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Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

Markxxx

Markxxx

I read on the Wikipedia that WWPX Channel 60 in Martinsburg (Washington DC Market) signed on as FOX and had the intention to be the CBS station for the NW part of that market. I guess it would have coverd the general area of WHAG the NBC station serving part of the DC market. Of course this never happened and it is a "I" network station now.

Was wondering if there were any other stations that signed on and hoped to be a network affiliate but failed to get a network to affiliate with.

I reckon it would have to be a very small market without all three (or four if you want to include FOX) networks.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

WRBV, Channel 65 in Vineland, NJ, signed on with a commitment to be an ABC Affiliate for the South Jersey Shore (to compliment the NBC affiliate that is now WMGM-TV 40). However, under pressure from Capital Cities (which then owned WPVI-TV in Philadelphia) the affiliation was pulled before final signon. They ended up "affiliating" with Wometco for the WHT pay service and went bankrupt within a year.

They're now, after several permutations and ownership changes, a Univision O&O as WUVP.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

The Manchester, NH market is a bit odd...its channel 9 operation, WMUR-TV has been an ABC affilite from day one (the mid-1950's)...a few UHF operations came along and started out as indies, until then WNHT-TV channel 21 subsequently picked up CBS programming while airing a local newscasdt. When they ran out of money, the droipped the newscast and the CBS affiliation. Manchester, NH is farther from Boston than Providence, RI, but the latter has the three heritage networks on it three VHF outlets, so it would seem that UHF's on channels 21, 50 and 60 in central NH might have been affiliates, but they came along too late to do so.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

Laurence Glavin said:
WNHT-TV channel 21 subsequently picked up CBS programming while airing a local newscasdt. When they ran out of money, the droipped the newscast and the CBS affiliation.
Click to expand...

It's worse than that -- they left the air for good. On their final day of broadcast (3/31/1989), the newscasts were replaced with reruns of "Three's Company", and, most of the day, there was a ticker announcing the closure of the station that day at midnight, which happened -- in the middle of "The Pat Sajak Show".

WNHT had no choice but to close, as neither LMAs nor Syndex existed back then, and they hemorrhaged so much red ink, they couldn't even revert back to indy (where they were more profitable).

Channel 21 didn't return to the air again until 1995, when it signed on as a satellite of Boston's WABU ch.68. Today it is WPXG, a satellite of WBPX ch.68.

More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNHT_(TV)
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

Mark said:
I read on the Wikipedia that WWPX Channel 60 in Martinsburg (Washington DC Market) signed on as FOX and had the intention to be the CBS station for the NW part of that market. I guess it would have coverd the general area of WHAG the NBC station serving part of the DC market. Of course this never happened and it is a "I" network station now.

Was wondering if there were any other stations that signed on and hoped to be a network affiliate but failed to get a network to affiliate with.
Click to expand...

and history may be repeating itself in 2007
only 20 miles south of Martinsburg,WV you have Winchester,VA and this....

www.tv3winchester.com

I give them 6 months.
 
Re: Independent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

When it first signed on in the mid '80's WDBB-17 was an independent station serving Tuscaloosa, AL. Within a year or so after its debut, it began broadcasting from a tower halfway between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. In 1986, it became a charter affiliate of the fledgling Fox network, serving both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa; it also launched WNAL-44 in Gadsden to serve as a similcast repeater that covered the eastern end of the Birmingham metropolitan area and eastern Alabama. Because cable coverage in Birmingham wasn't then what it is now, 17/44 had a difficult time attracting viewers in there. By 1990, WDBB/WNAL threw in the towel and became repeaters of Birmingham's WTTO-21, which became the Fox affiliate for Birmingham and maintained that affiliation until 1996's "Big Switch" in north-central Alabama.

Today, WDBB remains a full time repeater of WTTO; both stations are now CW affiliates. WNAL is now WPXH, the "I" Network affiliate for Birmingham.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

KUSI-TV 51 in San Diego was independent. They tried UPN for a couple of years and then went back to independent. XHUPN-TV signed on from Mexico .... and now it's XHDTV and running the hideious myTV.

KUSI is more successful as an independent.
 
Re: Independent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

mleach said:
only 20 miles south of Martinsburg,WV you have Winchester,VA and this....

www.tv3winchester.com

I give them 6 months.
Click to expand...

Though the difference between this and channel 60 is that TV 3 Winchester is owned and operated by Harrisonburg's ABC affiliate, WHSV-TV channel 3. TV 3 Winchester will practically be a special version of WHSV for Winchester, but with local ads and news.

