CITIES WHERE THE 1ST TV STATION WAS A UHF

[gregg75]

Thought I was on the National page but posted here by mistake........anyway

Sounds like this might be an interesting topic, as most large cities started on VHF.

In Columbus, Georgia (where I grew up). WDAK 28 signed on Oct. 6, 1953 as NBC primary
with ABC secondary. Why they got a UHF when surely some VHFs were still available is unclear.

This was the 5th station in Georgia and 2nd outside Atlanta. It was followed a month later
by WRBL 4 CBS/NBC.

In 1956 WDAK became WTVM.

In 1960 WTVM moved to channel 9 and became ABC/NBC. WRBL moved to channel 3 which was vacated by WTVY Dothan (they moved to channel 4). Channel 28 eventually became NET.

 

[fybush]

Portland, Oregon had KPTV 27 on the air before any of the Vs; in fact, KPTV was the first commercial U when it signed on in 1952, though it didn't last long once the Vs started signing on the next year.

I believe WMTV (then on 33, later on 15) and WKOW 27 were on the air in Madison, Wisconsin before WISC-TV on 3.

Hartford had UHF (WHCT 18) in 1953, long before it had VHF (WTIC-TV 3) in 1957, and long before Hartford was combined in a market with New Haven (which had VHF as far back as 1948).

 

[w9wi]

I believe WMTV (then on 33, later on 15) and WKOW 27 were on the air in Madison, Wisconsin before WISC-TV on 3.

Indeed, WISC-TV was the last station to sign on in Madison until WMSN-TV (47) showed up in the mid-1980s.

There were other markets where a VHF station may have been first, but one or more UHFs signed on before the next VHF(s). Milwaukee, for example. WTMJ-TV 4 was first, but WCAN-TV 25 and WOKY-TV 19 showed up before WISN-TV 12 and WITI-TV 6. (I will concede my timing may not be 100% accurate with regard to WISN. It is accurate, with regard to WITI.)

Oh, and Pittsburgh.

The reason for all of these was, usually, that there would be numerous applicants for each available VHF channel. There would usually be enough UHF channels available that each applicant could have their own. The comparative selection process was a LOT more complicated then than it was just before they switched to auctions a few years back -- it took a LONG time to select one applicant to get the permit, and the FCC was badly backed up.

The situation with WITI and WTAE Pittsburgh was a bit different. Their channels were not initially allotted to their cities; the city centers were just a tad (2-5 miles) too close to another station on the same channel. Applicants succeeded in getting the channels allotted to the suburbs of Whitefish Bay, Wis. and Irwin, Penna. -- just barely far enough from the other existing stations. This took some time -- and then, again, there were the numerous applicants to sort out.

So, sometimes an applicant would amend their application to specify a UHF channel, not VHF -- or would apply for UHF in the first place -- hoping that they could get on the air, induce viewers to buy UHF converters, and get established before any VHF competition could get on the air. They usually *could* get on the air first, but the other two parts usually didn't happen. I'm not 100% sure why it *did* work in Madison. Probably in part because the UHF stations got a 3-year head start, and didn't have any trouble landing network affiliations. (so they had decent programming) I might guess above-average household incomes and technical savvy may have contributed.

In a number of other cases, two or more VHF applicants agreed to merge, forming a single company to hold the license. (in a few cases, the FCC issued two licenses for the same channel, expecting the licensees to share time. In all of these cases, one licensee soon bought out the other one & eliminated the sharing)

 

[ixnay]

If markets with NO VHF's (pre-digital TV) count... how about Salisbury, MD with WBOC-16?

ixnay

 

[fybush]

I don't think the OP's intent was to list all the UHF-only markets in the pre-digital era, but, yes, by definition nearly all of those markets (Elmira, Scranton-Wilkes/Barre, Springfield MA, Huntsville, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Yakima, Tri-Cities WA, etc.) would count. The exceptions would be the three markets that were "de-intermixed" after starting out as mixed V/U markets: Peoria, Bakersfield and Fresno, where VHF allocations were removed and replaced with Us.

