Since I don't have much time these days to do retros, I thought I'd send a Christmas present of sorts to all the discussion board regulars in this way:
With the recent post about ABC primary affils in two-station markets, I bought up the case of a UHF station in Augusta, Georgia that was started on Christmas Eve 1968 (that's the connection), WATU, channel 26, which is now WAGT, digital 30, PSIP 26, an ostensibly NBC affil at the time of first sign-on. However, the original NBC affil, WJBF, by this time with ABC primarily, and the CBS station, WRDW, both VHFs and having been on air for over a decade, kept the new station at bay by persuading NBC that "this little dinky station wasn't going to make it" and thus continuing to carry the Peacock's top-rated shows, as had been the case for several years, since WJBF's move toward the Alphabet as primary.
Sure as shooting, WATU got the scraps and had to make do with those and whatever syndie offerings (cheap or free ones at that, I would presume) it could muster. And even more certainly, it shouldn't surprise anyone that most advertisers, knowing that many residents of the "Georgia-Lina" region didn't have UHF receivers and that those who did weren't watching after the novelty had worn off, shied away from the new channel. Add that on top of high start-up costs, with color everything (no station could even give away its old B&W equipment by this point), a higher power bill for a UHF transmitter and tower, and the beginnings of a recession in 1969-70, and it became clear that the owners had gotten in far over their heads.
By 1970, they had no choice but to pull the plug, returning Augusta to a two-station market. However, unlike almost all others, they didn't just walk away, as was typical with failures of this kind. They apparently strove to pay off debts and make arrangements to bring the station back on a firmer financial footing. By early 1974, they were ready to try again, and after a slow re-start and obviously intentional cultivation of sales contacts this time around (as opposed to the attitude that "they'll come to our doors knocking"), WATU picked up steam, and according to our friend bpatrick, finally got 30 Rock to ink an exclusive deal around 1977, putting an end to one of the last remaining cherry-picking arrangements in the country. Today, with cable penetration nearly universal and now with digital and old audience loyalties now shattered into pieces, all of that is, to use the old cliche, ancient history.
We have dealt with the standard, time-worn explanations of why UHFs had so much trouble before the crop of indies in the late 1970s and early 1980s: hardened viewer preferences for one or more VHFs, the all-channel rule being delayed until 1964 and expensive converters for sets earlier than that date, and, as I just mentioned, the end of the "license to print money days" of the 1950s and early 1960s for stations. But I wonder if there are other common denominators such as undercapitalization, inferior equipment and less-trained personnel and talent, and just plain bad luck that prevented most of these third station-in-a-market UHFs from making significant impact upon the Nielsens until, in some cases, the 1990s? Unlike WATU, some threw in the towel entirely, including perhaps the most famous case of WJJY-TV in the Springfield, Illinois market (see the tribute website: http://www.brainmist.com/wjjy_tv/wjjy_tv.htm).
Are there any stories in your neck of the woods (apologies to Al Roker) about late '60s/early '70s network UHF affils that always seemed to be the brink of failure, but somehow got through? I could mention several others, but in the Christmas spirit, I shall consider it more blessed to let my friends give their stories.
With the recent post about ABC primary affils in two-station markets, I bought up the case of a UHF station in Augusta, Georgia that was started on Christmas Eve 1968 (that's the connection), WATU, channel 26, which is now WAGT, digital 30, PSIP 26, an ostensibly NBC affil at the time of first sign-on. However, the original NBC affil, WJBF, by this time with ABC primarily, and the CBS station, WRDW, both VHFs and having been on air for over a decade, kept the new station at bay by persuading NBC that "this little dinky station wasn't going to make it" and thus continuing to carry the Peacock's top-rated shows, as had been the case for several years, since WJBF's move toward the Alphabet as primary.
Sure as shooting, WATU got the scraps and had to make do with those and whatever syndie offerings (cheap or free ones at that, I would presume) it could muster. And even more certainly, it shouldn't surprise anyone that most advertisers, knowing that many residents of the "Georgia-Lina" region didn't have UHF receivers and that those who did weren't watching after the novelty had worn off, shied away from the new channel. Add that on top of high start-up costs, with color everything (no station could even give away its old B&W equipment by this point), a higher power bill for a UHF transmitter and tower, and the beginnings of a recession in 1969-70, and it became clear that the owners had gotten in far over their heads.
By 1970, they had no choice but to pull the plug, returning Augusta to a two-station market. However, unlike almost all others, they didn't just walk away, as was typical with failures of this kind. They apparently strove to pay off debts and make arrangements to bring the station back on a firmer financial footing. By early 1974, they were ready to try again, and after a slow re-start and obviously intentional cultivation of sales contacts this time around (as opposed to the attitude that "they'll come to our doors knocking"), WATU picked up steam, and according to our friend bpatrick, finally got 30 Rock to ink an exclusive deal around 1977, putting an end to one of the last remaining cherry-picking arrangements in the country. Today, with cable penetration nearly universal and now with digital and old audience loyalties now shattered into pieces, all of that is, to use the old cliche, ancient history.
We have dealt with the standard, time-worn explanations of why UHFs had so much trouble before the crop of indies in the late 1970s and early 1980s: hardened viewer preferences for one or more VHFs, the all-channel rule being delayed until 1964 and expensive converters for sets earlier than that date, and, as I just mentioned, the end of the "license to print money days" of the 1950s and early 1960s for stations. But I wonder if there are other common denominators such as undercapitalization, inferior equipment and less-trained personnel and talent, and just plain bad luck that prevented most of these third station-in-a-market UHFs from making significant impact upon the Nielsens until, in some cases, the 1990s? Unlike WATU, some threw in the towel entirely, including perhaps the most famous case of WJJY-TV in the Springfield, Illinois market (see the tribute website: http://www.brainmist.com/wjjy_tv/wjjy_tv.htm).
Are there any stories in your neck of the woods (apologies to Al Roker) about late '60s/early '70s network UHF affils that always seemed to be the brink of failure, but somehow got through? I could mention several others, but in the Christmas spirit, I shall consider it more blessed to let my friends give their stories.
