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The date a metro area aquired all 3 major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) on 3 stations
- Thread starter gregg75
- Start date
I'll add Austin, Texas to the discussion, as I lived there in the 1960's and early 70's.
Austin's original TV station was KTBC/7, owned by Lyndon Johnson and his wife. KTBC went on the air in 1952 with a mix of all the networks at the time. This hodge-podge continued as the sole network TV option in Austin for the next 13 years.
In 1965 KHFI/42 went on the air, but it was also a mix of all the networks.
The two-station, "all networks" scenario was quite a scheduling mess. You had to carefully consult TV Guide as otherwise you would have no idea on which channel a particular network's show would air. And since the three network timeslot schedules didn't match, shows were often delayed by days or even weeks before airing in Austin. Many shows were run on Sunday afternoons, or in the case of KTBC, after the 10pm news (CBS did not have late night programing then.) Making things worse was that many of the delayed shows were run from mediocre 16mm film prints that were sent to the stations, or for shows originally live or on videotape, kinescopes were used (horrible quality even by 1960's standards.)
The situation began to resolve itself in 1968 when KHFI got the exclusive NBC affiliation (Wikipedia has it as 1966 which is incorrect, as KHFI was still running the network hodge-podge into 1968.) KTBC then became mostly CBS, with some of the more popular ABC shows in the mix.
Austin finally got three separate network affiliates when KVUE/24 signed on in 1971.
In 1973 KHFI/42 moved to channel 36 and greatly increased its power. Call was also changed to KTVV. The current KXAN call is from the late 1980s.
KTBC remained a CBS affiliate until 1995 when it flipped to Fox as part of the New World Communications/Argyle merger. It is now a Fox O&O. Fox's original Austin home had been KBVO/42, which signed on in 1983. KBVO wound up with the CBS affiliation in 1995 and changed its call to KEYE.
Also of interest in Austin: The "educational" NET and later PBS station was KLRN/9, which went on the air in 1962 and was shared with the San Antonio market. The transmitter was northwest of New Braunfels, so it dropped a decently viewable signal into both cities. This situation continued until 1979, when Austin got its own PBS, KLRU/18. The two stations were pretty much a simulcast until the KLRN/9 transmitter was moved all the way into the SA market a few years later.
Austin is sandwiched in between the Waco, San Antonio and Houston markets, which limited VHF allocations there. Concerns over the viability of UHF stations helped delay the establishment of additional stations. KHFI/42 hit the air right after the "All Channel Receiver Act" went into effect, so new sets could tune all 82 channels. In addition, UHF converters were in abundant supply at various Austin stores and electronics dealers; I recall stacks and stacks of them at the old Gulf-Mart on Burnet Road. Lots of TV viewers wanting the additional channel option snapped these up, and they worked reasonably well.
Austin was oddly late to the three network/three channels game, as other smaller Texas cities such as Corpus Christi and Amarillo had been three network station markets for many years (since 1957 in Amarillo's case.) On the other hand, the Waco market didn't get three affiliates until KXXV signed on in the mid 1980's. Some political shenanigans on Lyndon Johnson's part also kept competition out of the Austin market for a number of years.
Should note that rooftop TV antennas aimed to the southwest were a common sight in Austin in the early TV days as they would bring in fuzzy but viewable signals from the three network affiliates in San Antonio.
Austin's original TV station was KTBC/7, owned by Lyndon Johnson and his wife. KTBC went on the air in 1952 with a mix of all the networks at the time. This hodge-podge continued as the sole network TV option in Austin for the next 13 years.
In 1965 KHFI/42 went on the air, but it was also a mix of all the networks.
