WPTV and WSM to become ABC affiliation in the 80s

[DucNguyen0131]

October 7, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission has told to the RCA that they will gave them a waiver for keeping both WJZ-TV in Baltimore, and WRC-TV in Washington, both of them were currently NBC affiliates.

A RCA-Westinghouse merger was proposed in early 1983 that they will see seven of the Westinghouse groups and five RCA/NBC groups merged together.

Westinghouse is one of the co-founders of the current owner of NBC, Radio Corporation of America in 1919. The new combined company would be called "Westinghouse-RCA".

One of the other stations Westinghouse owned are KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, WJZD-TV in Detroit, KYW-TV in Chattanooga, WBZ-TV in Boston, WCPQ-TV in Charlotte and WLTZ-TV in Columbia.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

October 12, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission had approved TVX Broadcast Group's offer to purchase Albany TV 23, Inc., owners of the Capital Region's independent television station WXXA-TV in Albany.

TVX is in the process of buying WATL-TV in Atlanta, from one of its original owners.

TVX Broadcast Group, who was controlled by Gene Loving and Tim McDonald, also owns WTVZ-TV in Norfolk, WRLH-TV in Richmond, WJTM-TV in Greensboro and WLVI-TV in Cambridge/Boston.

WLVI-TV was TVX's largest television station by market size. WXXA was built in 1982 as an independent television station.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

October 20, 1983

CBS Inc., who owns five television stations in the largest markets announced a $6.4 billion offer to purchase Storer Communications, who owns seven stations. This gave CBS additional owned-and-operated TV stations in NFL markets.

The seven Storer stations include WAGA-TV in Atlanta, WJBK-TV in Detroit, WJKW-TV in Cleveland, WTVG in Toledo, WITI in Milwaukee, WAST-TV in Albany and WKYT-TV in Lexington. The five CBS O&Os include WCBS-TV in New York, KCBH-TV in Los Angeles, WBBM-TV in Chicago, WCAU in Philadelphia and KCBS-TV in San Francisco.

Detroit is the nation's seventh largest market, and this mean CBS will have a Detroit base for the station. RCA was in the process of merging with Westinghouse Electric Corporation, who also owns another Detroit NBC affiliate WJZD-TV in Detroit. ABC already has a O&O in the nation's seventh largest market, WXYZ-TV in Detroit.

The 1994 move of the stations to Fox has been butterflied away.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

October 31, 1983

The General Electric-owned South Florida NBC affiliate WCKT-TV is giving them a new look under the new call letters "WGEF", which stood for "General Electric Florida". In addition, the station will bring two new programs.

First is First News, which is based on KOA-TV's First News format, which was also widely used by General Electric stations, with two anchors doing the helm at WCKT. It was designed to run at 5:30.

The second is The South Florida Evening News, which is based on this type of news format that was used by two General Electric-owned stations KRGB in San Francisco and WRGB in Schenectady, designed to run after NBC Nightly News at 7:30.

The type of news programs will be an instant success and hopes to be a huge hit for the WGEF-TV station.

 

[stratonapba]

Also On October 31, 1983: Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour premiered on KNBC in LA, KRGB in SF, WGEB in Minneapolis/St. Paul, KOCO in Oklahoma City, WNBC in New York, NY, WMAQ in Chicago, WKYP in Philadelphia, KXAS in Dallas and a list of other stations.

The Personnel as of Premiere Week
Host for Match Game: Gene Rayburn
Host for Hollywood Squares: Peter Marshall (Jon Bauman's hosting gig on the show has been butterflied ITTL)
Announcer for Both Shows: Gene Wood
Celebrities at the Time of Premiere Week: Skip Stephenson, Allson Amgrim, Jimmie Walker, Twyla Littleton, Phil Proctor, Tom Villard, Barbi Benton and Bill Daily

Also Going on The Week of Halloween '83 for other Game Shows that had Celebrities

$25,000 Pyramid (CBS): Lauri Hendler & Grant Goodeve
Star Words (CBS): Jamie Farr & Constance McCashin
Note: Peter Tomarken from Press Your Luck has been booked to appear on an Upcoming Week of Star Words which will air on the Week of December 12-16, 1983, Tomarken will be joined by Patty Duke Astin who appeared on the Pilot Episode with Charles Nelson Reilly shown below

 

[DucNguyen0131]

Interesting. Go on.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

November 7, 1983

The Chicago-based Tribune Company announced a $2 billion offer to purchase independent station KNTV-TV, a station in the San Francisco Bay Area that was licensed to San Jose. This was part of Tribune's expansion into bigger markets.

Other stations Tribune is buying included WANX-TV in Atlanta and WGNO-TV in New Orleans. The company already owns WGN-TV in Chicago, KWGN-TV in Denver and WPIX-TV in New York.

Tribune also planning on to purchase KHJ-TV in Los Angeles, though Los Angeles is the only city without a Tribune owned television station.

