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Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

J

Joey1986

Similar to gregg75's thread about independent stations that have always been indies, what are some stations that have been with the same network (be they O&Os or affiliates) from the day they signed on? Again, not counting LPTV's, Class A's, Translators, or Godcasters.

Here in L.A., the only one that comes to mind is ABC O&O KABC channel 7 (although it originally signed on as KECA, which stood for K Earle C. Anthony, a Los Angeles broadcasting pioneer).
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Sort of a subset of this thread from a few years back:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=101168.0

Of course, there are plenty of "never-changed" stations that didn't fit under that thread. Most of the ABC stations in my neck of the woods have been with the network from day one - WKBW Buffalo (1958), WOKR/WHAM-TV Rochester (1962), WBJA/WMGC/WIVT Binghamton - even as other stations in their markets have shifted. WBEN-TV/WIVB Buffalo has been with CBS since 1948, and WNBF-TV/WBNG Binghamton since 1949.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford has always been a primary NBC affiliate, since their 1953 sign on. They are presently and NBC O&O.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

It's not as uncommon as one might think, especially in smaller cities:

Phoenix/Mesa AZ

KTYL/KVAR/KTAR/KPNX 12 - signed on as NBC in 1953.
KTVW 33 - SIN/Univision 1979

Tucson AZ

KVOA 4 - NBC 1953
KDWI/KGUN 9 - ABC 1956
KOPO/KOLD 13 - CBS 1953

Yuma AZ/El Centro CA

KVYE 7 - Univision 1996
KAJB 54 - Telefutura 2000

Flagstaff AZ

KOAI/KNAZ 2 - NBC 1970

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre PA

WARM/WNEP 16 - ABC 1954 (Originally 2 affiliates of ABC: WARM 16 Scranton merged with WILK 34 Wilkes-Barre in 1956 to form WNEP. WILK had been an ABC affiliate since signing on in 1953.)
WGBI/WDAU/WYOU 22 - CBS 1953
WBRE - NBC 1953

Bismarck ND

KFYR 5 - NBC 1953
KBMB/KXMB 12 - CBS 1955
KBMY 17 - ABC 1985
KNDX 26 - Fox 1999

Dickinson ND

KDIX/KNDX/KXMA 2 - CBS 1956
KQCD 7 - NBC 1980

Minot ND

KMOT 10 - NBC 1958
KCJB/KXMC 13 - CBS 1953
KMCY 14 - ABC 1985
KXND 24 - Fox 1999

Williston ND

KUMV 8 - NBC 1957
KXMD 11 - CBS 1969

Fargo/Valley City ND

KXJB 4 - CBS 1954

Jamestown ND

KJRR 7 - Fox 1988

Glendive MT

KXGN 5 - CBS 1957
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

In North Carolina, the following stations have maintained their primary affiliations with the same network since sign-on:

WFMY, Greensboro (CBS-1949)
WBTV, Charlotte (CBS-1949)
WXII, Winston-Salem (NBC-1953)- originally WSJS
WNCT, Greenville (CBS-1953)
WECT, Wilmington (NBC-1954)-originally WMFD
WLOS, Asheville (ABC-1954)-second-longest tenured primary ABC affiliate south of Washington, DC
WITN, Washington (NBC-1955)
WCTI, New Bern (ABC-1963)-originally WNBE
WWAY, Wilmington (ABC-1964)
WFXI, Morehead City (FOX-1989)
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Let me add a few...

WBAP/KXAS 5 Fort Worth/Dallas (NBC since 1948)
KBTV/WFAA 8 Dallas/Fort Worth (ABC since 1949)
KNBH/KRCA/KNBC 4 Los Angeles (NBC since 1949)
KSD(K) 5 St. Louis (NBC since 1947; the first NBC affiliate west of the Mississippi)
KWK/KMOX/KMOV 4 St. Louis (CBS since 1954)
WCCO 4 Minneapolis/St. Paul (CBS since 1949)
WDSU 6 New Orleans (NBC since 1948)
WLBW/WPST/WPLG 10 Miami/Fort Lauderdale (ABC since 1957)

I'll leave some for others to add...
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Wausau/Rhinelander WI
WSAU/WSAW 7 - CBS (1954)
WAOW 9 - ABC (1965)
WAEO/WJFW 12 - NBC (1966)
WYOW 34 - ABC (1995)
WFXS 55 - Fox (1998)

Milwaukee WI
WTMJ 4 - NBC (1947)

Chicago IL
WNBQ/WMAQ 5 - NBC (1949)
WENR/WBKB/WLS 7 - ABC (1948)

South Bend IN
WNDU 46/16 - NBC (1955)
WSBT 34/22 - CBS (1952)

Terre Haute IN
WTWO 2 - NBC (1965)
WTHI 10 - CBS (1954)

Cedar Rapids/Waterloo IA
WMT/KGAN 2 - CBS (1953)
KWWL 7 - NBC (1953)
KCRI/KCRG 9 - ABC (1953)
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Little Rock/Pine Bluff (historic channel numbers used)

KTHV 11 (CBS) 1955 present
KARK 4 (NBC) 1954 present

Actually, KTHV was the third CBS affiliate for Little Rock/Pine Bluff. The first was the defunct KRTV (ch 17) in 1953-54, KATV (ch 7) then in Pine Bluff signed on as a CBS affiliate but did not do live network programming until it aquired KRTV's assets (and shut down the UHF station). ABC has always been with KATV in the LR market but it was a secondary affiliation to CBS until KTHV went on the air in 1955.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Fort Myers/Naples market:

WINK - CBS
WBBH - NBC
WEVU/WZVN - ABC
WFTX* - FOX

*Originally independent at launch; became FOX affiliate approx. one year later.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