 

[dave73]

South Bend Indiana has always been a UHF only market, & according to wikipedia, WSBT-TV went on the air in 1952 on channel 34, then switched to 22 in 1958 where they're at today (only during the pre-transitional digital days, they were on 30).

Fort Wayne, Indiana was originally a UHF only market, but is now a VHF/UHF market in the digital era (WINM is the sole VHF in the market, licensed to Angola on channel 12). The first station in that market that signed on was WKJG-TV (now WISE-TV), & they signed on in 1953 on channel 33.

 

[trusty]

In Montgomery, Alabama, WCOV had a CP for channel 12, but RCA didn't have a transmitter ready. However, they did have some UHF transmitters, so, it its haste, WCOV went on the air as channel 20, and the channel 12 license was later granted to WSFA.

WCOV was the first station in Montgomery, but WSFA was the only V. Needless to say, WCOV struggled while WSFA prospered.

If they had only waited...............

 

[KML0224]

Scott is right about Connecticut, but on a technicality. The FCC combined Hartford and New Haven and made us one TV market in 1954. So if you just looked at Hartford County, you only had WHCT-TV channel 18 of Hartford and the new channel 30 licensed to New Britain, with them signing on in 1953. Channel 20 was/is licensed to Waterbury, which is in New Haven County.

On a side note, I wonder if the then-Hartford market included Litchfield, Tolland, Windham, New London and Middlesex Counties like it does today?

 

[radiorob2.0]

Evansville, Indiana is an example. WEHT, at the time licensed to Henderson, and WFIE singed on as UHF's before the first VHF, WTVW, signed on the air.

 

[crainbebo]

Yakima, WA. The first station was KIMA 29 in 1953, America's 200th licensed TV station. Now there's KIMA, KNDO 23, KAPP 35, KYVE 47, KCYU-LP 41 and some religious/SS LPers in town.

-crainbebo

 

[bpatrick]

Tampa/St. Petersburg: WSUN/38 signed on in 1953; WFLA/8
and WTVT/13 did not sign on until 1955. The Bay Area was
to have been all-UHF, but the FCC opened up 3, 8, 10, and 13,
with 10's transmitter north of the others so as not to short-space
Miami's Channel 10. Channel 38 was the ABC affiliate from 1955
to 1965, when WLCY (now WTSP)/10 signed on.

Raleigh/Durham: WNAO/28 signed on in 1953 and was the CBS
affiliate for most of its time on the air. WTVD/11 signed on in
1954 and was originally the NBC affiliate; WUNC/4 signed on in
1955 and at the behest of the Crutchfield family was given to
the University of North Carolina for noncommercial use; WRAL/5
signed on in December 1956 after a long battle between Capital
Broadcasting and Durham Life, owners of WPTF radio. WRAL took
the NBC affiliation and WTVD got ABC. When WNAO signed off,
WTVD became CBS primary, ABC secondary (then NBC secondary
after WRAL switched to ABC in 1962). I won't go into the complications
created when Channel 28 returned in 1968 except to say that the FCC
forced WTVD to take one network (they took CBS and stayed there until
the CapCities/ABC merger in 1985 made them an ABC o&o).

The first station in South Carolina was a UHF, WCOS (now WOLO)/25
Columbia, which signed on in 1953. It didn't make it, signed off, and
returned in the early '60s. WNOK/67 (now WLTX/19) also, if I'm not
mistaken, predates WIS/10.

 

[w9wi]

Scott is right about Connecticut, but on a technicality. The FCC combined Hartford and New Haven and made us one TV market in 1954. So if you just looked at Hartford County, you only had WHCT-TV channel 18 of Hartford and the new channel 30 licensed to New Britain, with them signing on in 1953. Channel 20 was/is licensed to Waterbury, which is in New Haven County.

FWIW, for the most part the FCC is not involved in drawing TV market boundaries. That's done by the ratings services, these days Nielsen.

(they do occasionally specify that for FCC purposes, a station not in a market according to Nielsen is in the market according to the FCC. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen in 1954.)

