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What was the largest market that waited the longest time...
- Thread starter ixnay
- Start date
Macon, GA has to be in there somewhere.
WMAZ/13 (CBS) signed on in 1953 and I
remember a few ABC programs on it in the
late '60s/early '70s (Lawrence Welk, The
Brady Bunch, General Hospital come to mind).
WMGT/41 (NBC) has been on since '68; I
remember their carrying ABC's Sunday cartoon
block in the early '70s.
WGXA/24 signed on in 1982 as the fulltime
ABC affiliate; in 1995 WPGA/58 signed on as
a Fox affiliate. About a year or two later these
two stations switched.
So since Macon didn't have an exclusive affiliate
for each of the Big Three until '82, I'd certainly
think that market is a nominee for one that waited
the longest to get an affiliate for each of the Big
Three.
WMAZ/13 (CBS) signed on in 1953 and I
remember a few ABC programs on it in the
late '60s/early '70s (Lawrence Welk, The
Brady Bunch, General Hospital come to mind).
WMGT/41 (NBC) has been on since '68; I
remember their carrying ABC's Sunday cartoon
block in the early '70s.
WGXA/24 signed on in 1982 as the fulltime
ABC affiliate; in 1995 WPGA/58 signed on as
a Fox affiliate. About a year or two later these
two stations switched.
So since Macon didn't have an exclusive affiliate
for each of the Big Three until '82, I'd certainly
think that market is a nominee for one that waited
the longest to get an affiliate for each of the Big
Three.
It all depends on whether or not low-power stations count. If they do, Springfield, Mass. (#109) waited the longest. It wasn't until 2003 when WSHM-LP signed on with CBS programming, giving the city, at long last, all Big 3 networks exclusive to the area.
Otherwise, Lansing (#112) didn't sign on their final Big 3 station, WLAJ (ABC), until 1990.
Expect this to be rendered moot, however, if WMBF, an NBC affiliate, signs on in Florence, S.C. (#105).
Otherwise, Lansing (#112) didn't sign on their final Big 3 station, WLAJ (ABC), until 1990.
Expect this to be rendered moot, however, if WMBF, an NBC affiliate, signs on in Florence, S.C. (#105).
If we're talking markets within at least the top 50, to me, Pittsburgh certainly comes to mind, possibly followed by Charlotte. Pittsburgh was essentially a one-station town with KDKA Channel 2 (originally WDTV Channel 3), although they had a short-lived UHF station in the mid-1950s, plus WQED-TV signing-on in 1954. Channel 11 (then WIIC) signed-on in 1957 as NBC, and Channel 4 signed-on in 1958 as ABC.
Charlotte, of course, had WBTV since 1949, but like KDKA, with little competition from another short-lived UHF station, it was a one-station town until 1957, when WSOC (as NBC) went on the air. It would be another seven years until a new network affiliate came to town, in the form of WCCB (originally Channel 36, now at Channel 18).
Charlotte, of course, had WBTV since 1949, but like KDKA, with little competition from another short-lived UHF station, it was a one-station town until 1957, when WSOC (as NBC) went on the air. It would be another seven years until a new network affiliate came to town, in the form of WCCB (originally Channel 36, now at Channel 18).
B
Bob1370
Guest
If you want to talk about TV dry spells, Denver qualifies...it had NO television service AT ALL, before the FCC freeze was lifted in 1952, by far the biggest US city without any TV stations in operation prior to the lifting of the freeze. The freeze there thawed out fairly quickly (they had two stations sign on the air in the late summer and fall of '52, and two more within the next two years afterward) but imagine missing out on the entire first wave of TV programming that cities on the coasts and in the Midwest enjoyed in the late 1940s...that's how it was out in the mountain West.
Yes the Denver story is quite odd and interesting(as I worked at KCNC in the early 90s) all three stations didn't sign on until 1953. I know Albuquerque had KOB TV up and operating by 1948, and I believe Salt Lake City had a station up and running too, but other than that, the Mountain Time zone as far as I know was went without TV stations until at least 1952/1953...
Boise didn't get a fulltime ABC station until when KIVI signed on in 1974...
Boise didn't get a fulltime ABC station until when KIVI signed on in 1974...
C
chuckydoll
Guest
to get all of the original Big 3
Beckley/Bluefield: Didn't get its own CBS until September 2001.
Eugene: A 2-station market until 1980 or so.
Lansing: 1990, when it got its Fox just before its ABC.
