Pre 6/12: All-UHF or all-VHF markets

[bpatrick]

Shows you can't trust wikipedia, which is where I got
that information about Ch. 57's prehistory. Thanks for
that info.

 

[Ultimajock]

...I suspect an argument can be put forward for Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to qualify here, as it has acutally always been just outside three different markets (Milwaukee, Green Bay and Madison), and has only had two UHFs in its history, the defunct KFIZ-TV/34 (1968-1972) and the now-silent WWMF/WWAZ/68 (2000-2008)...

 

[Hal Erickson]

South Bend-Elkhart and Fort Wayne Indiana have always been all-UHF markets.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Memphis was all VHF (3,5,10,13) until 1978 when WPTY 24 came on.

 

[mjlarochelle]

In the all-UHF markets in the 1950s, for those who had UHF television tuners, what was the quality of the signal?

Canada only had VHF stations until 1970, when CICA in Toronto signed on. Some regions are still VHF-only to this day, including most of Saskatchewan and parts of the Maritime provinces, simply because there are so few stations and they are too far away from the U.S. border to get UHF stations from there. Winnipeg was VHF-only until CIIT/35 signed on several years ago.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

South Bend-Elkhart and Fort Wayne Indiana have always been all-UHF markets.

So has Youngstown, as far as I know. It's never had any VHF station of any sort, be it analog, digital or LPTV. The lowest channel number it has had was 17, which was the PA side analog LPTVer carrying "Fox Youngstown" - the other half was 62, which is still on for now - though almost everyone gets "Fox Youngstown" now either via cable, satellite or WKBN-DT 27.2 (in HD, even!).

Of course, as noted, many in the market can get Cleveland and Pittsburgh VHF stations, including two that are STILL on VHF in the digital age (Fox affiliate WJW/8 and CBS affiliate WOIO/19-RF 10, though many people HERE can't get them ).

Youngstown's early TV history includes a Channel 73...the original home of what is now NBC affiliate WFMJ/21 (RF 20, if you care ).

 

[Mr. Mike]

These all-UHF markets make me wonder - What did locals watch when they had TV in the 1950s and early 60s when many sets didn't have UHF, or if they had UHF the signal quality was poor?

They listened to the radio and watched the toaster. ;D

Lexington, KY used high gain antennas to receive Louisville and Cincinnati. They were still very popular until cable arrived in the early 80's. Despite having all three network affiliates there was a boom of high gain antennas in the late 70's.

Evansville, IN started as a UHF market. But then Channel 9 was dropped in and despite an attempt to bring it to reality the FCC decided to change the allocation to non-commercial. Channel 9 finally signed one in the early 70's. Channel 7 was a non-commercial allocation for Louisville when it was moved to Evansville and signed on in the late 50's as a commercial allocation. The FCC had requested the owners of Channel 7 to move to Channel 31 so it would be an all UHF market but the owners fought the change and won.

Why do you suppose that Channel 9, and then Channel 7, were assigned to the Evansville region? Wasn't it said that the circumstances were a little murky?

 

[radiorob2.0]

These all-UHF markets make me wonder - What did locals watch when they had TV in the 1950s and early 60s when many sets didn't have UHF, or if they had UHF the signal quality was poor?

They listened to the radio and watched the toaster. ;D

Lexington, KY used high gain antennas to receive Louisville and Cincinnati. They were still very popular until cable arrived in the early 80's. Despite having all three network affiliates there was a boom of high gain antennas in the late 70's.

Evansville, IN started as a UHF market. But then Channel 9 was dropped in and despite an attempt to bring it to reality the FCC decided to change the allocation to non-commercial. Channel 9 finally signed one in the early 70's. Channel 7 was a non-commercial allocation for Louisville when it was moved to Evansville and signed on in the late 50's as a commercial allocation. The FCC had requested the owners of Channel 7 to move to Channel 31 so it would be an all UHF market but the owners fought the change and won.

Why do you suppose that Channel 9, and then Channel 7, were assigned to the Evansville region? Wasn't it said that the circumstances were a little murky?

Possibly.

The Channel 7 move from Louisville and reallocation to commercial was courtesy of then Indiana Senator Homer Capehart. It has been said he encouraged the move.

The Channel 9 allocation started out innocently. It was a drop in with a transmitter location in Hatfield, Indiana. The Steele family, owner of WVJS AM/FM Owensboro, Kentucky won for the the Channel 14 allocation (later utilized by WFIE). When Channel 9 became available the Steele family focused on obtaining Channel 9 since it had a better chance of success. The FCC then decided that Channel 9 would be a non-commercial allocation. The Steele family fought the FCC for years but gave up and moved on to cable television. Channel 9 finally signed on the air over twenty years later as WNIN.

Did the sudden change of Channel 9 to non-commercial have anything to do with Channel 7? I don't know. But you have to wonder?

 

[Mr. Mike]

These all-UHF markets make me wonder - What did locals watch when they had TV in the 1950s and early 60s when many sets didn't have UHF, or if they had UHF the signal quality was poor?

They listened to the radio and watched the toaster. ;D

Lexington, KY used high gain antennas to receive Louisville and Cincinnati. They were still very popular until cable arrived in the early 80's. Despite having all three network affiliates there was a boom of high gain antennas in the late 70's.

Evansville, IN started as a UHF market. But then Channel 9 was dropped in and despite an attempt to bring it to reality the FCC decided to change the allocation to non-commercial. Channel 9 finally signed one in the early 70's. Channel 7 was a non-commercial allocation for Louisville when it was moved to Evansville and signed on in the late 50's as a commercial allocation. The FCC had requested the owners of Channel 7 to move to Channel 31 so it would be an all UHF market but the owners fought the change and won.

