KCTY (Kansas City)

Last updated

KCTY
Channels
Programming
Affiliations DuMont Television Network
Ownership
OwnerDuMont Television Network
History
First air date
June 6, 1953 (1953-06-06)
Last air date
  • February 28, 1954 (1954-02-28)
  • (267 days)
CBS and ABC (1953)
Call sign meaning
"Kansas City"
Technical information
ERP 1 kW TPO
Transmitter coordinates 38°56′24″N94°40′50″W / 38.94000°N 94.68056°W / 38.94000; -94.68056

KCTY was a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It broadcast on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 25 from June 6, 1953, to February 28, 1954, and was the second television station to begin broadcasting in the Kansas City area after WDAF-TV. KCTY was an affiliate of the DuMont Television Network; originally owned by the Empire Coil Company, which had pioneered UHF telecasting, DuMont purchased the station outright at the end of 1953 and operated it for two months as a study in the problems of struggling UHF stations nationwide before concluding that there was no path to economic viability. The studio for KCTY was located in the Pickwick Hotel in downtown Kansas City; the transmitter was located in a rural area that today is part of Overland Park, Kansas.

History

After the four-year freeze on television station awards was ended in 1952 with the opening of the UHF band for television broadcasting, Kansas City received several UHF television channels—noncommercial channel 19 and commercial 25 and 65 [1] —in addition to three commercial VHF assignments. In November, the Empire Coil Company filed for channel 25 as well as channel 30 in St. Louis. Empire Coil had been a trailblazer, having built KPTV (channel 27) in Portland, Oregon, the first commercial UHF television station, as well as WXEL, a VHF station in Cleveland. [2] At the time, channel 4 was occupied by pre-freeze WDAF-TV, while both channels 5 and 9 were contested among more than one applicant. Radio stations KCMO and KCKN fought for channel 5, while stations KMBC and WHB had applied for channel 9. [2]

With its application unopposed, Empire Coil was granted a construction permit for channel 25 on January 23, 1953. [1] The new station, with studios in the Pickwick Hotel downtown and a transmitter on 87th Street in an area of Johnson County, Kansas, that is now Overland Park, would serve as the local carrier of CBS, ABC, and DuMont Television Network programs. [3] KCTY was eyed as a proving ground for UHF, as it would be the first UHF station to compete with a pioneer (pre-freeze) VHF outlet; an intense push to ensure sets were converted to receive the UHF station; and a second VHF station looked likely within months. [4] A merger of two applicants in time-share operation on channel 9 and KCKN dropping out of the contest for channel 5 had considerably sped along the progress of the VHF stations compared to the situation when Empire Coil applied for the permit. [5]

KCTY began broadcasting on June 6, 1953, operating with an interim schedule consisting of two movies a day and test patterns to help dealers calibrate equipment, such as UHF converters that most sets needed to tune the new station. [6] It went on the air as WDAF radio and television was in the middle of a strike that had left Kansas City without television service for more than two weeks. [7] While authorized to broadcast with an effective radiated power of 200,000 watts, it was operating at one-tenth that due to equipment shortages, and the studios, formerly used by KMBC radio, were not complete, making the station completely dependent on filmed programs. [8] Empire also planned to launch similar UHF stations in Indianapolis (channel 67) and Denver (channel 26). [8] [9] Progressively, more network programs were added to the schedule. [10]

The new UHF station's affiliations with other television networks proved to be short-lived as the VHF station battles were cleared up and the networks secured affiliations with stations that could be received by all television sets. CBS found a VHF home on August 2, with the launch of the time-share operation of KMBC-TV and WHB-TV on channel 9; [11] ABC migrated to VHF on September 27, when KCMO-TV began on channel 5. [12] In late August, KCTY became a basic DuMont affiliate. [13] It also began to expand its schedule and add new studio shows, such as the children's program Share the Fun with host Sue Bowen, [14] as well as local newscasts and live high school football telecasts. [15]

The former KMBC radio studios in the Pickwick Hotel in Kansas City were converted for use by KCTY. Pickwick Hotel, Office Building, Parking Garage and Bus Terminal.jpg
The former KMBC radio studios in the Pickwick Hotel in Kansas City were converted for use by KCTY.