The two-station, "all networks" scenario was quite a scheduling mess. You had to carefully consult TV Guide as otherwise you would have no idea on which channel a particular network's show would air. And since the three network timeslot schedules didn't match, shows were often delayed by days or even weeks before airing in Austin. Many shows were run on Sunday afternoons, or in the case of KTBC, after the 10pm news (CBS did not have late night programing then.) Making things worse was that many of the delayed shows were run from mediocre 16mm film prints that were sent to the stations, or for shows originally live or on videotape, kinescopes were used (horrible quality even by 1960's standards.)
The situation began to resolve itself in 1968 when KHFI got the exclusive NBC affiliation (Wikipedia has it as 1966 which is incorrect, as KHFI was still running the network hodge-podge into 1968.) KTBC then became mostly CBS, with some of the more popular ABC shows in the mix.
Austin finally got three separate network affiliates when KVUE/24 signed on in 1971.
In 1973 KHFI/42 moved to channel 36 and greatly increased its power. Call was also changed to KTVV. The current KXAN call is from the late 1980s.
KTBC remained a CBS affiliate until 1995 when it flipped to Fox as part of the New World Communications/Argyle merger. It is now a Fox O&O. Fox's original Austin home had been KBVO/42, which signed on in 1983. KBVO wound up with the CBS affiliation in 1995 and changed its call to KEYE.
Also of interest in Austin: The "educational" NET and later PBS station was KLRN/9, which went on the air in 1962 and was shared with the San Antonio market. The transmitter was northwest of New Braunfels, so it dropped a decently viewable signal into both cities. This situation continued until 1979, when Austin got its own PBS, KLRU/18. The two stations were pretty much a simulcast until the KLRN/9 transmitter was moved all the way into the SA market a few years later.
Austin is sandwiched in between the Waco, San Antonio and Houston markets, which limited VHF allocations there. Concerns over the viability of UHF stations helped delay the establishment of additional stations. KHFI/42 hit the air right after the "All Channel Receiver Act" went into effect, so new sets could tune all 82 channels. In addition, UHF converters were in abundant supply at various Austin stores and electronics dealers; I recall stacks and stacks of them at the old Gulf-Mart on Burnet Road. Lots of TV viewers wanting the additional channel option snapped these up, and they worked reasonably well.
Austin was oddly late to the three network/three channels game, as other smaller Texas cities such as Corpus Christi and Amarillo had been three network station markets for many years (since 1957 in Amarillo's case.) On the other hand, the Waco market didn't get three affiliates until KXXV signed on in the mid 1980's. Some political shenanigans on Lyndon Johnson's part also kept competition out of the Austin market for a number of years.
Should note that rooftop TV antennas aimed to the southwest were a common sight in Austin in the early TV days as they would bring in fuzzy but viewable signals from the three network affiliates in San Antonio.
This was the order in Portland OR: Channel 27 went on in 1952 as the world's first UHF station, carrying all four networks. In 1952, channel 6 assumed the CBS affiliation. Channel 12 arrived in 1955, taking ABC, leaving 27 with NBC. In 1956, we got channel 8, which took ABC away from channel 12, at which point, channel 12 was purchased by 27 and 27 was taken off the air, giving 12 the NBC affiliation. Not long after, channel 8 wrestled the NBC affiliation away from 12, leaving it with ABC. In 1962, channel 2 went on as an independent and took away channel 12's ABC affiliation in 1964, leaving it as an independent. They remained a highly successful independent until the FOX network came on. There were no other changes among the Big 3 until the digital age.
The Cedar Rapids/Waterloo IA market is another one like Tucson AZ: They've never changed their primary affiliates since Day One.
WMT-TV (KGAN) Channel 2 signed on 9/30/1953 as the CBS affiliate. It had a secondary affiliation with Dumont until that network died in 1956. It aired the 1953 World Series that was broadcast by NBC, but AFAIK, it never was officially a secondary NBC or ABC affiliate. It became KGAN-TV after an ownership change in 1981, dropping the "-TV" suffix three years later.
KWWL-TV Channel 7 signed on as the NBC affiliate on 11/29/1953. It also aired some Dumont programming. It dropped the "-TV" suffix in 1983 after an ownership change.