Why do you suppose that Channel 9, and then Channel 7, were assigned to the Evansville region? Wasn't it said that the circumstances were a little murky?

Possibly.

The Channel 7 move from Louisville and reallocation to commercial was courtesy of then Indiana Senator Homer Capehart. It has been said he encouraged the move.

The Channel 9 allocation started out innocently. It was a drop in with a transmitter location in Hatfield, Indiana. The Steele family, owner of WVJS AM/FM Owensboro, Kentucky won for the the Channel 14 allocation (later utilized by WFIE). When Channel 9 became available the Steele family focused on obtaining Channel 9 since it had a better chance of success. The FCC then decided that Channel 9 would be a non-commercial allocation. The Steele family fought the FCC for years but gave up and moved on to cable television. Channel 9 finally signed on the air over twenty years later as WNIN.

Did the sudden change of Channel 9 to non-commercial have anything to do with Channel 7? I don't know. But you have to wonder?

I would say that what happened in Evansville and Louisville might be an example of how politics played a role in the granting of TV station licenses back in the day.

 

[KeithE4]

While someone mentioned that Chicago had a UHF station in the late 50's, Chicago for the most part was an all VHF market until WCIU signed on in 1964. 2, 5, 7, 9, & 11 were allocated to Chicago, with 11 being allocated for non-commercial use.

AFAIK, there were no UHF stations on the air in Chicago prior to WCIU-TV 26 signing on in 1964, unless you're talking about the Phonevision tests on Zenith's KS2XBS on Channel 38 in 1958 or thereabouts. But that was an experimental license, not broadcast.

 

[rgseark2009]

Little Rock started out UHF Easter Sunday 1953 with KRTV ch 17 but (after it was purchased by Pine Bluff's KATV)went silent on in late March 1954. No UHF's operated in Little Rock from then until KLRT ch 16 went on the air in late June of 1983 as an indie.

The closest FP UHF stations to Southeast AR were WPTY Indie Memphis (1978), WXVT CBS Greenville MS (1981), KLAA NBC West Monroe LA (1974). I can recall picking up all three at various times on a loop antenna during tropo ducting on a small B&W TV I had in HS prior to KLRT going on the air from Little Rock.

 

[RyanHoward]

Little Rock started out UHF Easter Sunday 1953 with KRTV ch 17 but (after it was purchased by Pine Bluff's KATV)went silent on in late March 1954. No UHF's operated in Little Rock from then until KLRT ch 16 went on the air in late June of 1983 as an indie.

The closest FP UHF stations to Southeast AR were WPTY Indie Memphis (1978), WXVT CBS Greenville MS (1981), KLAA NBC West Monroe LA (1974). I can recall picking up all three at various times on a loop antenna during tropo ducting on a small B&W TV I had in HS prior to KLRT going on the air from Little Rock.

WPTY is now the ABC affil for Memphis(after Fox took over WHBQ/13).
KLAA is now KARD and is the Fox affil for Monroe/El Dorado.
WXVT is still CBS for the Delta area today.

 

[dave73]

It turns out that Fort Wayne Indiana is no longer an all UHF market. WINM was on 63 from the time they signed on until sometime between February 17, 2009 (original post-transitional digital date) to June 12th 2009. Their pre-transitional digital channel channel was 12, & they stayed on 12 for post-transitional digital. The station is licensed to Angola, IN, but is part of the Fort Wayne market. With that station's COL being several miles north of Fort Wayne, they only cover the northern portion of the market along with covering Fort Wayne. For most people, unless someone wants to watch a religious station, then people aren't gonna get a VHF antenna to watch WINM, & just continue to use a UHF only antenna for the rest of the stations in the market. South Bend, IN however continues to be a UHF only market to this day (unless you want to count WYGN-LP on RF 10)

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

It looks like TCT's WINM has a nice little LD repeater right in Ft. Wayne on RF 38.

Not that anyone watches it, at any rate...

Toledo is not an all-UHF market, obviously, with WTOL/11 (CBS) and WTVG/13 (ABC), but they also have a VHF RF channel religious rimshot. WLMB/40 is actually licensed to Toledo, but for some odd reason kept its RF 5 digital side after the transition.

The transmitter is up in Michigan far from the heart of the market. One presumes on-channel WEWS/5 in Cleveland was the reason that happened, because analog 5 (WEWS is now RF 15) and WLMB's pre-transition digital 5 were operating at the same time...

 

[Bongwater]

Many markets were all VHF until well into the eighties, especially if you considered only the commercial stations. In the northwest, Portland, OR and Spokane, WA didn't get their first UHF stations until the early eighties. Seattle didn't get it's first UHF station until the mid-eighties, although a low powered UHF non-com in Tacoma did serve the southern half of the market. Boise, ID didn't get a full powered UHF station until this decade.

On the all-UHF side, the largest UHF-only market in the country for many years was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA. Other notable UHF-only markets included Fresno, CA, Bakersfield, CA, Yakima, WA (including semi-satellites in the also all-UHF Richland/Pasco/Kennewick market), Youngstown, OH, Fort Wayne, IN, and the aforementioned Peoria.

Actually KPTV Ch. 12 Portland, OR was originally on Ch. 27 UHF in 1949. They were actually the FIRST UHF TV station in the nation.....

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

 

[TexasTom]

Actually KPTV Ch. 12 Portland, OR was originally on Ch. 27 UHF in 1949. They were actually the FIRST UHF TV station in the nation.....

That was in 1952, not 1949 -- the FCC didn't authorize UHF TV service until 1962.

But you're correct about Portland, OR starting out as a UHF market -- although once KPTV went over to channel 12, it was an all-VHF market until KECH-TV signed onto channel 22 in the early eighties.