WTEV/WLNE New Bedford Turning 50

[Dighton Rockhead]

Tonight (December 31st.) at 12 midnight is the 50th. anniversary of WTEV/WLNE. It's first broadcast began just as 1963 was beginning.

Poor Channel 6....A history of 50 years of disappointment, mediocrity, frustration, failure, and abysmal ratings!

Yet...Channel 6 holds a place in the hearts of so many in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. A group of former employees of WTEV/WLNE have even set up thier own nostalgic web site dedicated to the little station that couldn't.......and still can't!

http://chef.menujoy.com/wtev/index.htm

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

I would consider WTEV/WLNE-6 as "The Little Station That Tried....And Sometimes, Even Succeeded".

The station's major problems in the analog era could be traced to it's signal. Especially north of Providence, it wasn't that good.

But today, WLNE's digital over-the-air signal is the equal of WJAR-10, WPRI-12 and WNAC-64.

Hopefully, the first part of WLNE's second half-century will find the station finally becoming fully competitive with WJAR and WPRI in ratings, personnel and equipment in the news department.

It would be nice for the Providence/New Bedford market to have three strong local news departments, all of which put out a first-rate news product. Hopefully, we'll see it happen within the next few years.

 

[DToTheJ]

Poor Channel 6... A history of 50 years of disappointment, mediocrity, frustration, failure, and abysmal ratings...

Don't forget those bra infomercials in the prime access hour!

 

[alg2468]

I have to give lots of credit to WLNE/WTEV for always trying. Their newscasts have been much better as of late, reception is better than it has been since the DTV switchover. And they have a great staff at the station. The only mention of the 50th anniversary was a quick ad on their station mentioning the event. It would be nice if they had a rememberance show about the event with the older staff.

 

[DToTheJ]

I have a feeling that Channel 6 might spend more than a mere mention of its 50th anniversary if their last half-century on the air was truly something to be proud of... Low ratings? Bankruptcy? Infomercials? Yeah, I'd downplay it, too...

 

[blackgold]

I remember seeing the flip clock at the the top and bottom of each hour with an advert on the screen. And who could forget "Passport to Portugal" and the local "Romper Room?"

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

I remember seeing the flip clock at the the top and bottom of each hour with an advert on the screen. And who could forget "Passport to Portugal" and the local "Romper Room?"

That flip clock ID is one of those things that you just NEVER forget...LOL. It was sort of the broadcast version of one of those "business card ads" you see in things like church bulletins and pennysaver-type free newspapers. The one fond part of that memory is the booming voice of the late Bob Bassett on that flip clock ID: "WTEV, New Bedford/Providence".

I'm pretty sure "Passport to Portugal" was on WPRI, Channel 12. You must be thinking of "The Portuguese Around Us", which was indeed a production of the Portuguese American Federation in association with WTEV, Channel 6.

In the neighborhood where I grew up, I would occasionally see one of the elderly ladies who used to host some of the show's cooking segments driving around very s-l-o-w-l-y in her huge ancient Plymouth Fury sedan.

 

[alg2468]

I also remember:

The rapid on screen switch when the evening 6:00 news ended and the ABC 6:30 PM news began; it is like the two shows were on screen at the same time;

The promos for the switch from ABC to CBS in 1977 on WTEV showed a large CBS eye that blinked with the old curly 6 logo in the center of the eye;

The eagle in the center of the stations 6 logo;

The various number 6 logo changes in 1980 - at least three of them, when the stations changed from WTEV to WLNE;

When the station turned 25 in 1988, it had ads reminding viewers of this with a large symbol looking like a giant quarter turning around with the 6 logo;

The 'We Love New England" ads with the music in the early 80's;

The "We're 6 Country" ads with the stations' logos and music.

The station has a lot of changes and memories, too bad it was not popular in the ratings. They did have a great dedicated staff.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

The station has a lot of changes and memories, too bad it was not popular in the ratings. They did have a great dedicated staff.

True enough. But, the old expression really IS true: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression".

And the first impression made on Southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Eastern Connecticut by WTEV-6 was not a good one. That, combined with being crippled technically by not being able to transmit from the Rehoboth MA antenna farm along with the other market stations...(due to short-spacing issues)....pretty much sealed Channel 6's fate.

Now that the digital era is here...and there finally is technical parity with the other market stations....maybe....just maybe....Channel 6 will get that rare second chance to make that first iimpression.

 

[N1WVQ]

I think with cable, the channel achieved parity, didn't it? 6's problem now is that they're not 10 nor 12.

 

[Skynet74]

They do have a history that makes them unique. "Dialing for Dollars" was a favorite for years. They were the movie station! I believe they were also the local Red Sox station. I know the station has it's struggles. But I'm sure they could put together a nice special based on what they've done over the past 50 years. For the longest time they struggled to be known as a Providence station because they were in New Bedford. Even now I think it would benefit them to put up the Providence skyline behind their newscasts. Getting people to watch their news is where they always seem to struggle.

 

[formeraa]

They do have a history that makes them unique. "Dialing for Dollars" was a favorite for years. They were the movie station! I believe they were also the local Red Sox station.

Who could forget George Allen and "Dialing for Dollars" -- or as we used to joke "Dialing for Pennies"??? And also, yes, the Sox were on Six for a number of years.

 

[MCarney]

And thanks to George and "Dialing for Dollars" I have my fondest memories of channel 6. To put "Dialing" on WLNE moved "Guiding Light" to 10am on a one day delay. I spent the summers of 1983 and 1984 riding around listening to GL at the end of the FM dial and catching up on anything I missed the day before. Truly I miss those old days!

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

And thanks to George and "Dialing for Dollars" I have my fondest memories of channel 6. To put "Dialing" on WLNE moved "Guiding Light" to 10am on a one day delay. I spent the summers of 1983 and 1984 riding around listening to GL at the end of the FM dial and catching up on anything I missed the day before. Truly I miss those old days!

That was exactly the sort of thing that drove CBS (and before that, ABC) absolutely NUTS!

WTEV/WLNE in those times had a habit of being very liberal about how they would shuffle around network programming to suit thier own needs. I remember "Love of Life" was also a victim of day-behind tape delay in the years prior to its cancellation.

From what I gather...during this current go-round with ABC, it seems Channel 6 has been much more compliant about network programming.

 

[mysticnitekatt]

They do have a history that makes them unique. "Dialing for Dollars" was a favorite for years. They were the movie station!

if they ever brought the concept back, it would have to be "Texting For Dollars"

 

[formeraa]

They do have a history that makes them unique. "Dialing for Dollars" was a favorite for years. They were the movie station!

if they ever brought the concept back, it would have to be "Texting For Dollars"

Or "Tweeting for Dollars"...The sixth tweet wins!