Despite this, the station's financial picture worsened considerably; there were 353,000 VHF receivers in Kansas City but just 52,000 UHF-converted and all-channel sets. Herbert Mayer, the president of Empire Coil, first attempted to put the station on the market, but not even asking buyers to name a price attracted any offers. [5] He then thought to close the station before 1953 was over in order to take the loss on the year's taxes. [9] Instead, worried that such a decision might be detrimental to the future of UHF television, [5] he instead sold KCTY for one dollar to the DuMont network itself in a transaction approved by the FCC in a special meeting on December 31, 1953, giving the company its fourth station. [9] The $1 nominal purchase price was the lowest ever for a TV station; when KMO-TV in Tacoma, Washington, and its AM counterpart were to be sold for $350,000 that same month, Television Digest noted that that deal was the next-smallest in TV history. [16]

DuMont announced that it had purchased KCTY in order to provide it support and also in order to study the problems ailing UHF stations at the time; [17] it also declared that it would begin a major marketing program to encourage UHF conversions and give it priority for a higher-power transmitter to be built by DuMont Laboratories. [5] DuMont became the first television network to own and operate a UHF television station, [18] while Empire Coil took a $750,000 loss on KCTY. [19] Empire Coil subsequently sold itself, along with its two remaining stations, to Storer Broadcasting; while Mayer said the sale was made for family considerations, [20] Broadcasting-Telecasting suggested it was also due to weakening demand for its electronics products and the television station's financial failure. [19] Empire also surrendered the construction permits for the Indianapolis and Denver UHF stations. [5]

DuMont's study did not last long. On February 12, DuMont announced it would close KCTY at the end of the month on February 28, with Allen B. DuMont noting, "Sound business judgment forces us to this decision." [21] In a letter addressed "to all television broadcasters", DuMont cited a myriad of factors: the fact that three VHF stations generally satisfied the television needs of most Kansas City viewers and advertisers; the reluctance of viewers to convert their sets to receive UHF; and resistance to the erection of outdoor antennas required to receive the station, which DuMont characterized as more pronounced in Kansas City "than in any other area of which we have knowledge". [21] DuMont also announced it would sign with a VHF station to air its programs, with KCMO-TV assuming DuMont network programs upon the station's closure. [22] KCTY was just the third UHF station of 130 to have gone on the air to fold, after WROV-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, and WBES-TV in Buffalo, New York. [23]

DuMont offered the facilities for sale for $95,000, and one group investigated possible use of the plant by an educational television station, though this did not materialize. [24] No commercial UHF station would be proposed for channel 25 until 1964, when a consortium from Chicago filed an application for a construction permit. [25] A second application was filed in May 1965 by the Allied Broadcasting Company, [26] which was approved but only after two revisions of the UHF table of allocations meant their new station, KCIT-TV, would broadcast on channel 50 when it signed on in October 1969. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DuMont Television Network</span> American television network (1942–1956)

The DuMont Television Network was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in the United States. It was owned by Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, a television equipment and television set manufacturer, and began operation on April 13, 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWCH-DT</span> CBS affiliate in Hutchinson, Kansas

KWCH-DT is a television station licensed to Hutchinson, Kansas, United States, serving the Wichita area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CW affiliate KSCW-DT and maintains studios on 37th Street North in northeast Wichita and a transmitter facility located east of Hutchinson in rural northeastern Reno County. KWCH-DT serves as the flagship of the Kansas Broadcasting System (KBS), a network of four full-power stations that relay CBS network and other programming provided by KWCH across central and western Kansas, as well as bordering counties in Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVE (New York)</span> Television station in New York, United States

WTVE was a television station in Elmira, New York, United States, which operated from 1953 to 1954 and again from 1956 to 1957. It was the first station to sign on in the Elmira area. It broadcast from studios on Market Street in Elmira and a transmitter on Comfort Hill, also known as South Mountain, near Ashland. Economic problems surrounding early UHF television stations played a major role in its demise and in its pursuit of a VHF channel assignment for Elmira, which was first granted and then taken away. It lost $350,000 in 44 months of broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCTV</span> CBS affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri

KCTV is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV. The two stations share studios on Shawnee Mission Parkway in Fairway, Kansas; KCTV's transmitter facility, the KCTV Broadcast Tower, is located in the Union Hill section of Kansas City, Missouri.

