Retro: Louisville/Lexington/Cincinnati Sunday, September 8, 1968

[bpatrick]

From TV Guide, Kentucky Edition:

WAVE Ch. 3 Louisville (NBC)

7:30 Farming With Jack Crowner
8 AM Gospel Jubilee
8:55 Jot (animated show produced by the
Southern Baptist Convention)
9 AM The Story
9:30 This Is The Life
10 AM University Of Michigan
10:30 International Zone
11 AM Outer Limits
12 N Southern Baptist Hour
12:30 Sing Ye, Praise Ye
1 PM Meet The Press
1:30 Country Music
2 PM AFL Football: Patriots-Bills
4:30 TBA (time approximate)
5 PM World Series Of Golf (final round)
6:30 Pacing Derby (time approximate)
7 PM WAVE Report
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of
Color: "Sammy The Way-Out Seal"
(Part 2 of 2)
8:30 Mothers-In-Law
9 PM Bonanza
10 PM High Chaparral
11 PM News
11:30 Sunday Tonight Show

WLWT Ch. 5 Cincinnati (NBC)

7:25 Moment Of Meditation
7:30 Agriculture Today
8 AM WLW Safety Club
8:30 Frontiers Of Faith
9 AM Cadle Chapel
9:30 Church By The Road
10 AM International Zone
10:30 University Of Cincinnati Horizons
11 AM Movie: "Force Of Impulse"
12:30 Mr. Lucky
1 PM Meet The Press
1:30 Adventure Calls
2 PM Dugout Dope
2:15 Baseball: Dodgers-Reds
4:45 Scoreboard (time approximate)
5 PM World Series Of Golf (final round)
6:30 News
7 PM Frank McGee Report
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World
Of Color
8:30 Mothers-In-Law
9 PM Bonanza
10 PM High Chaparral
11 PM News
11:30 Sunday Tonight Show

WCPO Ch. 9 Cincinnati (CBS)

7 AM Farm Forum
7:30 Lamp Unto My Feet
8 AM Look Up And Live
8:30 Landmark Singers
9 AM Tom And Jerry
9:30 Underdog (moving to 11:30 AM Saturday
the following week; "Aquaman" moves here)
10 AM Cartoons A Go-Go
10:15 Film Short
10:30 Police Call
11 AM Call The Doctor
12 N Movie: "The Man From Del Rio"
1:30 Firing Line
2:30 Round Table
3 PM U.S. Open Tennis Championships (the first
time they were held, both men's and women's
finals are shown)
5 PM Tennessee Tuxedo (time approximate)
5:30 Amateur Hour
6 PM 21st Century
6:30 Impact
7 PM Lassie
7:30 Ed Sullivan (expands to 90 minutes for a repeat
of a salute to Irving Berlin on his 80th birthday)
9 PM TBA
10 PM Mission: Impossible
11 PM News
11:30 Movie: "The Virgin Queen"
1:20 Christophers
1:35 News

WHAS Ch. 11 Louisville (CBS)

8 AM Fisbie Funnies
9 AM Tom And Jerry
9:30 Underdog
10 AM Lamp Unto My Feet
10:30 Look Up And Live
11 AM Camera Three
11:30 Face The Nation
12 N Lure Of The Library
12:30 Challenge (religion)
1 PM Movie: "Kon-Tiki"
2 PM Bold Journey
2:30 Leave It To Beaver
3 PM U.S. Open Tennis
5 PM Tennessee Tuxedo (time approximate)
5:30 Amateur Hour
6 PM 21st Century
6:30 One Reach One
7 PM Lassie
7:30 Ed Sullivan
9 PM TBA
10 PM Mission: Impossible
11 PM News
11:15 CBS News (Harry Reasoner)
11:30 Movie: "Angel With A Trumpet"

WKRC Ch. 12 Cincinnati (ABC)

7:15 Living Word
7:30 Revival Fires
8 AM Rex Humbard
9 AM Bullwinkle (delay from 11 AM)
9:30 Milton The Monster (last show, the Beatles
take over the following week)
10 AM Skipper Ryle
12 N Movie: "Beast Of Babylon Against The Son
Of Hercules"
12:45 Film Short
1 PM Issues And Answers (one-hour interview
with Hubert Humphrey, Democratic candidate
for President)
2 PM Bugs Bunny (delay from 10:30 AM, will move to
CBS and join up with the Road Runner the following
Saturday)
2:30 Noel Singers
3 PM Maverick
4 PM ABC News Special: "For Every Soldier That Died At
Dieppe, 10 Were Saved On D-Day"
5 PM Movie: "No Trees In The Street"
6:50 News
7 PM Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
8 PM Around The World Of Mike Todd
9 PM ABC Movie: "Under The Yum Yum Tree"
11:15 News
11:45 Joe Pyne
12:45 ABC News (Keith McBee)