KCRG-TV Channel 9 signed on as the ABC affiliate on 10/15/1953 as KCRI-TV. It became KCRG-TV after the Cedar Rapids Gazette bought out the other owners in 1954.
WMT-TV (KGAN) Channel 2 signed on 9/30/1953 as the CBS affiliate. It had a secondary affiliation with Dumont until that network died in 1956. It aired the 1953 World Series that was broadcast by NBC, but AFAIK, it never was officially a secondary NBC or ABC affiliate. It became KGAN-TV after an ownership change in 1981, dropping the "-TV" suffix three years later.
KWWL-TV Channel 7 signed on as the NBC affiliate on 11/29/1953. It also aired some Dumont programming. It dropped the "-TV" suffix in 1983 after an ownership change.
KCRG-TV Channel 9 signed on as the ABC affiliate on 10/15/1953 as KCRI-TV. It became KCRG-TV after the Cedar Rapids Gazette bought out the other owners in 1954.
Another one with no affiliation changes (although one station was knocked off the air for a year) was Wausau/Rhinelander WI.
10/23/54: WSAU-TV (WSAW-TV) begins on Channel 7 as a CBS primary and NBC/ABC/Dumont secondary station. It would lose Dumont when that network died in 1956, then ABC to WAOW in 1965, and NBC to WAEO (WJFW) in 1966. It became WSAW-TV in 1981.
6/12/65: WAOW-TV Channel 9 signs on as a satellite of WKOW-TV 27 Madison, that market's ABC affiliate. It would evolve into a 4-station Wisconsin TV Network in the '70s (but with local news and ads), and would split from WKOW in the '80s. It retained the ABC affiliation the whole time. Today, it is its own 3-station network, with WYOW-TV 34 Eagle River and WMOW-TV 4 Crandon, running ABC and CW programming.
10/20/66: WAEO-TV (WJFW-TV) Channel 12 signs on as northern Wisconsin's NBC affiliate. The Channel 12 allocation had been moved from Ironwood MI (long-defunct WIRN-TV had been on Ch. 12 in the late '50s) a couple years earlier by Rep. Alvin E. O'Konski (It helps to be a member of Congress; see also KTVK Phoenix). It lost its tower when a plane crashed into it a couple years later, but was back on for good in 1969. During the rebuilding year, NBC had to be received from either Green Bay or Eau Claire;neither WSAU or WAOW aired NBC programming during that time. O'Konski sold the station to Seaway Broadcasting in 1979, which made it the first Black-owned VHF station in the country. Ironically, Seaway's CEO. Dr. Jasper F. Williams, was killed in a plane crash a few years later. It became WJFW-TV in his honor in 1986.
10/23/54: WSAU-TV (WSAW-TV) begins on Channel 7 as a CBS primary and NBC/ABC/Dumont secondary station. It would lose Dumont when that network died in 1956, then ABC to WAOW in 1965, and NBC to WAEO (WJFW) in 1966. It became WSAW-TV in 1981.
6/12/65: WAOW-TV Channel 9 signs on as a satellite of WKOW-TV 27 Madison, that market's ABC affiliate. It would evolve into a 4-station Wisconsin TV Network in the '70s (but with local news and ads), and would split from WKOW in the '80s. It retained the ABC affiliation the whole time. Today, it is its own 3-station network, with WYOW-TV 34 Eagle River and WMOW-TV 4 Crandon, running ABC and CW programming.
