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STATIONS WITH THE SAME NETWORK FOR YEARS, BUT CALL LETTERS HAVE CHANGED
- Thread starter gregg75
- Start date
In Tampa Bay, WFLA, which always was an NBC affiliate, spent a few years from 1983 to the end of 1988 as "WXFL", after Media General sold off its radio operations, which held first rights to the WFLA calls. The TV station returned to WFLA in 1989 afler regulations regarding call letters loosened.
KTYL-TV/KVAR/KTAR-TV/KPNX 12 Mesa/Phoenix, NBC since 1953.
WOIC/WTOP-TV/WDVM-TV/WUSA-TV 9 Washington, CBS since 1949.
WTCN-TV/WCCO-TV 4 Minneapolis/St. Paul, CBS since 1949, O&O since 1992.
WNBK/KYW-TV/WKYC-TV 3 Cleveland, NBC 1948-present, O&O 1948-55, 1965-72
WSAU-TV 7 Wausau, CBS 1953-present
Some (but not all) network O&Os fit this category. I'm only counting post-war channels. WNBT moved from wartime Channel 1 to post-war Channel 4 in 1946, and WCBW moved from wartime Channel 2 (today's Channel 3) to post-war Channel 2 at the same time.
CBS
WCBW/WCBS-TV 2 New York (1946-present)
NBC
WNBQ/WMAQ-TV 5 Chicago (1949-present)
KNBH/KNBC 4 Los Angeles (1949-present)
WNBW/WRC-TV 4 Washington (1947-present)
WNBT/WRCA-TV/WNBC-TV/WNBC 4 New York (1946-present)
ABC
WJZ-TV/WABC-TV 7 New York (1948-present)
WENR-TV/WBKB/WLS-TV 7 Chicago (1948-present)
KECA-TV/KABC-TV 7 Los Angeles (1949-present)
WOIC/WTOP-TV/WDVM-TV/WUSA-TV 9 Washington, CBS since 1949.
WTCN-TV/WCCO-TV 4 Minneapolis/St. Paul, CBS since 1949, O&O since 1992.
WNBK/KYW-TV/WKYC-TV 3 Cleveland, NBC 1948-present, O&O 1948-55, 1965-72
WSAU-TV 7 Wausau, CBS 1953-present
Some (but not all) network O&Os fit this category. I'm only counting post-war channels. WNBT moved from wartime Channel 1 to post-war Channel 4 in 1946, and WCBW moved from wartime Channel 2 (today's Channel 3) to post-war Channel 2 at the same time.
CBS
WCBW/WCBS-TV 2 New York (1946-present)
NBC
WNBQ/WMAQ-TV 5 Chicago (1949-present)
KNBH/KNBC 4 Los Angeles (1949-present)
WNBW/WRC-TV 4 Washington (1947-present)
WNBT/WRCA-TV/WNBC-TV/WNBC 4 New York (1946-present)
ABC
WJZ-TV/WABC-TV 7 New York (1948-present)
WENR-TV/WBKB/WLS-TV 7 Chicago (1948-present)
KECA-TV/KABC-TV 7 Los Angeles (1949-present)
Between KNBH and KNBC, Channel 4 LA was also KRCA.
Lkeller said:
Correct, and WSAU-TV is now WSAW and has been for many years. My bad.
Speaking of the Wausau market, WAEO-TV/WJFW-TV 12 Rhinelander has been NBC since sign-on in 1966.
Others:
KOPO-TV/KOLD-TV 13 Tucson - CBS, 1953-present.
WMT-TV/KGAN 2 Cedar Rapids - CBS, 1953-present.
KCRI-TV/KCRG-TV 9 Cedar Rapids - ABC, 1953-present
KWK-TV/KMOX-TV/KMOV 4 St. Louis - CBS, 1954-present (O&O, 1955-86)
Montgomery, AL's ABC affiliate has stayed with virtual/local channel 32 since 1964.
- WKAB 1964-1989
- WHOA 1989-1999 (with "Heart Of Alabama" slogan branding AND interjection use as 'Whoa! TV'),
- WNCF 1999-present ('Where News Comes First', after bringing back low-rated local news).
San Antonio's WOAI-TV started out as an NBC-primary affiliate in 1949, co-owned with AM radio station WOAI. The station was forced to change its call sign to KMOL-TV in 1975 after being sold apart from WOAI radio. After being reunited under common ownership with WOAI radio in 2001, KMOL-TV changed its call sign back to WOAI-TV in 2002.