WFPK (WKPC) Ch. 15 Louisville (NET)
off air on Sunday

WLEX Ch. 18 Lexington (NBC)

7 AM This Is The Life
7:30 Leisure
8 AM Voice Of The Mountains
8:30 Revival Fires
9 AM Gospel Jubilee
10 AM Faith For Today
10:30 Immanuel Baptist Church
11:30 Forest Rangers
12 N New Shapes
12:30 Insight
1 PM Meet The Press
1:30 Farm Forum
2 PM Great Music (early infomercial)
2:15 Baseball: Dodgers-Reds
4:45 Film Short (time approximate)
5 PM World Series Of Golf (final round)
6:30 Campaign And The Candidates (time
approximate)
7 PM The Story
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of
Color
8:30 Mothers-In-Law
9 PM Bonanza
10 PM High Chaparral
11 PM News
11:30 Movie: "His Majesty O'Keefe"

WKYT Ch. 27 Lexington (CBS)

7 AM Christophers
7:30 America Sings
8 AM God Is The Answer
9 AM Tom And Jerry
9:30 Underdog
10 AM Movie: "Her 12 Men"
11:30 Face The Nation
12 N Bill Anderson
12:30 Christian Hour
1 PM Movies: "Onionhead" and "Top
Secret Affair"
5 PM Tennessee Tuxedo
5:30 Amateur Hour
6 PM 21st Century
6:30 News
7 PM Lassie
7:30 Ed Sullivan
9 PM TBA
10 PM Mission: Impossible
11 PM News
11:15 CBS News
11:30 Movie: "Westbound"

WLKY Ch. 32 Louisville (ABC)

9:25 Inspiration
9:30 Movie: "The House Across The
Street"
11 AM Church Service
12 N Insight
12:30 Pastor's Study
1 PM Issues And Answers
2 PM Movie: "The Virginian" (1946 version,
remake of the 1929 classic, and the
inspiration for the series)
4 PM Billy Graham Hemisfair Crusade (from
San Antonio)
5 PM Movie: "Sword Of The Conqueror"
7 PM Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
8 PM Around The World Of Mike Todd
9 PM ABC Movie: "Under The Yum Yum Tree"
11:15 News
11:30 ABC News
11:45 Inspiration

WBLG Ch. 62 (WTVQ Ch. 36) Lexington (ABC)

8:30 Church Service
9 AM Bible Answers
9:30 Milton The Monster
10 AM Linus The Lionhearted
10:30 Bugs Bunny ("King Kong" moves here
next Sunday)
11 AM Bullwinkle
11:30 Discovery '68
12 N Film Feature
12:30 College Football 1968
1 PM Issues And Answers
2 PM Movie: TBA
4 PM ABC News Special (see Ch. 12)
5 PM Movie: "Mighty Ursus"
7 PM Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
8 PM Around The World Of Mike Todd
9 PM ABC Movie: "Under The Yum Yum Tree"
11:15 ABC News
sign off 11:30 PM

 

[Mike Stroud]

bp, at this point, WBLG, now WTVQ, was about three months old. We see here that it had a pretty minimalist schedule on Sundays to start out with, with an hour of apparently local religion at the beginning of the broadcast day. Actually, 8:30 was rather early for a sign-on on Sundays given the station's newness; even established stations elsewhere often passed on turning on the transmitter until Noon or even later. We must remember that religious bodies had a great deal more clout on station management than today, and I suspect Roy White, owner of WBLG, made his peace with central Kentucky church leaders, getting their implicit blessing, and, in return, eschewing paid (and especially out-of-town) televangelist broadcasts for some years.

Other than that, stock film, movies, and ABC made up the rest of the sked. Was this mainly the case for the rest of the week for WBLG, or did some syndie shows pop up on weekdays? I suspect this station went into business too late to ever give serious consideration to a kiddie show, something WLEX and WKYT probably already had had for years and were trying to get rid of. I imagine it was an uphill battle for WBLG/WTVQ throughout the 1970s, given its ABC affiliation (which did not become an asset until the station was almost 10 years old) and its high channel number, the latter of which was fixed by new owners in 1980, moving from 62 to 36.