10/20/66: WAEO-TV (WJFW-TV) Channel 12 signs on as northern Wisconsin's NBC affiliate. The Channel 12 allocation had been moved from Ironwood MI (long-defunct WIRN-TV had been on Ch. 12 in the late '50s) a couple years earlier by Rep. Alvin E. O'Konski (It helps to be a member of Congress; see also KTVK Phoenix). It lost its tower when a plane crashed into it a couple years later, but was back on for good in 1969. During the rebuilding year, NBC had to be received from either Green Bay or Eau Claire;neither WSAU or WAOW aired NBC programming during that time. O'Konski sold the station to Seaway Broadcasting in 1979, which made it the first Black-owned VHF station in the country. Ironically, Seaway's CEO. Dr. Jasper F. Williams, was killed in a plane crash a few years later. It became WJFW-TV in his honor in 1986.
Detroit had the "Big Three" very early, and CBS was actually the last of them to come to the Motor City.
NBC: March 4, 1947 - WWJ-TV 4 owned by the Evening News Association (became WDIV in 1978)
ABC: October 9, 1948: WXYZ-TV 7 ABC O&O
CBS: October 24, 1948: WJBK-TV 2 owned by Storer Broadcasting (switched to Fox in 1994)
Other networks:
NET (PBS): October 3, 1955: WTVS 56
DuMont: Went through three secondary affiliations in the market, first on WWJ-TV (1947), then on WJBK-TV (1948) and finally on CKLW-TV (1954 until the network was dissolved). Some sources claim Ann Arbor's short-lived WPAG-TV 20 (signed on 1953, went dark 1957) carried DuMont as well.
Paramount: both WWJ-TV and WJBK-TV shared programs in the early '50s
Detroiters also had access to Canada's first major network starting September 16, 1954, when CKLW-TV 9 (CBC - became CBET in 1975) signed on.
First independent station was WPAG-TV in Ann Arbor, which for sure became an independent after DuMont ended (and was also the first UHF station in the state (1953)) but didn't last much longer, going dark by the end of 1957. The oldest station still extant today that began as an independent is Detroit's WKBD-TV 50 in 1965 (later Fox and UPN, now CW).
NBC: March 4, 1947 - WWJ-TV 4 owned by the Evening News Association (became WDIV in 1978)
ABC: October 9, 1948: WXYZ-TV 7 ABC O&O
CBS: October 24, 1948: WJBK-TV 2 owned by Storer Broadcasting (switched to Fox in 1994)
Other networks:
NET (PBS): October 3, 1955: WTVS 56
DuMont: Went through three secondary affiliations in the market, first on WWJ-TV (1947), then on WJBK-TV (1948) and finally on CKLW-TV (1954 until the network was dissolved). Some sources claim Ann Arbor's short-lived WPAG-TV 20 (signed on 1953, went dark 1957) carried DuMont as well.
Paramount: both WWJ-TV and WJBK-TV shared programs in the early '50s
Detroiters also had access to Canada's first major network starting September 16, 1954, when CKLW-TV 9 (CBC - became CBET in 1975) signed on.
First independent station was WPAG-TV in Ann Arbor, which for sure became an independent after DuMont ended (and was also the first UHF station in the state (1953)) but didn't last much longer, going dark by the end of 1957. The oldest station still extant today that began as an independent is Detroit's WKBD-TV 50 in 1965 (later Fox and UPN, now CW).
Michigan's second-largest city, Grand Rapids, didn't get the Big Three on primary affiliates until WZZM-TV 13 (ABC) signed on November 1, 1962. Prior to that, ABC had secondary affiliations with WKZO-TV (CBS primary) and WLAV/WOOD-TV (NBC primary). They also had a translator on channel 12 in Kalamazoo during the mid- and late '60s, until Kalamazoo/Battle Creek got its own ABC affiliate (WUHQ 41, now WOTV) in 1971. As an earlier poster noted, WZZM also served as a default ABC affiliate for part of northwestern lower Michigan due to the location of its transmitter (which was also the reason they needed a translator to hit K'zoo/BC).
NBC was the first of the Big Three in GR with WLAV-TV 7 on August 15, 1949 (became WOOD-TV in 1951 and moved to channel 8 in 1953 to avoid interfering with then-WBKB-TV, now WLS-TV in Chicago). During the '50s, WLAV/WOOD-TV also had secondary ABC, CBS and DuMont affiliations.