Also in San Antonio, KENS had started out as CBS affiliate KEYL-TV in 1950, and was changed to KENS-TV in 1954 after being bought by the San Antonio Express-News. It remains a CBS affiliate.
KSAT in San Antonio has been an ABC affiliate since its launch in 1957, but was known as KONO-TV until 1969.
KGUN in Tucson has been an ABC affiliate since going on air in 1956, but for the first year in service, was known as KDWI.
Current Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW had been a CBS affiliate from 1955 until 1994, during which time it was known as WXEL, WJW, WJKW, and then WJW again.
I'm sure there's many more.
Also in San Antonio, KENS had started out as CBS affiliate KEYL-TV in 1950, and was changed to KENS-TV in 1954 after being bought by the San Antonio Express-News. It remains a CBS affiliate.
KSAT in San Antonio has been an ABC affiliate since its launch in 1957, but was known as KONO-TV until 1969.
KGUN in Tucson has been an ABC affiliate since going on air in 1956, but for the first year in service, was known as KDWI.
Current Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW had been a CBS affiliate from 1955 until 1994, during which time it was known as WXEL, WJW, WJKW, and then WJW again.
I'm sure there's many more.
[/quote]dhett said:
Are you sure about that? I was 11 and living in Tucson when KGUN went on the air and remember a lot of discussion in the media about their choice of calls. They were the third TV station in Tucson and people my age were looking forward to them because they were ABC and carried shows like "American Bandstand", "Mickey Mouse Club" and, of course, "Walt Disney Presents" on Sunday evenings.
I remember going on a kids show not long after they began operations. The show was hosted by a guy called "Marshall K-GUN" and he dressed the part. Their studios were just south of Grant Road and I can still remember the heavy pancake makeup the host wore. Really surprised me.
In Pittsburgh, WPXI started out as WIIC. It has been NBC all along.
In Altoona, WTAJ started out as WFBG. It was CBS/ABC and today is CBS only. It was sold apart from former radio siblings WFBG/AM-FM.
In Youngstown, WYTV (ABC) started as WKST in New Castle (sibling to an AM station that still has that callsign today). It also moved from Channel 45 in New Castle to Channel 33 in Youngstown.
In Steubenville, WTOV started out as WSTV, sibling to a longtime (but recently silent) AM station. It has been NBC all along ... started out as NBC and ABC.
In Altoona, WTAJ started out as WFBG. It was CBS/ABC and today is CBS only. It was sold apart from former radio siblings WFBG/AM-FM.
In Youngstown, WYTV (ABC) started as WKST in New Castle (sibling to an AM station that still has that callsign today). It also moved from Channel 45 in New Castle to Channel 33 in Youngstown.
In Steubenville, WTOV started out as WSTV, sibling to a longtime (but recently silent) AM station. It has been NBC all along ... started out as NBC and ABC.
landtuna said:
Positive. Here's a link to a Billboard article from 1/19/1957 showing the ABC affiliate as KDWI: http://books.google.com/books?id=ZS...=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=kdwi "tucson"&f=true
And here's a timeline in an article in the Arizona Daily Star: http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_237aee4e-2f28-5bb6-be3c-71714592b094.html
The station was named after its founder, rancher and lumberman D.W. Ingram, according to the Star article.
dhett said:
Well, I must have a poor memory then but I sure don't remember anything of KDWI. I would almost bet my life savings that my family, who had their first TV set by '56, sat in our living room and watched KGUN come on air. But that may have been the switch to the new calls perhaps.
At any rate, I did remember the old studio location. It was the only one I ever got to see inside.
dhett said:
Also, the 6/4/56 edition of Broadcasting Magazine (Page 109 of 120) shows the station as being granted an STA to begin operations as KDWI-TV.
WSET Lynchburg, VA, ABC's oldest affiliate south of DC (1953 start
date) was originally WLVA. And in DC itself, there's WMAL, which became
WJLA; and WOIC, which became WTOP, then WDVM, and now WUSA, and
it's been with CBS since 1949.
WXII Winston-Salem (NBC) started as WSJS in 1953 and changed to the
present call letters in 1972. Sister station WFBC in Greenville, SC (also
1953 start date) became WYFF in 1983; it's been with NBC all 59 years.