BTW, that channel allocation HAD to be a technical albatross hanging on the station's neck, with reception problems and ultra-high power bills galore. What was the FCC thinking when it assigned 62 to Lexington? Admittedly, the terrain of the Bluegrass is relatively flat when compared to eastern Kentucky, for example, but 62? What happened in many households was, after the novelty wore off in 1969 or so, that people, not willing to rotate the dial so much from the next closest UHF station, WKYT on 27, to 62, just simply ignored the station, creating a severe identity problem (because in the western part of the Bluegrass, one could tune to WLKY on 32, and in the northern part, WKRC on 12, on VHF). Before remote controls, viewers always took the path of least resistance.

If you think that sounds far-fetched, think of the large number of UHFs that traded in high frequencies for lower ones in the 1960s; WFIE and WEHT in Evansville, Ind., WNOK/WLTX in Columbia, S.C., and WICD in Champaign, Ill. are prime examples of upgrades that were done to resolve signal issues. In my home market, Huntsville-Decatur, channel 48, now WAFF, an NBC affil, was a distant third for years behind CBS outlet WHNT on 19 and ABC affil WAAY on 31, until cable evened the playing field. In fact, the 48 allocation was a move UP the dial from 23, mandated back in 1968 when Huntsville got a translator of Alabama ETV on 25 in 1965; the Feds wouldn't allow what was then WMSL-TV to move studios from Decatur to Huntsville without moving its frequency. (Incidentally, Lexington and Huntsville-Decatur were, until the DTV transition very recently, the only two all-UHF markets in the South.)

Do any Kentuckians remember much about the early WBLG/WTVQ? Did anybody much watch it when it was on 62?

 

[bpatrick]

WBLG/WTVQ did carry "Romper Room" in 1968, as well
as Ed Allen's syndicated exercise show, Merv Griffin, "Perry
Mason," and was the only one of the three ABC affiliates in
the Kentucky edition to carry ABC News at the time.

This particular week (Sept. 7-13, 1968) was the week the
station went on the air. On Sept. 7 it had an eight-hour
(9 AM-5 PM) opening ceremony; special guests were Ed
Allen and "It Takes A Thief"'s Malachi Throne.

Although I love Kentucky, I'm not from there, and what
exposure I've had to television there has been to the Louisville
channels. So I don't have any memories of the station, except
for when it changed to Channel 36 and was off the air for a time
in 1980.

Most interesting information, though.

 

[Charles1]

It's interesting that neither Channel 5 or Channel 18 cleared the AFL football game, or that neither Channel 12 or 62 picked it up. Was it because the Reds were still the dominant sports team in Cincinnati and Lexington, or did the AFL employ a TV blackout similar to what the NFL used?

 

[bpatrick]

Interesting question since the Bengals started playing in '68.
Obviously, 5 and 18 were locked into the Reds game; 12 and
62 may have committed to the ABC documentary at 4 and
were unable to carry NBC's game. And it could be that the
blackout was in effect if the Bengals were at home and it
wasn't a sellout. Perhaps someone else knows about that
last possibility; else, there's no good answer to that one.

 

[Mike Stroud]

This particular week (Sept. 7-13, 1968) was the week the
station went on the air. On Sept. 7 it had an eight-hour
(9 AM-5 PM) opening ceremony; special guests were Ed
Allen and "It Takes A Thief"'s Malachi Throne.

Another case of Wikipedia being an unreliable source of info. My statement of WBLG being three months old comes from the date of June 2 listed there, and probably in the Broadcasting Yearbook also. I intend to correct the Wikipedia entry. Thanks, bp.

 

[Stanislav]

This particular week (Sept. 7-13, 1968) was the week the
station went on the air. On Sept. 7 it had an eight-hour
(9 AM-5 PM) opening ceremony; special guests were Ed
Allen and "It Takes A Thief"'s Malachi Throne.

Another case of Wikipedia being an unreliable source of info. My statement of WBLG being three months old comes from the date of June 2 listed there, and probably in the Broadcasting Yearbook also. I intend to correct the Wikipedia entry. Thanks, bp.

As mentioned before, when I was doing TDITVH, start dates for TV stations will vary per the source. In many cases, when there is conflicting info, both dates are valid -- one when they first fired up the xmtr for testing, and a later date when they formally began a regular program schedule. Some stations don't fire things up until days (or even hours) before their debut, others test for weeks or months before "officially" signing on. I wouldn't reflexively blame Wikipedia here, because other sources will often show varying dates as well, and as I said it depends on your definition of exactly when a station "began operating." Even official "in-house" station histories will sometimes cite the date of first (test) transmission, others the first regular programming day. (The latter, though, probably more common.)