KPXE-TV is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Oak Street and Cleaver Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, and its transmitter is located in the city's Brown Estates section.

KCPT, branded on-air as Kansas City PBS or KC PBS, is a PBS member television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It is owned by Public Television 19, Inc., alongside adult album alternative radio station KTBG and online magazine Flatland. KCPT and KTBG share studios on East 31st Street in the Union Hill section of Kansas City, Missouri. KCPT's transmitter is located near 23rd Street and Stark Avenue in the Blue Valley neighborhood. The station provides coverage to the Kansas City and St. Joseph areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVLT-TV</span> CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee

WVLT-TV is a television station in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Crossville-licensed dual CW/Telemundo affiliate WBXX-TV. The two stations share studios on Papermill Drive on the west side of Knoxville; WVLT-TV's transmitter is located on Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KQTV</span> ABC affiliate in St. Joseph, Missouri

KQTV is a television station in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Heartland Media. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Faraon Street in eastern St. Joseph.

WFPG-TV was a television station in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, which operated from December 1952 until May 1954. It was one of the earliest UHF stations in the country, and held affiliations with all four major networks of the era: NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WROV-TV</span> Television station in Virginia, United States

WROV-TV was a television station on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 27 in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It broadcast from March 2 to July 18, 1953, becoming the first UHF station in the United States to cease broadcasting. Its failure was the first of many in the early days of UHF television, which was hindered by signal issues in mountainous areas and the lack of UHF tuning on all television sets—a problem not resolved until the All-Channel Receiver Act took effect in 1964.

WNAO-TV, UHF analog channel 28, was a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Owned by the Sir Walter Television Company, it was the first television station in the Raleigh–Durham area and the first UHF television station in North Carolina, broadcasting from July 12, 1953, to December 31, 1957. The station closed because of the establishment of higher-powered, more accessible very high frequency (VHF) television stations in the region.

KANG-TV was a television station on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 34 in Waco, Texas, United States. It was owned by the Texas Broadcasting Company and was the first station to serve Waco, beginning on November 1, 1953, and closing down on December 31, 1955. The station's assets and CBS network affiliation were acquired by KWTX-TV, and KANG-TV's owners, the Texas Broadcasting Company run by Lady Bird Johnson, acquired 29 percent of KWTX television and radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCIT-TV (Kansas City)</span> Television station in Missouri, United States

KCIT-TV was an independent television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It was the first new commercial television station to operate in Kansas City in nearly 15 years. It broadcast from October 29, 1969, to July 8, 1971, failing due to financial difficulties. After the station ceased broadcasting, the equipment was acquired by Community Service Broadcasting of Mid-America, which had also purchased public television station KCSD-TV ; KCIT-TV's equipment and KCSD-TV's license were used to relaunch public television in Kansas City as KCPT in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WENS (TV)</span> TV station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1953–1957)

WENS was a television station broadcasting on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 16 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1953 to 1957. An ABC and CBS affiliate, it was one of two early UHF television stations in Pittsburgh. The arrival of stronger very high frequency (VHF) stations and struggles generally applicable to UHF broadcasting in the early years of television prompted the station to close and sell its technical facilities to educational broadcaster WQED for use as a second educational channel, WQEX.

WITV was a television station that broadcast on channel 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. Owned by the Gerico Investment Company, it was the third television station on the air in the Miami–Fort Lauderdale area and the fourth in South Florida, operating from December 1953 to May 1958. It was doomed by troubles that plagued ultra high frequency (UHF) television in the days before the All-Channel Receiver Act and particularly the arrival of two additional VHF TV stations to Miami in 1956 and 1957. The WITV transmitter facility was purchased by the Dade County School Board, eventually resulting in the reactivation of channel 17 as Miami-based WLRN-TV in 1962.

WNEX-TV, known as WETV from 1953 to 1954 and WOKA in May 1955, was a television station on channel 47 in Macon, Georgia, United States. It was the first station on the air in Macon and held an affiliation with NBC throughout its existence; it initially was also affiliated with ABC. The station's studios and transmitter were located along Pio Nono Avenue.