McAllen/Brownsville: A 2-station market until 1981.
Southern Oregon: Didn't get its own ABC until 1984.
Tallahassee: A 1-station market until 1976, then a 2-station market until 1980 or so.
Topeka: A 1-station market until the late 60's, then a 2-station market until 1985 or so.
Tyler/Longview: A 1-station market into the 80's, then a 2-station market into the mid-90's.
Beckley/Bluefield: Didn't get its own CBS until September 2001.
Eugene: A 2-station market until 1980 or so.
Lansing: 1990, when it got its Fox just before its ABC.
McAllen/Brownsville: A 2-station market until 1981.
Southern Oregon: Didn't get its own ABC until 1984.
Tallahassee: A 1-station market until 1976, then a 2-station market until 1980 or so.
Topeka: A 1-station market until the late 60's, then a 2-station market until 1985 or so.
Tyler/Longview: A 1-station market into the 80's, then a 2-station market into the mid-90's.
Re: to get all of the original Big 3
It was 1984 before the market finally got CBS' full schedule on a dedicated station, before that it was mostly seen locally for availability of Dallas Cowboys games. Then 1987 brought NBC's full schedule on a separate station. Fox would not be seen in the market until 1991, at the expense of losing CBS. The eye would return in 2004.chuckydoll said:
A few years back there was a book about all of the local kids shows that were the rage from the early days of TV until the 80s ( in some places like Phoenix's Wallace & Ladmo and Denver's Blinky The Clown ).
I forgot who wrote it but I think it was called something like "Hey There Boys & Girls". Anyway the author mentions that in New Orleans, WDSU went on the air in the late 40s and they pretty much had that market all for themselves until 1958 when WWL signed on.
Charlottesville, Virginia's NBC affilate WVIR-TV 29 signed on the air around 1973.
But it wasn't until just a few years ago when that market ended up getting its own FOX, ABC, and CBS.
Of course Charlottesville isn't that far from either Richmond or Harrisonburg. I believe the was an attempt to combine Charlottesville and Harrisonburg into one market but that of course never happened. Over the years I heard that college sports may have played a role there since both cities are big colege towns with Charlottesville being home to Unversity of Virginia and Harrisonburg with James Madison University.
I forgot who wrote it but I think it was called something like "Hey There Boys & Girls". Anyway the author mentions that in New Orleans, WDSU went on the air in the late 40s and they pretty much had that market all for themselves until 1958 when WWL signed on.
Charlottesville, Virginia's NBC affilate WVIR-TV 29 signed on the air around 1973.
But it wasn't until just a few years ago when that market ended up getting its own FOX, ABC, and CBS.
Of course Charlottesville isn't that far from either Richmond or Harrisonburg. I believe the was an attempt to combine Charlottesville and Harrisonburg into one market but that of course never happened. Over the years I heard that college sports may have played a role there since both cities are big colege towns with Charlottesville being home to Unversity of Virginia and Harrisonburg with James Madison University.
bk77 said:
The book is Hi There, Boys and Girls, and the author's name is Tim Hollis (Tim's a good friend of mine who collaborates with me on a nostalgic site about Birmingham, www.birminghamrewound.com) </shameless plug>
A couple of markets come quickly to mind in which a single commercial station had the stage all to itself: Macon, Ga. had WMAZ-13 (CBS) ... The next station didn't come along until 1968 - WCWB channel 41 (NBC; now WMGT). ABC came about in the '70s (channel 24 - now FOX).
Tallahassee, Fla. is another one: the combined Thomasville (Ga.)-Tallahassee market had WCTV-6 from 1955 until 1976, when WECA channel 27 signed on as ABC (calls stood for "WE CAn do it"). NBC in the market barely hangs in with channel 40, WTWC. NBC for years has been available OTA from Panama City (WJHG-7) and Albany (WALB-10). Recently, though, WALB was out of the picture because of its tower collapse last year - an indirect result of a plane clipping the guy of a parallel stick (FOX 31).
WALB's tower collapse is on video, too: http://www.walb.com/Global/category.asp?C=81304&nav=menu37_3
--Russell
K
KML0224
Guest
This being the week for Roman numerals, right? (LOL). How many stations out there use them in their call letters? One good example is WLVI-TV/DT (CW) channel 56 of Cambridge/Boston.