 

[radiorob2.0]

Do any Kentuckians remember much about the early WBLG/WTVQ? Did anybody much watch it when it was on 62?

Channel 62 was always a challenge even within New Circle. You also have to remember UHF tuners had shortcomings until the late 70's.

WTVQ moved to Channel 36 in June 1980. The old tower was disassembled and new tower erected. Weather delayed the launch a few days. Cable had just debuted that year so Lexington was without ABC for several days.

Channel 62 was reallocated for Lexington. There was a long battle between two companies, one specializing in family entertainment, the other specialized in wall to wall preachers. The family company won with an agreement to lease the preacher company a few hours a week.

WLKT signed in in 1988 (I believe) and the problems were immediate. The STL antenna was too short and had to be extended. The picture and audio quality was inferior. Also, WDKY had signed on a couple of years earlier so WLKT trailed in revenue potential and programming and was an early Fox affiliate. If that weren't enough, the preachers sued for breach of contract. WLKT struggled for maybe a year and suddenly signed off when the money ran out.

The signal is home to a LP signal.

 

[Kurt Toy]

From TV Guide, Kentucky Edition:

WAVE Ch. 3 Louisville (NBC)

7:30 Farming With Jack Crowner
8 AM Gospel Jubilee
8:55 Jot (animated show produced by the
Southern Baptist Convention)
9 AM The Story
9:30 This Is The Life
10 AM University Of Michigan
10:30 International Zone
11 AM Outer Limits
12 N Southern Baptist Hour
12:30 Sing Ye, Praise Ye
1 PM Meet The Press
1:30 Country Music
2 PM AFL Football: Patriots-Bills
4:30 TBA (time approximate)
5 PM World Series Of Golf (final round)
6:30 Pacing Derby (time approximate)
7 PM WAVE Report
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of
Color: "Sammy The Way-Out Seal"
(Part 2 of 2)
8:30 Mothers-In-Law
9 PM Bonanza
10 PM High Chaparral
11 PM News
11:30 Sunday Tonight Show

WLWT Ch. 5 Cincinnati (NBC)

7:25 Moment Of Meditation
7:30 Agriculture Today
8 AM WLW Safety Club
8:30 Frontiers Of Faith
9 AM Cadle Chapel
9:30 Church By The Road
10 AM International Zone
10:30 University Of Cincinnati Horizons
11 AM Movie: "Force Of Impulse"
12:30 Mr. Lucky
1 PM Meet The Press
1:30 Adventure Calls
2 PM Dugout Dope
2:15 Baseball: Dodgers-Reds
4:45 Scoreboard (time approximate)
5 PM World Series Of Golf (final round)
6:30 News
7 PM Frank McGee Report
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World
Of Color
8:30 Mothers-In-Law
9 PM Bonanza
10 PM High Chaparral
11 PM News
11:30 Sunday Tonight Show

WCPO Ch. 9 Cincinnati (CBS)

7 AM Farm Forum
7:30 Lamp Unto My Feet
8 AM Look Up And Live
8:30 Landmark Singers
9 AM Tom And Jerry
9:30 Underdog (moving to 11:30 AM Saturday
the following week; "Aquaman" moves here)
10 AM Cartoons A Go-Go
10:15 Film Short
10:30 Police Call
11 AM Call The Doctor
12 N Movie: "The Man From Del Rio"
1:30 Firing Line
2:30 Round Table
3 PM U.S. Open Tennis Championships (the first
time they were held, both men's and women's
finals are shown)
5 PM Tennessee Tuxedo (time approximate)
5:30 Amateur Hour
6 PM 21st Century
6:30 Impact
7 PM Lassie
7:30 Ed Sullivan (expands to 90 minutes for a repeat
of a salute to Irving Berlin on his 80th birthday)
9 PM TBA
10 PM Mission: Impossible
11 PM News
11:30 Movie: "The Virgin Queen"
1:20 Christophers
1:35 News

WHAS Ch. 11 Louisville (CBS)