WPMT was a television station in Portland, Maine, United States. It operated from August 30, 1953, to December 15, 1954, and was the first television station in Portland. Much of its programming was also rebroadcast on WLAM-TV in Lewiston–Auburn, which broadcast from November 26, 1953, to March 25, 1955; the two stations were known as the Maine Television Network. Like many early UHF television stations, the arrival of VHF stations—in this case WCSH-TV, WGAN-TV, and WMTW-TV—took away network programming and economic viability from the UHF outlets.

WBUF-TV was a television station that broadcast on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 17 in Buffalo, New York, United States. It broadcast from August 17, 1953, to February 1955 and again from March 1955 until the morning of October 1, 1958.

WGLV was a television station in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States, which operated from August 1953 to October 1957. It was owned by the Easton Publishing Company, publisher of the Easton Express newspaper, and broadcast programming from ABC and the DuMont Television Network. It was the second station in the Lehigh Valley, which at one point had three local UHF outlets. However, largely due to power increases from competing very high frequency (VHF) stations in Philadelphia and New York City, WGLV left the air on October 31, 1957.

References

  1. 1 2 "TV-UHF To Be Here: FCC Grants Station License to Empire Coil Company of New Rochelle, N. Y." The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. January 23, 1953. p. 1, 2. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "Bids For TV Station Here: New York Firm Seeks UHF Channel No. 25". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. November 25, 1952. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "New Channel In June: KCTY Will Begin Telecasts, It Is Announced". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. April 24, 1953. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "3 Starters Augur Boom Backing for UHF" (PDF). Television Digest. June 6, 1953. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via World Radio History.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "DuMont Takes Over Kansas City UHF" (PDF). Television Digest. January 2, 1954. p. 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via World Radio History.
  6. "KCTY Makes Its Debut: New TV Station Goes On Air With Motion Picture". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. June 7, 1953. p. 2A. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Radio-TV Strike Holds: Announcers Reject Proposal Made By Union Field Man". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. June 7, 1953. p. 1A, 2A. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Kiewit, Fred (June 14, 1953). "The Second Television Station Here Goes Into Action Quickly". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p. 3E. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 3 "KCTY (TV) Moves from Empire to DuMont for $1" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 4, 1954. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via World Radio History.
  10. "Special Anniversary Show and Title Fight on TV Schedule". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. June 21, 1953. p. 92. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "New TV Station on Air: Programming Is Begun by KMBC-TV and WHB-TV". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. August 3, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "KCMO's TV Is on Air Today". St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph, Missouri. September 27, 1953. p. 36. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "KCTY Signs With Du Mont: UHF Station Here a Basic Affiliate of Network". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. August 30, 1953. p. 14B. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "KCTY To Expand Time: New Weekday Children's Show To Start Tomorrow". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. August 23, 1953. p. 74. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Football on the Air Today". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. September 26, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "The Value of TV Network Franchises" (PDF). Television Digest. January 30, 1954. p. 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  17. "Network Help For KCTY: The Du Mont Corporation Wants to Study UHF Problems". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. January 1, 1954. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Radio-TV Notes". The New York Times . January 1, 1954. p. 19. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  19. 1 2 "Closed Circuit" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 18, 1954. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via World Radio History.
  20. "Empire Coil Plant Here Sold: Storer Company Buys TV Stations Also From Mayer". The Standard-Star. New Rochelle, New York. January 9, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved May 13, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  21. 1 2 "DuMont to Close KCTY (TV) After Study of 'Problems'" (PDF). February 15, 1954. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via World Radio History.
  22. "DuMont on KCMO-TV". The Kansas City Times. February 18, 1954. p. 4. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  23. "5 New Starters; DuMont's KCTY Quits" (PDF). Television Digest. February 13, 1954. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via World Radio History.
  24. "To Discuss KCTY Purchase: Educational Use Will Be Investigated by Those at Meeting". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. March 13, 1954. p. 15. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  25. Lastelic, Joe (August 4, 1964). "Apply For a TV License Here: Chicagoans Propose Operation on UHF Channel 25". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Notice". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. May 27, 1965. p. 42. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  27. "Channel 50 Goes On The Air". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. October 29, 1969. p. 3A. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2020 via Newspapers.com.