WCTI New Bern, NC (ABC) began in 1963 as WNBE, changing to its present
call letters in either 1969 or '70; it has not changed affiliations since it first
signed on.
Neither has WLTX Columbia, SC (CBS), which began in 1953 as WNOK.
WAPI (full-time NBC since 1970) and WBMG (full-time CBS for the same period),
Birmingham, AL, are now WVTM and WIAT, respectively.
KXAS Fort Worth-Dallas (NBC) signed on in 1948 as WBAP (although I think
it shared ABC with WFAA until the late '50s).
KMOV St. Louis (CBS) changed its call letters from KMOX when CBS had to decide
whether to keep the radio (KMOX) station or the television one. They kept the
radio one. Although not a CBS o&o, KCMO television, Kansas City, changed its call letters to
KCTV when the FCC forced the breakup of the radio-television duopoly there.
All the Nashville stations have undergone call-letter changes even though they have been
with their respective networks since the '50s and one, WKRN, even went through a channel
swap with the PBS station:
ABC: WSIX Ch. 8 to WNGE Ch. 2 to WKRN Ch. 2
CBS: WLAC to WTVF Ch. 5
NBC: WSM to WSMV Ch. 4
PBS: WDCN Ch. 2 to WDCN Ch. 8 to WNPT Ch. 8
And dare we forget WFIL/6 Philadelphia, one of ABC's pioneering affiliates, which became
WPVI around 1972? Or WLBW Miami, an ABC affiliate since the late '50s, which became
WPLG around the same time? Or WDBO (CBS in Orlando since 1953), which became WCPX,
then WKMG? Or Orlando's ABC affiliate WFTV, which began in 1958 as WLOF and changed
calls in 1963?
date) was originally WLVA. And in DC itself, there's WMAL, which became
WJLA; and WOIC, which became WTOP, then WDVM, and now WUSA, and
it's been with CBS since 1949.
WXII Winston-Salem (NBC) started as WSJS in 1953 and changed to the
present call letters in 1972. Sister station WFBC in Greenville, SC (also
1953 start date) became WYFF in 1983; it's been with NBC all 59 years.
WCTI New Bern, NC (ABC) began in 1963 as WNBE, changing to its present
call letters in either 1969 or '70; it has not changed affiliations since it first
signed on.
Neither has WLTX Columbia, SC (CBS), which began in 1953 as WNOK.
WAPI (full-time NBC since 1970) and WBMG (full-time CBS for the same period),
Birmingham, AL, are now WVTM and WIAT, respectively.
KXAS Fort Worth-Dallas (NBC) signed on in 1948 as WBAP (although I think
it shared ABC with WFAA until the late '50s).
KMOV St. Louis (CBS) changed its call letters from KMOX when CBS had to decide
whether to keep the radio (KMOX) station or the television one. They kept the
radio one. Although not a CBS o&o, KCMO television, Kansas City, changed its call letters to
KCTV when the FCC forced the breakup of the radio-television duopoly there.
All the Nashville stations have undergone call-letter changes even though they have been
with their respective networks since the '50s and one, WKRN, even went through a channel
swap with the PBS station:
ABC: WSIX Ch. 8 to WNGE Ch. 2 to WKRN Ch. 2
CBS: WLAC to WTVF Ch. 5
NBC: WSM to WSMV Ch. 4
PBS: WDCN Ch. 2 to WDCN Ch. 8 to WNPT Ch. 8
And dare we forget WFIL/6 Philadelphia, one of ABC's pioneering affiliates, which became
WPVI around 1972? Or WLBW Miami, an ABC affiliate since the late '50s, which became
WPLG around the same time? Or WDBO (CBS in Orlando since 1953), which became WCPX,
then WKMG? Or Orlando's ABC affiliate WFTV, which began in 1958 as WLOF and changed
calls in 1963?
landtuna said:
mmmmmmm..........OK. ;D
D.W. Ingram sold the station to Tucson Television Co, Inc. in late 1956. According to the 1957 TV Factbook (Page 5), the FCC approved it on 12/19/1956, so the callsign change to KGUN-TV must have occurred on or near that date.
landtuna said:
The KGUN Wikipedia article used to state that the reason the call sign was changed was due to the negative connotation of DWI. I doubt that, as even when I was growing up in the late 70s, drunk driving was considered more stupid than criminal, but if that were true, it would be ironic, and would be grounds for another call sign change, as an association with guns carries a stigma in some circles, even here in AZ.
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