WGAL Channel 8, Lancaster PA has been an NBC affiliate since its March 1949 sign-on. Like many early stations, WGAL ran programming from all four of the networks of the day, NBC and CBS programming cherry-picked and aired live, and ABC and Dumont programming on film. WGAL continued airing programs from all the networks until the fall of 1962, when it became an exclusively NBC affiliate. They chose NBC over CBS because of their investment in color equipment, and at the time NBC was the only network broadcasting anything in color. Even when they were airing all three nets, they were airing the Today and Tonight shows and NBC news, but they aired a lot of CBS prime time shows and prevented the other CBS affiliate (a UHF station) from getting them.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

All the Houston stations have been with their respective networks since day one.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

ShawnHill1 said:
Let me add a few...
WBAP/KXAS 5 Fort Worth/Dallas (NBC since 1948)
KBTV/WFAA 8 Dallas/Fort Worth (ABC since 1949)
Click to expand...
Actually, WFAA/KBTV was originally a Dumont Affiliate. It was Dumont until 1951. Then it switched to ABC/NBC Timeshare, before finally settling on ABC in 1957.
KXAS/WBAP was originally ABC, with shared NBC, just like WFAA-AM and WBAP-AM were shared, this lasted until 1957.

So ABC and NBC Switched Hourly from 5 to 8 and vise-versa, just like their AM sisters, for quite some time. (1951-1957)
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

In Maine:

Bangor's WVII has been on since 1965 with ABC (was WEMT until 1976)

The Big 3 affiliates in Portland have never changed: WGME (CBS, 1954) WCSH (1953), WMTW (ABC, 1954)

and WAGM in Presque Isle has always been a primary CBS affiliate (although they've cherry picked from everybody since they're the only station in the market) since their 1956 sign on.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

WTAP-TV, Parkersburg, WV had been an NBC affiliate ever since its 1953 sign-on, even though it was with all three networks(NBC, CBS, and ABC) in its early days.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

In Memphis WMC 5 has been with NBC since its beginning in 1948, although they also carried shows from CBS, ABC, and Dumont in its early years. WREG has been with CBS since its beginning in 1956.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

WNBK/KYW/WKYC Cleveland-NBC since 1948 despite several changes of ownership..
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

The NBC affiliates in the Kentucky edition of TV Guide:
WAVE, WLWT, and WLEX (even though WLEX carried
ABC and CBS shows in the '50s and '60s, and WAVE carried
some ABC shows before the arrival of WLKY, NBC has always
been their primary network); likewise WFIE Evansville, IN.

Roanoke/Lynchburg is the only market in Virginia which hasn't
played musical affiliations; WSLS (1952) started as an NBC primary;
WSET (1953) is ABC's oldest affiliate south of Washington (WLOS
is second); WDBJ (1955) has been with CBS from the beginning.

Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville has also been stable: WFBC/WYFF
(NBC since 1953), WSPA (CBS since 1956), WLOS (ABC primary, then
ABC solely, since 1954).

Columbia, SC, likewise: WIS (NBC since 1953), WNOK/WLTX (CBS since
1953), WOLO (ABC since 1961). Charleston: WCSC (CBS since 1953).
Florence: WBTW (CBS primary since 1954, although a few NBC shows
in the '50s and several ABC ones as late as the late '70s). WPDE has
been ABC since sign-on in 1981; WMBF, NBC since sign-on in 2008.

Bristol/Kingsport/Johnson City: WCYB (NBC), WJHL (CBS), WKPT (ABC),
although WCYB and WJHL both carried some ABC shows until WKPT signed
on in 1969.

Nashville: WSM/WSMV (NBC since 1950), WLAC/WTVF (CBS since 1954).
WSIX/WNGE/WKRN started with CBS in 1953 but switched to ABC because
of WLAC's association with CBS dating back to radio days.

Washington, DC: WRC (NBC o&o from its beginnings in the '40s); WTOP/
WDVM/WUSA (CBS since 1949). WMAL/WJLA carried mainly CBS in '48 and
switched to ABC in '49. WTTG is tricky; for most of its life it was independent
(Metromedia), but if you consider DuMont and Fox to be a straight-line connection,
it might count, technically.

Charleston/Huntington: WSAZ (NBC since 1949)

Orlando: WDBO/WCPX/WKMG (CBS primary, then CBS solely, since 1953);
WESH picked up NBC in either '56 or '57, I'm not sure which; WLOF/WFTV
(ABC since 1958). In Tampa, WFLA has been with NBC since 1955.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Scott Fybush said:
Sort of a subset of this thread from a few years back:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=101168.0

Of course, there are plenty of "never-changed" stations that didn't fit under that thread. Most of the ABC stations in my neck of the woods have been with the network from day one - WKBW Buffalo (1958), WOKR/WHAM-TV Rochester (1962), WBJA/WMGC/WIVT Binghamton - even as other stations in their markets have shifted. WBEN-TV/WIVB Buffalo has been with CBS since 1948, and WNBF-TV/WBNG Binghamton since 1949.
Click to expand...

What about WSYR-TV 9 (Syracuse).... they have been with ABC since they went on the air as WNYS in 1962? In fact I think all of the big 4 affiliates in Syracuse (WSTM, WTVH, WSYR-TV and WSYT) have not switched affiliations.

Scott what about WMUR-Manchester, NH? They have only been with ABC but I am not sure they were an ABC affiliate when the signed on or if that came later.
 
Re: Full-Power Stations That've Always Been With the Same Network (O&O or Affiliate)

Still in Central New York, WKTV has always been a primary NBC since 1949 (but did cherry pick in the old days) & WUTR has been ABC since sign on in 1970. WFXV has been FOX since day one (of FOX).
 
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