8 AM Fisbie Funnies
9 AM Tom And Jerry
9:30 Underdog
10 AM Lamp Unto My Feet
10:30 Look Up And Live
11 AM Camera Three
11:30 Face The Nation
12 N Lure Of The Library
12:30 Challenge (religion)
1 PM Movie: "Kon-Tiki"
2 PM Bold Journey
2:30 Leave It To Beaver
3 PM U.S. Open Tennis
5 PM Tennessee Tuxedo (time approximate)
5:30 Amateur Hour
6 PM 21st Century
6:30 One Reach One
7 PM Lassie
7:30 Ed Sullivan
9 PM TBA
10 PM Mission: Impossible
11 PM News
11:15 CBS News (Harry Reasoner)
11:30 Movie: "Angel With A Trumpet"

WKRC Ch. 12 Cincinnati (ABC)

7:15 Living Word
7:30 Revival Fires
8 AM Rex Humbard
9 AM Bullwinkle (delay from 11 AM)
9:30 Milton The Monster (last show, the Beatles
take over the following week)
10 AM Skipper Ryle
12 N Movie: "Beast Of Babylon Against The Son
Of Hercules"
12:45 Film Short
1 PM Issues And Answers (one-hour interview
with Hubert Humphrey, Democratic candidate
for President)
2 PM Bugs Bunny (delay from 10:30 AM, will move to
CBS and join up with the Road Runner the following
Saturday)
2:30 Noel Singers
3 PM Maverick
4 PM ABC News Special: "For Every Soldier That Died At
Dieppe, 10 Were Saved On D-Day"
5 PM Movie: "No Trees In The Street"
6:50 News
7 PM Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
8 PM Around The World Of Mike Todd
9 PM ABC Movie: "Under The Yum Yum Tree"
11:15 News
11:45 Joe Pyne
12:45 ABC News (Keith McBee)

WFPK (WKPC) Ch. 15 Louisville (NET)
off air on Sunday

WLEX Ch. 18 Lexington (NBC)

7 AM This Is The Life
7:30 Leisure
8 AM Voice Of The Mountains
8:30 Revival Fires
9 AM Gospel Jubilee
10 AM Faith For Today
10:30 Immanuel Baptist Church
11:30 Forest Rangers
12 N New Shapes
12:30 Insight
1 PM Meet The Press
1:30 Farm Forum
2 PM Great Music (early infomercial)
2:15 Baseball: Dodgers-Reds
4:45 Film Short (time approximate)
5 PM World Series Of Golf (final round)
6:30 Campaign And The Candidates (time
approximate)
7 PM The Story
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of
Color
8:30 Mothers-In-Law
9 PM Bonanza
10 PM High Chaparral
11 PM News
11:30 Movie: "His Majesty O'Keefe"

WKYT Ch. 27 Lexington (CBS)

7 AM Christophers
7:30 America Sings
8 AM God Is The Answer
9 AM Tom And Jerry
9:30 Underdog
10 AM Movie: "Her 12 Men"
11:30 Face The Nation
12 N Bill Anderson
12:30 Christian Hour
1 PM Movies: "Onionhead" and "Top
Secret Affair"
5 PM Tennessee Tuxedo
5:30 Amateur Hour
6 PM 21st Century
6:30 News
7 PM Lassie
7:30 Ed Sullivan
9 PM TBA
10 PM Mission: Impossible
11 PM News
11:15 CBS News
11:30 Movie: "Westbound"

WLKY Ch. 32 Louisville (ABC)

9:25 Inspiration
9:30 Movie: "The House Across The
Street"
11 AM Church Service
12 N Insight
12:30 Pastor's Study
1 PM Issues And Answers
2 PM Movie: "The Virginian" (1946 version,
remake of the 1929 classic, and the
inspiration for the series)
4 PM Billy Graham Hemisfair Crusade (from
San Antonio)
5 PM Movie: "Sword Of The Conqueror"
7 PM Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
8 PM Around The World Of Mike Todd
9 PM ABC Movie: "Under The Yum Yum Tree"
11:15 News
11:30 ABC News
11:45 Inspiration

WBLG Ch. 62 (WTVQ Ch. 36) Lexington (ABC)

8:30 Church Service
9 AM Bible Answers
9:30 Milton The Monster
10 AM Linus The Lionhearted
10:30 Bugs Bunny ("King Kong" moves here
next Sunday)
11 AM Bullwinkle
11:30 Discovery '68
12 N Film Feature
12:30 College Football 1968
1 PM Issues And Answers
2 PM Movie: TBA
4 PM ABC News Special (see Ch. 12)
5 PM Movie: "Mighty Ursus"
7 PM Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
8 PM Around The World Of Mike Todd
9 PM ABC Movie: "Under The Yum Yum Tree"
11:15 ABC News
sign off 11:30 PM

Underdog moved to NBC-where it originally ran from '64-'66 the next week.