 

[Bluenoser]

Yakima, WA. The first station was KIMA 29 in 1953, America's 200th licensed TV station. Now there's KIMA, KNDO 23, KAPP 35, KYVE 47, KCYU-LP 41 and some religious/SS LPers in town.

-crainbebo

According to Wikipedia, Yakima's current line-up looks like this:

2.1 KUNW-CA (Univision)
23.1 KNDO (NBC)
23.3 SWX Right Now (regional channel based at sister KHQ Spokane, 23's sister in the Tri-Cities KNDU also runs this as well)
29.1 KIMA (CBS)
29.2 CW9 Yakima/Tri-Cities (CW)
35.1 KAPP (ABC)
35.2 KXMN-LP (Spokane My affiliate)
41.1 KYCU-LD (Fox, relays KFFX Tri-Cities)
41.2 This TV
47.1 KYVE (PBS, relays KCTS Seattle)
47.2 V-me
47.3 Create
47.5 PBS HD
73.1 K51JG-D (3ABN)
73.2 3ABN Latino
73.3 3ABN Radio
73.4 Radio 74

 

[fybush]

Aaaaaaanddd....just like that we've gone totally off-topic to "all-UHF markets." As noted a few posts back, Yakima fits that bill; indeed, even the virtual "2.1" Univision affiliate operates on a UHF RF channel. But that wasn't what the original point of the thread was. By definition, the first station in any of the original all-UHF analog markets (Elmira, Springfield, Salisbury, Scranton, Youngstown, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Yakima, Tri-Cities, etc.) was UHF.

 

[azumanga]

Portland, Oregon had KPTV 27 on the air before any of the Vs; in fact, KPTV was the first commercial U when it signed on in 1952, though it didn't last long once the Vs started signing on the next year.

The KPTV in 1952 is the same as the one it exists today -- in 1957, the new owners of KPTV bought KLOR channel 12, and transferred KPTV's license and programming to channel 12, ending KPTV's historic life as a UHF station after 5 years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPTV

 

[fybush]

Portland, Oregon had KPTV 27 on the air before any of the Vs; in fact, KPTV was the first commercial U when it signed on in 1952, though it didn't last long once the Vs started signing on the next year.

The KPTV in 1952 is the same as the one it exists today -- in 1957, the new owners of KPTV bought KLOR channel 12, and transferred KPTV's license and programming to channel 12, ending KPTV's historic life as a UHF station after 5 years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPTV

Look at the FCC filings from the time, and it was a little more complicated than that: the owners of the channel 27 license bought the channel 12 license from KLOR, changing the callsign on the existing channel 12 license to KPTV and returning the channel 27 license to the FCC.

Semantics, perhaps...but that's the way the lawyers and regulators arranged things behind the scenes at the time.

 

[w9wi]

Semantics, perhaps...but that's the way the lawyers and regulators arranged things behind the scenes at the time.

(arguably, because at the time if they'd applied to modify the KPTV-27 license to specify channel 12, they'd have opened the channel up to competing applications for new stations on channel 12.)

 

[oburn]

wkab tv mobile alabama uhf sign on dec 29 1952 wala tv vhf sign on jan 14 1953 it could not compete knowing wala was going to 316000 watts jan 2 1955 and expensive network cable

 

[fybush]

Semantics, perhaps...but that's the way the lawyers and regulators arranged things behind the scenes at the time.

(arguably, because at the time if they'd applied to modify the KPTV-27 license to specify channel 12, they'd have opened the channel up to competing applications for new stations on channel 12.)

And this assumes that the FCC would even have entertained an application to modify the KPTV license from 27 to 12. I'm not certain that would even have been an acceptable application.

 

[w9wi]

And this assumes that the FCC would even have entertained an application to modify the KPTV license from 27 to 12. I'm not certain that would even have been an acceptable application.

Good point, at that time it wouldn't have been. Not that a number of UHF stations didn't try.

ISTR it did become acceptable (but dangerous) practice a decade or so later, didn't it?