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What is the oldest continuous NBC affiliate south of Washington, DC?

B

bpatrick

I know that WSET Lynchburg, VA and WLOS Asheville, NC
(both, ironically, on Channel 13) are the two oldest continuous
ABC affiliates south of D.C. (sign on 1953 and 1954, respectively).
I also know that WBTV/3 Charlotte and WFMY/2 Greensboro are
the oldest continuous CBS affiliates (WAGA/5 Atlanta lost the
distinction of being the oldest when it went to Fox), both having
begun in 1949.

But I can't figure out which is the oldest NBC affiliate. WSLS/10
Roanoke, VA might qualify (1952), but do Kentucky and Tennessee
stations count (WMC Memphis and WAVE Louisville signed on in
1948; WSMV Nashville in 1950)? And if we say only Virginia to
Florida, is WIS/10 Columbia, SC the second oldest?

I'd like to clear this up out of curiosity.
 
Are you meaning 'south' to be directly south of DC or to the south of DC's longitude line?

KXAS (ex-WBAP)/5 in Fort Worth dates to September 1948, and has always been NBC
(although CBS approached KXAS in 1995 about switching when Fox snapped up KDFW/4, the previous CBS station...CBS ended up hopping across I-30 in Fort Worth after getting a no from KXAS and went with KTVT/11.)
 
What about WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia?

They have been with NBC since day one and that was on October 24, 1949.
 
I realized after I posted this that I'd left out WSAZ.
I'm not sure what 'south' means, either, else WFAA
should be in the ABC list. My guess is, if you're talking
south of DC's longitude line, KXAS and either WMC or
WAVE (maybe WDSU New Orleans as well, all 1948)
would have to be considered; if only
Virginia to Florida, I'm guessing WSLS and WIS. The
Wikipedia entries are vague as to the definition of 'south
of Washington.'
 
How about WTVR, Richmond? Or was that always a CBS affiliate?

Their website states they went on the air on April 22, 1948, "the first TV station granted a license south of the Mason/Dixon line".
 
WTVR is the oldest station south of Washington,
but it has been affiliated with three different networks:
NBC (1948-55), ABC (with some CBS 1955-56, then
fulltime 1956-60), and CBS (1960-present). I'm
looking for NBC affiliates that have never changed
affiliations (that rules out WSB, which is almost as
old as WTVR, but which changed from NBC to ABC
in 1980).

I have a feeling the Wikipedia entries are referring
only to stations between Virginia and Florida, else
WFAA should be the "oldest ABC affiliate south of
Washington." Therefore, I have to believe that
WSLS/10 Roanoke, VA (1952) is the oldest NBC
affiliate in that territory never to have changed
affiliation.
 
That eliminates WSAZ from my list of possibilities?
But would somebody explain to me why the only
station in a market in 1949 would choose ABC as
its primary network?
 
Not as old as WSLS but Bristol, VA's WCYB channel 5 would at least be "up there" as they have been with NBC since their sign-on back in 1956. Bluefield, WV's WVVA ( WHIS ) channel 6 went on the air in 1955 and I assume they have been with NBC from day one as well. The Wikipedia WVVA entry says nothing about any affiliation changes that happened there over the years.

Going back to WSLS and WSET, according to some of my friends who live in the Roanoke-Lynchburg area, they have told me over the years that Jerry Falwell in the past either expressed interest in buying one of those stations, heck some told me he "almost did" but for one reason or another did not. I have been told by my friends in that area there were a few times over the years where Falwell ( or at least his Lynchburg church ) has used their influence on what is seen/heard on TV and radio in that market. If so, I guess that is the closest Falwell ever got to "owning a TV station" though not too long ago Falwell's church ( after Jerry's death ) did try to buy the Danville, VA station WDRL channel 24 but for unknown reasons that didn't happen.

Imagine what would the Roanoke-Lynchburg market be like HAD Falwell bought either WSET or WSLS.
 
WALB in Albany, GA has been NBC since it came on the air in 53 or 54. They did carry ABC college football on Saturday in the 70's.
 
bpatrick said:
That eliminates WSAZ from my list of possibilities?
But would somebody explain to me why the only
station in a market in 1949 would choose ABC as
its primary network?
Click to expand...

Actually it was the other way around. While WSAZ did air some ABC, the station will still mainly an NBC affiliate.

Come to think of it the idea fo Huntley & Brinkley ( having the two main anchors in two different cities ) I believe NBC got that idea from WSAZ. Even before H&B, WSAZ was doing the same thing. Having an anchor in Charleston and another in Huntington and last I heard that are still doing that set-up today however I don't think they do it all the time now.

With that being said, I still wouldn't rule out WSAZ as being the longest running southern NBC affiliate.
 
What complicates this for me is: is Louisville considered
a Southern city? They think they're Midwestern; the rest
of us think it is indeed Southern. Nevertheless, WAVE
predates WSAZ, having signed on on Thanksgiving Day
1948. And if Dallas/Ft. Worth is considered Southern
(and I don't), KXAS signed on September 29, 1948.

It's so much easier with ABC and CBS. If we rule out
Dallas, WXIA Atlanta would be the oldest Southern ABC
affiliate if it still had the ABC affiliation (it signed on in '51),
and WAGA would be the oldest CBS affiliate (March '49,
four months before WBTV). But so many NBC affiliates have
kept their affiliations that most of the ones we've mentioned
are certainly in the running. I wish the wikipedia articles had
been more precise as to just what "south of Washington" is:
Virginia to Florida, or anything south of D.C.'s line of longitude.

I am sure, however, that if that definition is limited to Virginia
to Florida, WSLS/10 Roanoke, VA, is the oldest, having signed
on in December 1952.
 
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