Charles1 said:
Today, WDBB remains a full time repeater of WTTO; both stations are now CW affiliates. WNAL is now WPXH, the "I" Network affiliate for Birmingham.
Click to expand...

...but not before trying its hand as a CBS affiliate, after Anniston's CBS station, WJSU, flipped to ABC as part of a two-station ABC affiliate for Central Alabama (along with Tuscaloosa's WCFT). WNAL affiliated with CBS to keep CBS service available in the Gadsden / Anniston area, since Birmingham's WBMA (now WIAT) was not strong enough to reach those cities.

Nevertheless, WNAL's plan faltered, and within two years, the station would be sold to Paxson, who would flip the station to Pax when that network began in 1998.
 
Re: Independent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

azumanga said:
mleach said:
only 20 miles south of Martinsburg,WV you have Winchester,VA and this....

www.tv3winchester.com

I give them 6 months.
Click to expand...

Though the difference between this and channel 60 is that TV 3 Winchester is owned and operated by Harrisonburg's ABC affiliate, WHSV-TV channel 3. TV 3 Winchester will practically be a special version of WHSV for Winchester, but with local ads and news.

Click to expand...

you are half right. actually TV3 Winchester is a partnership between WHSV and Winchester's Shenandoah University. This facility is actually on the grounds at the college.

While TV 3 has the money which channel 60 didn't have ( from day one of WYVN 60 many of their staff predicted channel 60 would NOT last ), TV 3 does have a problem. WJLA !! Wichester/Frederick County ( Virginia ) is in the Washington DMA ( Harrisonburg is not ) and from what I understand WJLA is NOT happy about this. Nor is ABC for that matter. I have noticed on their website that the ABC logo is there and maybe that issue has been resolved, but what about the syndicated programming WHSV airs? Then there is another problem. This TV 3 will NOT be available on dish nor in Hampshire County, WV ( the Winchester metro area includes this ). Since many people in both areas use either Dish Network or Direct TV well Both big minuses.

Another problem is WZRV-FM 95.3 A few years back the university made some deal making that station the "exclusive" home of Shenanadoah University. If this clause means advertising as well, well TV 3 has a problem with promoting their product.

Time will tell if this is a success or not.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

In Fayetteville, NC during the mid-'90s, local station WFAY-62 (now i repeater WFPX) tried to establish itself as a FOX-affiliated station, even though then-FOX WLFL 22 in Raleigh could reach Fayetteville. As it affiliated with FOX, the station was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and could not afford any strong syndicated programming. It all came to an end when the station was sold to Paxson in 1998.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

Don't forget my favorite station, WAIM-TV channel 40 in Anderson,SC. WAIM came on in 1953 with ABC and CBS programming, but soon faced stiff competition from WSPA (CBS) and WLOS (ABC). Still, 40 didn't give up and struggled on into the early 80s. They left the air for a short time, then came back as WAXA-TV with a more powerful signal and independent programing. They were the second indie in Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville, after WHNS/21. WAXA/40 got the FOX affiliation, but after a few years, FOX went to WHNS, with its superior signal and programing. WAXA threw in the towel as an indie and simucasted WLOS/13 for a while. A third indie, WFBC-TV/62 (who had stolen the famous calls from channel 4 after 4 changed to WYFF), got both the WB and UPN affiliations. SINclair's WLOS eventually got full ownership of WAXA and the WB affiliation and changed 40 to WBSC-TV (62 kept UPN and became WASV, owned and operated by WSPA/Media General).
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

fortmill said:
Don't forget my favorite station, WAIM-TV channel 40 in Anderson,SC. WAIM came on in 1953 with ABC and CBS programming, but soon faced stiff competition from WSPA (CBS) and WLOS (ABC). Still, 40 didn't give up and struggled on into the early 80s.
Click to expand...

What's even more interesting is that, during much of the 1970s, its non-network programming consisted of religious shows and travelogues, and it closed down after network prime-time ended at 11PM. And when they became an ABC affil, they also had a later sign-on, at 11:30AM.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

Does this count? Briefly for a couple years in the 1950s WHCT Channel 18 in Hartford, CT was a CBS O&O. When VHF Channel 3 got alloted to Hartford and then signed on CBS dropped WHCT like a bad habbit and Channel 3 has been the CBS station in Hartford since 1957 or 1958. WHCT struggled as an independent station (including a stint as PAY-TV. The also went dark several times) until 1991 when they went dark for what most people thought was for good. They returned to the air in 1997 under a bankruptcy court lawyer and ran the Worship Network, and then later affiliated with Shop-At-Home. They were trying to get the PAX affiliation, but they didn't. In 2000 they signed a 5 year affiliation contract with ValueVision (now ShopNBC). In 2001 Entravision bought the station and it became Univision affiliated WUVN. Now the station is very much succesful. It's Part of Univision New England - WUNI/27 Worcester/Boston, WUVN/18 Hartford, and WHTX-LP/43 Springfield.