 

[bpatrick]

Right. Its CBS competition Saturdays at 11:30 AM (ET)
was "The Herculoids."

BTW, here are the networks' fall 1968 Saturday-morning
lineups (all times Eastern):

ABC 9 AM New Casper Cartoon Show
9:30 Adventures Of Gulliver
10 AM Spider-Man
10:30 Fantastic Voyage
11 AM Journey To The Center Of The Earth
11:30 Fantastic Four
12 N George Of The Jungle
12:30 American Bandstand
1:30 Happening '68


CBS 8 AM Go-Go Gophers
8:30 Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour
9:30 Wacky Races
10 AM Archie Show
10:30 Batman/Superman Hour
11:30 Herculoids
12 N Shazzan!
12:30 Jonny Quest
1 PM Moby Dick And The Mighty
Mightor
1:30 Lone Ranger (animated)


NBC 9 AM Super 6
9:30 Top Cat
10 AM Flintstones
10:30 Banana Splits Adventure Hour
11:30 Underdog
12 N Birdman And The Galaxy Trio
12:30 Super President

 

[KYLEBOOK]

The Bengals played their debut game in the AFL 2 days before this, on Friday Night September 6th, losing in San Diego to the Chargers 29-13. Consequently, a local blackout shouldn't be an issue here. The Reds game took place over an out of town AFL telecast. I'm sure NBC & the AFL wasn't too happy...

Interesting question since the Bengals started playing in '68.
Obviously, 5 and 18 were locked into the Reds game; 12 and
62 may have committed to the ABC documentary at 4 and
were unable to carry NBC's game. And it could be that the
blackout was in effect if the Bengals were at home and it
wasn't a sellout. Perhaps someone else knows about that
last possibility; else, there's no good answer to that one.

 

[Hal Erickson]

Cincinnati independent station WXIX, Channel 19, signed on in June of 1968. Evidently the Louisville/Lexington edition wasn't listing its schedule yet--though they would be by early 1969.

 

[ohdxer]

Channel 62 was always a challenge even within New Circle. You also have to remember UHF tuners had shortcomings until the late 70's.

Were folks within New Circle in Lexington able to pick up the ABC affilates from Cincinnati or Louisville clearly by indoor rabbit ears or outdoor rooftop antennas?

 

[radiorob2.0]

Channel 62 was always a challenge even within New Circle. You also have to remember UHF tuners had shortcomings until the late 70's.

Were folks within New Circle in Lexington able to pick up the ABC affilates from Cincinnati or Louisville clearly by indoor rabbit ears or outdoor rooftop antennas?

Prior to cable, about half the homes on a city block had the ability to receive Louisville & Cincinnati. MATV systems throughout Lexington, many on very tall guyed towers, offered Louisville and Cincinnati along with the local stations.

The low band VHF didn't exist with rabbit ears, unless of course you lay the ears down. Even then Channel 3 and 5 were a lost cause. When WAVE moved to the Oldham County tower Channel 3's signal in Lexington improved dramatically. Channel 9 and 12 were viewable with lots of noise. Until WAVE's move, Channel 11 was the easiest of the VHF's to receive.

There was a boom in the late 70's of an antenna package. This included a fifty or so feet of tower along with a high gain log periodic VHF antenna, a long boom UHF yagi with reflector elements and a rotor. The signal was amplified and split to your house hold TV's. You could receive 3, 11, 32, and 41 from Louisville were viewable with a little noise. 15 & 68 were noisy but viewable. 5,9,12, and 48 from Cincinnati were viewable with a little noise. 19 didn't exist because of Channel 18, WLEX transmitter site was on the north side of town so WXIX was only available during a skip. Channel 2 & 7 from Dayton were viewable along with the occasional appearance of Huntington, Knoxville, and other cities through skips.

When cable arrived in the early 80's, the towers slowly came down. A few survived in Lexington's older neighborhoods.

 

[KyDXIn]

From TV Guide, Kentucky Edition:

WAVE Ch. 3 Louisville (NBC)

6:30 Pacing Derby (time approximate)
7 PM WAVE Report
7:30 Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of
Color: "Sammy The Way-Out Seal"
(Part 2 of 2)

The Pacing Derby? Wasn't that harness racing that originated from Louisville Downs? I don't remember it very well cause I was about 18 months old at the time.