 70 were never allocated (WMGT Adams MA on Ch. 74 and WBGU-TV Bowling Green OH on Ch. 70, for instance). Also, while Lima OH has always had Channel 35 allocated to it, WNOK-TV started on Channel 73, which wasn't allocated to Lima, and moved to Ch. 35 a couple of years later.

I would be quite sure those channels were allocated, just not in the initial table. Then, as now, you could ask the FCC to amend the table to add a channel, and if everything fit technically, they'd do it.

Many early UHF stations came into being because there were 4-5-6-8-10 applicants competing for a single VHF channel. Someone figured if they filed for a UHF channel they might well be the only applicant, would get the permit quickly, and could get on the air & make some money for a few years until they sorted out who'd get the VHF permit.

I wonder if that's what was going on in Lima? Two or more applicants for channel 35, so someone else decided to go for 73 & figure there would be no competition? Though channel 41 was also allotted to Lima and it does seem somewhat unlikely four or more applicants wanted to build TV stations there!

Channel 74 in Adams is a bit difficult to explain. There was no channel allotted to Adams itself, but channel 15 was allotted to North Adams. It seems unlikely there were multiple applications for channel 15 - but maybe there were?

No channel was allotted to Bowling Green, so BGSU had to ask for a new channel to be allotted before they could file for a TV station.

_________________________________________________

A friend of mine said the highest channel ever was 85 (I dont remember where,etc)

No, the initial table ended at channel 83 and it only went downhill from there. (deleting channels 70-83 around 1970, then channels 60-69, and next February, channels 52-59)

 

[Tim L]

In Youngstown's case, WFMJ didnt have much choice..Channel 21 was allocated to WUTV,WKBN-27 was already on the air, so they had to go with 73. Once it became apparent that 21 wasnt going to be on the air anytime soon, WFMJ bought out the license of WUTV so it could move down to Channel 21 on July 7, 1954.

 

[Markxxx]

According to some Google searches channel 37 wasn't reserved till 1963 and a formal ban on the channel being used was put in place in 1974

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

According to Wikipedia searches channels 70-83 were officially deleted from use by 1983. BTW, my parents used to have a small 13-inch TV (a GE "Performance Television" color set) in the kitchen of their house (that finally went kaput within the last year) manufactured in 1980 that also included channels 70-83. In addition, their first VCR, made in 1985 (a Quasar with the 14 "fine tuning" channel programming dials), still had capability to tune channels 70-83.

 

[Markxxx]

I was reading in the book "Stay Tuned," how AM radio was never really allocated. Except for the clear channel, most of AM got to be where it was by applicants just asking the FCC for a frequency and then proving they wouldn't interfere by using low power or directional antennas.

This explains why the AM band was considered jammed by the early 1940s but 10 years later had an additional 2000 stations. Because the FCC squeezed and hammered in stations.

To avoid this FM and TV were allocated first. But in the early years these allocations were not alway followed exactly, especially during the TV freeze or rather just after the freeze ended when powerful Senators and Representatives put pressue to get ANY TV station on the air as soon as possible

So that probably explains the irregularities in assigning TV channels. Indeed a quick check of historical Chicago Tribune shows many Chicago channels applied for that I can't find anywhere. Of course they never made it on the air, never got past the paper stage.

 

[w9wi]

I was reading in the book "Stay Tuned," how AM radio was never really allocated. Except for the clear channel, most of AM got to be where it was by applicants just asking the FCC for a frequency and then proving they wouldn't interfere by using low power or directional antennas.

This explains why the AM band was considered jammed by the early 1940s but 10 years later had an additional 2000 stations. Because the FCC squeezed and hammered in stations.

Even the clear channels weren't really allotted. The biggest stations with the best technical prowess (especially, the ability to remain on the assigned frequency!) filed for the most power.

The closest things we've seen to allotments on AM are:

- The assignment of specific clear channels for priority in specific countries -- 690 to Canada, 730 to Mexico, 1540 to the Bahamas, etc...
- The assignment of Class II-A clears to specific states. 670 for a II-A in Idaho (where KBOI uses it); 720 for Nevada or Idaho (KDWN, Las Vegas); 1030 for Wyoming (KTWO, Casper); 1210 for Kansas, Nebraska, or Oklahoma (KGYN Guymon, Okla.); etc..
- The assignment of specific expanded-band frequencies to specific stations.

To avoid this FM and TV were allocated first. But in the early years these allocations were not alway followed exactly, especially during the TV freeze or rather just after the freeze ended when powerful Senators and Representatives put pressue to get ANY TV station on the air as soon as possible

So that probably explains the irregularities in assigning TV channels. Indeed a quick check of historical Chicago Tribune shows many Chicago channels applied for that I can't find anywhere. Of course they never made it on the air, never got past the paper stage.

I've never seen any evidence that FM or TV channels were allocated before the 1948 freeze. (doesn't mean they weren't, just that I've not seen evidence of it) I think those early Chicago channels you saw were simply chosen to be far enough in frequency from other stations that already existed (or were already filed for) there.