Again does this count? WATR Channel 53 was an NBC station in Waterbury, CT It struggled for years and went Indpendent in 1982. (In 68 it moved to 20) It struggled for quite a while. They tried to get the FOX affilaition in 1986, but lost out to the much more powerful Channel 61, a 5 Million Watt Indepent Station that signed on in 1984. Somehow 61 and 20 ended up under common ownership, which was against FCC rules at the time. It was sold to some phoney outfit and LMA'd back to 61 and ran mostly HSN. In 1995 they were LMA'd to Viacom's WVIT/NBC 30 and became UPN 20. After Viacom sold Channel 20 it was LMA'd to Tribune's WTIC/61. And in 2001 they became WB 20. Today it's CW 20.

There was WICC-TV/43 in Bridgeport, CT. They signed on in the 1950s. They ran some network stuff from ABC, I believe. Since they were UHF in an area that could pick up VHF network stations from NYC, they weren't successful. They went dark in 1957 and burned down in 1961. They spent most of the 60s and 70s dark. They came back in the 1980s and tried to be an Indpendent station in Bridgeport and didn't have any success. They left the air for several years again. And by the mid-1990s they were WHAI-TV and affiliated with the ValueVision Shopping Network. PAX bought the station to be their NYC affiliate, but then they bought Channel 31 in NYC itself, so the station ran PAX's infomercial network instead. Somehow the station ended up being owned by Summit America Television and began running the Shop-At-Home network. There was a failed sale to some Spanish Language Shopping Network and another failed sale to Pappas Television for the NYC Azteca America affiliate. EW Scripps bought Shop-At-Home Network and took over Summit America in 2004. In June 2006 EW Scripps shut down Shop-At-Home and sold it to JTV. WSAH/43 along with the other 4 Shop@Home O&O's were put up for sale by EW Scipps. A sale to Arthur Liu's Multi Cultural Broadcasting is expected to close in June of 2007.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

As for channel 18 in Hartford, you forgot to mention it being owned by Doctor Gene Scott's group and him being on 23 1/2 hours a day at one point. :)
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

MarcB said:
Does this count? Briefly for a couple years in the 1950s WHCT Channel 18 in Hartford, CT was a CBS O&O. When VHF Channel 3 got alloted to Hartford and then signed on CBS dropped WHCT like a bad habbit and Channel 3 has been the CBS station in Hartford since 1957 or 1958.
Click to expand...

...similar situation happened in Milwaukee with WOKY-TV/19. They were pretty much an independent during their last weeks on the air in 1954-55; WTVW/12 (now WISN-TV) took the ABC affiliation away from 19 upon the sign-on in 1954, leaving a handful of shows on the crumbling DuMont network for 19. Then CBS bought the license to 19 and the physical plant to the original CBS affiliate there, WCAN/25, and merged the two operations into WXIX/19. Then, after a while, the FCC reallocated the UHF channels for Milwaukee, sending 19 to Channel 18. After a while, Channel 6 was allocated to Milwaukee, too, and although independent initially, WITI/6 picked up CBS affiliation in 1959, CBS dumped WXIX/18 and the new owners took 18 dark for over three month, bringing it back to the air as an independent in July 1959...18 is now WVTV, the CW affiliate; the station had hooked up with The WB a few years earlier, but before that had been an independent for 35 years...
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

Wasn't Channel 33 in LaGrange Georgia a CBS station, before going Independent?  I used to get a copy of the Valley/Lanett newspaper, when I would visit that area and check out their TV listings.  At one time, that newspaper had this station listed as CBS.  Last time I checked, this station was an Independent.

I also remember the following:

WCOV in Montgomery was an UHF CBS station, before switching to Independent and then Fox.  This station carried CBS programming, from their start till 1985 and/or 86.  When WSLA (Now WAKA) increased their power and started serving Montgomery, CBS was dropped from WCOV and they went Independent, until Fox got started.  This station has sinced increased its power and covers a bigger area, than they once did.

