Springfield Television Corporation was a group owner of television stations based in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company was founded by William Lowell Putnam III, who launched the company's first television station, WWLP, on March 17, 1953. (Putnam was the son of politician and businessman, Roger Putnam. He was also a former trustee of the Lowell Observatory, founded by his great-uncle, astronomer Percival Lowell.)
The company owned five television stations during its lifetime, no more than four at any given time.
The company folded in 1984 with Putnam's retirement, and the sale of its remaining stations—WWLP, WKEF in Dayton, Ohio, and KSTU in Salt Lake City, Utah—to Adams Communications.
Market | Station | Years Owned | Today |
---|---|---|---|
Springfield, MA | WWLP 22** (NBC) | 1953-1984 | NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
Greenfield, MA | WRLP-TV 32** (NBC; repeater of WWLP, to 1974) (independent; 1974–1978) | 1957-1978 | Defunct, went dark April 9, 1978; frequency never reactivated |
Worcester - Boston, MA | WJZB-TV 14 (NBC; repeater of WWLP) | 1958-1969 | Defunct, went dark after a fire in Spring 1969, shortly after its sale to Evans Broadcasting; frequency never reactivated |
Dayton, OH | WKEF 22 (ABC, 1966–1979) (NBC, 1980–2004) | 1966-1984 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
Salt Lake City, UT | KSTU 20** (independent) | 1978-1984 | Fox affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, operating on channel 13 under a different license |
Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. In 2011, the Observatory was named one of "The World's 100 Most Important Places" by Time Magazine. It was at the Lowell Observatory that the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh.
Springfield is the largest city in and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the third-largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 699,162 in 2020.
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada. It awards a scholarship and cash prizes ranging from $250 to $2,500 for the top students and $5,000 to $25,000 for the top schools, plus one of the top five individual scorers is awarded a scholarship of up to $12,000 plus tuition at Harvard University, the top 100 individual scorers have their names mentioned in the American Mathematical Monthly, and the names and addresses of the top 500 contestants are mailed to all participating institutions. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious university-level mathematics competition in the world, and its difficulty is such that the median score is often zero despite being attempted by students specializing in mathematics.
The Lowell family is one of the Boston Brahmin families of New England, known for both intellectual and commercial achievements.
WKEF is a television station in Dayton, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to Dabl affiliate WRGT-TV under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cunningham Broadcasting. However, Sinclair effectively owns WRGT-TV as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. Both stations share studios on Corporate Place in Miamisburg, while WKEF's transmitter is located off South Gettysburg Avenue in southwest Dayton.
WGGB-TV is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power CBS affiliate WSHM-LD. Both stations share studios on Liberty Street in Springfield, while WGGB-TV's transmitter is located on Mount Tom in Holyoke.
WWLP is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station has studios at Broadcast Center in the Sandy Hill section of Chicopee at the northwest corner of the I-391/MA 116/Chicopee Street interchange, and its transmitter is located on Provin Mountain in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam.
WFSB is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Denise D'Ascenzo Way in Rocky Hill and a transmitter on Talcott Mountain in Avon, Connecticut.
WGBY-TV is a PBS member television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Boston-based WGBH Educational Foundation, it is a sister station to that organization's flagship and namesake, WGBH-TV ; New England Public Media, which also controls Amherst-licensed NPR member WFCR, operates WGBY-TV under a program service agreement. WGBY-TV provides programming to much of western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut, with studios based in the Irene Mennen Hunter Public Media Center on Hampden Street alongside I-91 in downtown Springfield. Its transmitter is located on the peak of Mount Tom in Holyoke with the area's commercial television stations. WGBY-TV is also available on Comcast Xfinity channel 2 in Windham County, Vermont.
WSHM-LD is a low-power television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside ABC/Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WGGB-TV. Both stations share studios on Liberty Street in Springfield, while WSHM-LD's transmitter is located on Mount Tom in Holyoke.
As Schools Match Wits is a high school quiz show, hosted by Beth Ward, that airs on PBS member station WGBY in Springfield, Massachusetts, and which is produced in association with Westfield State University. As Schools Match Wits is well known throughout Western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.
The WGBH Educational Foundation is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, and operates its flagship station WGBH-TV, sister station WGBX-TV, and a group of NPR member stations in the state. It also owns WGBY-TV in Springfield, which is operated by New England Public Media under a program service agreement.
WFXQ-CD is a low-power, Class A television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a translator of dual NBC/CW+ affiliate WWLP, owned by Nexstar Media Group. WFXQ-CD's transmitter is located at the old Mount Tom Ski Area summit in Holyoke. Its parent station maintains studios at Broadcast Center in the Sandy Hill section of Chicopee at the northwest corner of the I-391/MA 116/Chicopee Street interchange.
The Bill Putnam hut is an alpine hut located in the Adamant Range of the Selkirk mountains in British Columbia. It is set on a knoll at the edge of a high mountain meadow and provides access to a great array of mountaineering objectives, but is best known for its spectacular skiing terrain. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada.
WRLP was a television station marketed in Greenfield, Massachusetts, which broadcast on UHF channel 32 from 1957 to 1978. For most of its history, it was a satellite of WWLP in Springfield.
WJZB-TV, UHF analog channel 14, was a television station located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The station was on the air from 1953 to 1969, with a hiatus from 1955 to 1958.
Roger Lowell Putnam was an American politician and businessman. A member of the prominent Lowell family of Boston, he served as Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1937 until 1943, and as director of the Economic Stabilization Administration from 1951 until 1952. During his short tenure in federal office, the nation's steelworkers struck—leading United States President Harry S. Truman to seize the nation's steel mills.
William Lowell Putnam III was an alpinist, author and retired broadcasting executive. He was Trustee Emeritus of the Lowell Observatory, a private astronomical research facility. He was the son of politician and businessman Roger Putnam and a member of the prominent Lowell family of Massachusetts.
The Children's Museum at Holyoke is a children's museum in Holyoke, Massachusetts, featuring participatory art, exhibits related to science, daily life, and an elaborate climbing area. The museum is located Downtown, within Holyoke Heritage State Park, in the renovated Sheldon Building of the former William Skinner and Sons silk mill complex.
Orlando Ramos is an American politician serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 9th Hampden district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 6, 2021.