I'm pretty much sure Charlotte was the largest market to have only two TV stations when a third, WCCB/36, signed on in early 1965. I believe Charlotte was ranked somewhere in the mid 30s at that time (it is now #26). The original two stations WBTV/3 and WSOC/9 were both affiliated with all three networks at that time and WCCB also showed programs from all three until getting exclusive ABC about 1968. By that time WCCB had moved to channel 18 and another station, WCTU (an independent) had taken over 36. sidenote--"educational" channel WTVI/42 (now PBS) had signed on in Charlotte about 1962.
Bob1370 said:
I recall reading that quite a few TV sets had already been sold in Denver in aticipation of local TV before the freeze left them high and dry. But someone learned of sporadic e-skip and realized that every so often, for a few hours at least, they could get TV! In those days, with so few stations on the air, a skip station would often be watchable (with some fading and fluttering, of course) for long periods, with no CCI to deal with. They actually had a phone network set up, where when someone would note skip coming in, they would start a chain of phone calls to the other TV set owners in town, and for a few hours they would enjoy Uncle Miltie or whatever else happened to be on.
bpatrick said:
Yeah .... I saw that after the fact. My bad. :-\
-RW
B
Bob1370
Guest
Odd sidelight...for weeks after the World Trade Center went down on 9/11/01, if you didn't have cable, NEW YORK CITY was a one-channel town, at least for English-speaking viewers. That channel happened to be the CBS O&O, and it sure didn't hurt that network's competitive standing locally or nationally in the years to come.
Only WCBS-TV (Channel 2) had the foresight to keep a high power backup transmitter at a location other than the WTC--in their case, it was the Empire State Building antenna plant they'd originally installed as a main transmitter back in 1951, and kept in place as a backup just-in-case. After the planes hit the towers, Channel 2 was back up and running within minutes at full strength (45 kW ERP) while everyone else went dark. They and the two main Spanish language stations (along with the city's FMs) had ESB to themselves by then. Everyone else among the English language stations had taken down their ESB transmitters and gone to WTC, so if your home was among the roughly 35% of the city that spoke only English and didn't subscribe to cable or satellite dish service, it was CBS and nothing else until the others got their temporary rigs in Alpine, NJ up and running later that fall. Even after Thanksgiving of '01 there were people who couldn't pull in the low power temporary transmitters the other stations were running, especially in the outer boroughs and on Long Island, but could pull in the full-power signal CBS had.
By now, everyone has moved back to ESB (which has already proven it can take an airplane hit and stay standing) as their main TL, and built secondary backups at 4 Times Square and at Alpine so they won't be caught in the dark again. Hopefully they'll never need them.
Only WCBS-TV (Channel 2) had the foresight to keep a high power backup transmitter at a location other than the WTC--in their case, it was the Empire State Building antenna plant they'd originally installed as a main transmitter back in 1951, and kept in place as a backup just-in-case. After the planes hit the towers, Channel 2 was back up and running within minutes at full strength (45 kW ERP) while everyone else went dark. They and the two main Spanish language stations (along with the city's FMs) had ESB to themselves by then. Everyone else among the English language stations had taken down their ESB transmitters and gone to WTC, so if your home was among the roughly 35% of the city that spoke only English and didn't subscribe to cable or satellite dish service, it was CBS and nothing else until the others got their temporary rigs in Alpine, NJ up and running later that fall. Even after Thanksgiving of '01 there were people who couldn't pull in the low power temporary transmitters the other stations were running, especially in the outer boroughs and on Long Island, but could pull in the full-power signal CBS had.
By now, everyone has moved back to ESB (which has already proven it can take an airplane hit and stay standing) as their main TL, and built secondary backups at 4 Times Square and at Alpine so they won't be caught in the dark again. Hopefully they'll never need them.
Bob1370 said:
...actually, the CBS transmitter remaining on the ESB was due to the initial installation of the transmitter on the WTC sending a lousy signal towards Connecticut, where CBS chair William Paley lived. Paley ordered WCBS-TV to keep the ESB transmitter should the WTC stick ever start failing; I suspect, with all the changes in CBS ownership in the '80s and '90s and Paley's death in 1990, the CBS ESB transmitter was forgotten by all except the engineers and highest-ranking WCBS brass until 9/11...
...and the biggest irony of all was WNBC having to put its signal on the Alpine Tower in New Jersey, built by Edwin Armstrong. The bitter relationship between Armstrong and RCA head David Sarnoff was essentially what led to Armstrong's suicide in 1954, and WNBC couldn't wait to get back to the ESB after having to put their post-WTC signal on a stick with that kind of history...
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