WAKA (Formely WSLA) was a small TV station, up till 1985 and/or 86.  They served all of Dallas County Alabama and didn't do too well.  At times, they would be forced off the air, due to low ratings, a fire at their studios and money problems. (During their early years) Since expanding their coverage area, they're having big time success. 

They started off with ABC but switched over to CBS, just before I was born in 1971.

Even took a tour of their old facility, when I was in the boy scouts.  The building looked real nice, when I took that tour back in 1983.  However, their newsroom was very small and didn't have too much in it.  Even the weather guy (Ralph Williams) was still using the white marker, to give out the weather conditions and had to draw everything on a board. 

When WSLA (Now WAKA) expanded their coverage area, they updated everything and then slowly made their move to Montgomery, as the 80s came to a close.

Now that WAKA has moved to Montgomery, their old studios on Landline Road, in Selma (Alabama Highway 219 South) is falling down and caving in.  The old tower, they once broadcasted from, has now been torn down.  They're still trying to sell that land, to anyone that wants it.  However, I don't see anyone purchasing that land, anytime soon.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. Taking a tour of a TV station, was fascinating indeed.  I enjoyed seeing the facilities and eveything that is involved in operating a TV station.
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

In the '50s there was another station in Fayetteville, NC:
WFLB/18, which tried to make it with NBC and CBS programming,
but--like so many UHFs in those days--went dark. Channel 18
next turned up as WCCB in Charlotte, which started out on 36
(moving to 18 in '66) and carrying ABC, CBS, and NBC programs
before getting ABC more-or-less by default in '67. When ABC
switched to WSOC/9 in '78, WCCB became independent, becoming
a Fox affiliate in 1986.

Channel 27 in Roanoke, VA was an ABC affiliate for a time in the
'70s (though not duplicating Channel 13), went off, and came back
as a satellite of WJPR/21 in Lynchburg; both carry Fox.

Channel 48 in Greensboro, NC has gone from independent to a
satellite of ABC affiliate WXLV/45, to UPN, to MyNetwork.

There was another Channel 36 in Charlotte in the '50s, WAYS,
which carried NBC and ABC. It, too, went dark, returning as
independent WCTU in 1967; Ted Turner bought it in 1971,
renamed it WRET, and got the NBC affiliation in 1978 (he sold
it to Westinghouse two years later, and now Belo owns it).

And the original WQXI, Channel 36 in Atlanta (WQXI was also
Channel 11's call letters before becoming WXIA), was (as I
understand it) supposed to have been a DuMont affiliate, but
DuMont was on its last legs by the time 36 came on. It was
independent for a time around 1955, went dark, came back
in 1969 as WATL, lasted two years, went dark again, came
back in 1976, and has been affiliated with Fox, the WB, and
MyNetwork.

Most notoriously, perhaps, WSUN/38 Tampa/St. Petersburg,
the Bay Area's original ABC affiliate until Channel 10 picked
off ABC in 1965. 38 tried to make it as an independent but
was outdistanced by WTOG/44, which had the resources of
Hubbard Broadcasting. That incarnation of 38 died in the
early '70s but has been revived as WTTA.

And don't forget XETV/6 Tijuana/San Diego, the ABC affiliate
until an FCC ruling in 1972 forbade the networks to have affiliates
located outside the U.S. XETV had been a pretty decent ABC
affiliate, became a good independent, and is now Fox (the current
FCC doesn't seem to have a problem with this).

Finally, wasn't KPTV/12 Portland, OR once an ABC affiliate?
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

...I'm surprised I didn't think of this until now -- WGN-TV/9 Chicago was affiliated with two networks during its first ten years on the air. From 1948 to 1953, WGN-TV split the CBS affiliation in Chicago with WBKB/4, losing it when CBS bought WBKB, changed its call letters to WBBM-TV and moved it to Channel 2. Throughout the same period, WGN-TV was also a DuMont affiliate, and that network's collapse by the summer of 1956 left WGN-TV as an independent for almost four decades, until Tribune and Warner Brothers cranked up The WB in 1995...
 
Re: Indepenedent TV Stations that "tried" to be network affiliates and failed

bpatrick said:
Finally, wasn't KPTV/12 Portland, OR once an ABC affiliate?
Click to expand...

KPTV was the first (and thus, for a while, only) TV station in Portland, so I think one can reasonably assume it was affiliated with one or more of the major networks at one time. I want to say it signed on as CBS but don't have any hard evidence.
 
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