CBS was next with WKZO-TV 3 in Kalamazoo signing on June 1, 1950 (it became WWMT in 1985). Like WLAV/WOOD, WKZO carried all of the Big Three (NBC and ABC secondary affiliations) plus DuMont.
NBC was the first of the Big Three in GR with WLAV-TV 7 on August 15, 1949 (became WOOD-TV in 1951 and moved to channel 8 in 1953 to avoid interfering with then-WBKB-TV, now WLS-TV in Chicago). During the '50s, WLAV/WOOD-TV also had secondary ABC, CBS and DuMont affiliations.
CBS was next with WKZO-TV 3 in Kalamazoo signing on June 1, 1950 (it became WWMT in 1985). Like WLAV/WOOD, WKZO carried all of the Big Three (NBC and ABC secondary affiliations) plus DuMont.
Alpena, MI is another market that still doesn't have all three. WBKB-TV 11 (signed on 1975) takes care of CBS on 11.1, Fox on 11.2, and ABC on 11.3. Until the digital era, though, WBKB-TV analog with CBS was all there was for viewers without cable or satellite, except for the early '70s when WGTU (Traverse City) operated a channel 55 translator in Alpena. OTA NBC viewers remain out of luck, as neither WTOM (4.1/Cheboygan) nor WEYI (25.1/Saginaw) reaches Alpena (although WNEM-TV 5 Bay City was easily receivable with a good antenna in much of the area when they were an NBC affiliate during the analog era; they're now CBS).
Yakima WA
CBS - KIMA-TV 29 was the first station to sign on in central WA, on 7/19/53. It was the 200th TV station to sign on in the United States as well. They had all four networks at first, and slowly lost all but CBS through to 1970.
ABC - KNDO-TV 23 on 10/15/59. Had all three networks at first but until 1965 was a primary ABC station. In 1965 KNDO went to NBC.
Full-time ABC - KAPP-TV 35 on 9/21/70. Yes, we waited until fall '70 for a full-time ABC station. And boy was it needed. Within several years ABC was the #1 network.
NBC - Aforementioned KNDO-TV 23 in 1965.
Bonus: PBS - KYVE-TV 47, 11/1/62. Most of the time they were switching to and from KCTS at the start. Then they were able to self-operate, now KCTS owns them and fully operates them minus the TOH ID.
CBS - KIMA-TV 29 was the first station to sign on in central WA, on 7/19/53. It was the 200th TV station to sign on in the United States as well. They had all four networks at first, and slowly lost all but CBS through to 1970.
ABC - KNDO-TV 23 on 10/15/59. Had all three networks at first but until 1965 was a primary ABC station. In 1965 KNDO went to NBC.
Full-time ABC - KAPP-TV 35 on 9/21/70. Yes, we waited until fall '70 for a full-time ABC station. And boy was it needed. Within several years ABC was the #1 network.
NBC - Aforementioned KNDO-TV 23 in 1965.
Bonus: PBS - KYVE-TV 47, 11/1/62. Most of the time they were switching to and from KCTS at the start. Then they were able to self-operate, now KCTS owns them and fully operates them minus the TOH ID.
Philadelphia was an early market with three full-time network affiliates
NBC - In 1941, began sharing programs with NY to become the first NBC affiliate as WPTZ 3
CBS - March 1948 sign-on date for WCAU-TV 10
ABC - April 1948 - first affiliate of the ABC network on WFIL-TV 6, which had been on the air for a year.
NBC - In 1941, began sharing programs with NY to become the first NBC affiliate as WPTZ 3
CBS - March 1948 sign-on date for WCAU-TV 10
ABC - April 1948 - first affiliate of the ABC network on WFIL-TV 6, which had been on the air for a year.
Yes, I was living there when it signed on. It had electrical "ripples" in its signal
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