 

[KeithE4]

I've never seen any evidence that FM or TV channels were allocated before the 1948 freeze. (doesn't mean they weren't, just that I've not seen evidence of it) I think those early Chicago channels you saw were simply chosen to be far enough in frequency from other stations that already existed (or were already filed for) there.

Jeff Miller's site has a list of 1947 allocations. Chicago had Channels 2-4-5-7-9-11-13 allocated to it. Rockford had Channel 12, and both South Bend and Racine/Kenosha had Channel 1.

Link: 1947 TV Allocations

 

[Tim L]

Here are the Ohio allocations from that same 1947 list:
Akron 11
Canton 1
Cincinnati 2-4-5-11
Cleveland 2-4-5-7-9
Columbus 3-6-8-10
Dayton 5-13
Springfield 1
Toledo 13
Wheeling (W. Va. Border) 12
Youngstown 13..

I find it odd that they thought they could put Channel 5 in Cincinnati..AND Dayton?

And the entire Southeast quarter of Ohio (Zanesville, Athens, Cambridge, Marietta) had no stations at all..

 

[RadioDze]

North Carolina is interesting on this list as well. Note that Raleigh, now the 2nd-largest city in the state, isn't even mentioned. The only NC cities mentioned are the following:

-1947- -2008 VHF analog-
Asheville 5, 7, 12 13
*VHF 7 does operate in the market, now Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville, but in Spartanburg

Charlotte 3, 9, 11 3, 9
*Charlotte now has only two analog VHFs, but PBS affiliate WTVI 42 operates on digital VHF 11

Durham 4, 7 11
*VHF 4 apparently became Chapel Hill non-commercial WUNC-TV. Jefferson Standard was going to sign this on as a commercial station before the university expressed interest.
*VHF 7 was replaced with VHF 11, allowing VHF 7s in Roanoke, VA and Washington, NC

Greensboro 2, 10 2
*VHF 10 apparently reallocated to Roanoke, VA

Winston-Salem 6, 8 12
*VHF 6 apparently relocated to Bluefield, WV
*VHF 8 operates in the market from High Point, NC
*Roanoke, VA originally had a VHF 12 which apparently was reallocated to Winston-Salem.

 

[Nitelinger]

I distinguish between the use of the terms allocation and assignment as follows:

The FCC allocates spectrum to specific uses. It assigns specific channels to specific markets.

Prior to 1945 it didn't assign TV channels to markets. It had allocated various channels to TV over the years. Various frequencies were used prior to 1938, but an industry committee finally recommended 6 Mhz channels in 1936. In 1938, 19 channels, each 6 MHz wide, were allocated for TV in the VHF portion of the spectrum. All but the lowest were considered to be unusable at the time.

In 1941, the Commission issued new TV regulations, and allocated 18 channels.

Chanels were not yet assigned to cities. The Journal Co. in Milwaukee received a CP for Channel 3 (then 66-72 MHz) in 1941. Hearst Radio, Inc. applied for a CP on Channel 4 (then 78-84 MHz) in June of 1945 -- that despite the freeze on new TV construction because of the war. Nowadays, adjacent VHF channels are never assigned in the same market.

In 1945 it issued another set of new regulations. It also completely reallocated the VHF band. FM was shifted from 42-50 MHz to 88-108 MHZ (between TV channels 6 and 7) and rendered all FM receivers obsolete. (FM would take many years to recover.) Thirteen TV channels were allocated: 1-13. The present channels are used today. (Channel 1 covered what had been the FM band.)

At the time there were three classes of stations: Metropolitan, Community and Rural. Metropolitan stations were allowed full power, but could only cover a single, major city. Rural stations were allowed more power. Community stations were similar to what we would now call low-power or "Class A stations". In fact, those stations prefer to be called Community Stations to avoid the stigma of "low-power." Channels 1, 12 & 13 were used for them.

For the first time, the FCC published a Table of Channel Assignments in which it assigned channels to specific cities. NYC, Chicago and LA were each assigned 7 channels, but some were for Community stations. NYC wanted all 7 to be full power. In addition, land mobile users (like everyone else) were asking for more spectrum.

In 1948, the FCC reallocated TV Channel 1 to land-mobile use. It also quietly reduced the separation required between stations, and proposed a new Table of Channel Assignments in which more cities received more channels. That posed big problems re: interference.

CBS had been pushing for color since 1940. It suggested that higher bandwidth channels would be necessary, and the only place to go was to UHF. Higher definition, would also require larger channels in UHF.

So...the Commission froze all license applications in September of 1948. the freeze was supposed to last only 6-9 months, but dragged on until 1952 as color, UHf and the reservation of channels for noncommercial, educational use were considered. (The later had taken place in Apex and FM radio, but not in TV.)

UHF channels 14-83 were allocated in the Sixth Report and General Order in April of 1952.

In the late 1950s, channels 70-83 were allocated for TV translators. In 1970, they were reallocated for land-mobile use -- although it took many years for the technology to be developed (cell phones and pagers) to use them.

See some excerpts from a forthcoming book of mine at: http://www.milwaukee-horror-hosts.com/DTV_Transition.html

It's is absolutely correct that the FCC loosened its policy re: dropping in AM stations after WWII. That led to a proliferation of new stations -- many of them daytimers. that's another story...