Preparing some items for upcoming installments of "This Day in TV History," I was reminded that CBLT Toronto has operated on three different analog channels: started on 9, then switched to 6, and eventually wound up on 5. It struck me that though a lot of stations in the U.S. and Canada have changed channels over the years (especially in the early days, when they were still working out spacing and allocations), there probably aren't too many others that have operated on three (or more) different channels over their history. Can you think of any? (Remember, DTV channels don't count -- strictly analog assignments...)
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Stations that have operated on three (or more) different (analog) channels?
- Thread starter Stanislav
- Start date
...I'm sure there are a bushel of LPTVs and CAs that have done so. Right off the top of my head I can think of one such license that has been on three channels in Milwaukee: WMLW-CA/41, which started out as W55AS/55, then became W65BT when WHKE/55 Kenosha cranked up, and finally moved to W41CI/41 before the license was upgraded to Class A status...
Full-power stations? The oldest one in my market, for one - WHAM-TV signed on in 1949 on channel 6, moved to channel 5 in 1952, then to channel 8 in 1962. (By then, it was WROC-TV.) Yes, this was related to the Toronto shuffle.
What's now WKAR-TV East Lansing has operated on 60 (as WMSB), then on 10 (in a share-time with what's now commercial WILX), then on 23.
WBGU Bowling Green OH started on 70, moved to 57, then to 27.
I don't know of any other "three-fers" offhand...
What's now WKAR-TV East Lansing has operated on 60 (as WMSB), then on 10 (in a share-time with what's now commercial WILX), then on 23.
WBGU Bowling Green OH started on 70, moved to 57, then to 27.
I don't know of any other "three-fers" offhand...
I don't know if technically this would count, but WICD-15 (originally NBC, then ABC since Labor Day 2005) Champaign, IL has its history going as far back as the old WDAN-TV in Danville (Channel 24--ABC, 1953-60). In 1959, a new station, WCHU channel 33, signed on in Champaign with NBC programming (but had a weak signal which didn't cover Danville), so WCHU purchased WDAN, the latter's call letters switched to WICD, and broadcasted on both channels 33 and 24 from 1960-67 with NBC programming (relayed mostly from sister station WICS-20 in Springfield). In 1967 the two signals were consolidated into one station, on channel 15 (with a tower between Champaign and Danville near the town of Fithian).
An excellent history of WICD (and the predecessor stations WCHU and WDAN/WICD-24) has been written by a weathercaster at this station. Parts 2 and 3, which concern the 1960-67 WCHU/WICD simulcast and the period following the switch to 15, respectively, are available at these links:
http://www.dougquick.com/wicdchampaign3.html (Part 2 of 7)
http://www.dougquick.com/wicdchampaign4.html (Part 3 of 7)
An excellent history of WICD (and the predecessor stations WCHU and WDAN/WICD-24) has been written by a weathercaster at this station. Parts 2 and 3, which concern the 1960-67 WCHU/WICD simulcast and the period following the switch to 15, respectively, are available at these links:
http://www.dougquick.com/wicdchampaign3.html (Part 2 of 7)
http://www.dougquick.com/wicdchampaign4.html (Part 3 of 7)
...after my Sunday nap ;-) I just recalled one full-power Milwaukee outfit that could be argued to have used three channels. The first primary affiliate of CBS in Milwaukee was WCAN-TV/24, which operated from September 1953 to February 1955, shortly after CBS bought the license of WOKY-TV/19 (then a Du Mont affiliate) and the physical assets of WCAN-TV, merging them into WXIX-TV/19. (The owner of WCAN-TV, Lou Poller, was given the old WOKY-TV facilities with which he could continue broadcasting WCAN-TV as an independent, but never used them; Channel 24 went dark once CBS programming went to Channel 19.) WXIX-TV was then moved to Channel 18 when the FCC realigned UHF allocations yet again in 1958. 25 into 19 into 18...
KTVI/St. Louis signed on as WTVI/Belleville in 1953 on channel 54, moved to St. Louis as KTVI on Channel 36 in 1955, and in 1957 became KTVI Channel 2 where it has remained.
WVUE in New Orleans. Started on Channel 13, then moved next door to 12 (allowing WLOX-13 to sign on in Biloxi, Miss.), and at some point - late '60s, maybe?? - flipped with the PBS station on Channel 8.
--Russell
--Russell
KML-224 said:
WHSL is now WRBU, the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate, and were UPN previously to that.
Ultimajock said:
...in a reverse of the same idea, WBKB/4 Chicago was essentially split up into two stations on different channels in 1953. The license for WBKB was sold to CBS, which changed the call sign to WBBM-TV and moved to Channel 2, using much of the WBKB air talent; the original owners of WBKB, United Paramount Theaters, merged with ABC, who in turn placed the WBKB call sign and management onto what had been WENR-TV/7 and moved Channel 7 out of the Merchandise Mart into the original WBKB studios on State Street. 4 into 2 and 7...
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