KNTV-TV is an ABC affiliate until 1982, when it became independent due to conflicting problems with the ABC owned-and-operated station KGO-TV in San Francisco.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

November 16, 1983

TVX Broadcast Group is completing their $950 million offer to purchase Albany TV 23, Inc., who owns WXXA-TV in the Capital District of New York (Albany/Schenectady/Troy). This means TVX would gave a station in the State of New York.

TVX is owner of six independents, which include WMKW-TV in Memphis, WTVZ-TV in Norfolk, WRLH-TV in Richmond, WJTM-TV in the Piedmont Triad and WLVI-TV in Boston.

WLVI-TV is TVX's largest television market by size.

Meanwhile, at NBC, the network introduced two new game shows scheduled for January 1984, Jeopardy!, a Merv Griffin production (the second revival of the long-running game show NBC had aired 20 years earlier) that starred former Battlestars host Alex Trebek (a nighttime version would eventually debuted in the September of 1984), which would replace Diff'rent Strokes/Facts of Life reruns, and Hot Potato, a Barry & Enright production that starred former Child's Play host Bill Cullen, which will replace GO. At ABC, the network is introducing one game show for January, Catch Phrase (the TTL version of the 1985 syndie series), which was a Marty Pasetta production, that starred Joe Farago (IOTL his only game show experience was in the 80s game Break the Bank after Gene Rayburn left), which will replace repeats of the nighttime hit Benson.

NBC's Jeopardy! program will be taped at the TAV Celebrity Theater in Hollywood, while ABC's Catch Phrase was taped at Metromedia Studios in Hollywood.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

November 21, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission had approved the Westinghouse-RCA merger. This means that RCA/NBC would own five television stations, while Westinghouse would own seven television stations.

Both Westinghouse and RCA television stations reached a combined 25% of the television market.

It is speculated that the Federal Communications Commission is starting to lift the ownership caps for the radio and television market.

It is said that they would make it into a television pioneer, to become the world's largest electronic and television organizers.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

November 29, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission had officially lifted its ownership cap on all of its television and radio holdings. This means that they would let the station group reaches infinitely of all TV households.

The infinite percentage cap means that the Federal Communications Commission had let everybody to own any TV group to be affiliated with the network.

Starting next month, WPTF-TV, the General Electric-owned NBC station would change its call letters to "WBGT", which matches the identity of General Electric, who owns the television station.

A Hearst-ABC merger is about to be for FCC approval.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 1, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission had approved Tribune Company's offer for KHJ-AM-FM-TV, which cost $6 billion, which is higher than RKO General's asking price. This made Tribune to get an outlet in Los Angeles.

RKO General is forced to divest its broadcasting holdings, starting itself from the sale of its TV stations.

KHJ-AM-FM-TV was originally started in 1922, and it was expanded to FM in 1943, and television in 1948.

Tribune's television holdings include WGN-TV in Chicago, WPIX-TV in New York, KWGN-TV in Denver, WGNO-TV in New Orleans and WANX-TV in Atlanta. It is in the process of buying KNTV-TV in San Jose. Tribune also distributes At the Movies with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 5, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission had approved the $5 billion bid for WOR-AM-FM-TV by Chris-Craft Industries, who owns KPTV-TV in Portland, and KCOP-TV in Los Angeles. This gave Chris-Craft the first radio entry in New York.

This was part of RKO's divesture of their broadcasting assets.

This means that Chris-Craft Industries would now have three television stations, and New York would displace Los Angeles as Chris-Craft's largest TV station by market size.

RKO already sold off two stations in Memphis and Boston, so Los Angeles and New York is in the process of selling it off. This is an ITTL verdict, IOTL Chris-Craft didn't buy WOR-TV/WWOR-TV until 1993.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 9, 1983

The Federal Communications Commission had approved TVX Broadcast Group's offer to purchase WATL-TV, channel 36, that served the Atlanta television market, which was an independent television station that was restarted in 1976, five years after they shut down in 1971.

The bold move for TVX is that there are now six independent stations in the portfolio.

Other stations TVX is owning include include WTVZ-TV in Norfolk, WRLH-TV in Richmond, WJTM-TV in Winston-Salem, WLVI-TV in Cambridge/Boston, WLMT in Memphis, and WXXA-TV in Albany.

TVX was in negotiations to purchase WPDS-TV, which was about to sign on in the February of 1984.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 12, 1983

There are two important events on the day. On Durham's NBC station WPTF-TV, they would change its call letters to "WBGT", which call letters meant for General Electric's then-current slogan "We bring good things to life".

General Electric had bought out the Durham Life and Insurance Company in 1982, adding it to the nine TV station roster, as well as its existing radio lineup.

Also, on West Palm Beach's ABC station WPTV-TV, they would change its call letters to "WSHB", which stood for the station's owner, Scripps-Howard Broadcasting. The same kind of calls were used when Kansas City's channel 41 indie KBMA was changed to KSHB in 1981.

Scripps-Howard had owned three ABC affiliates. WEWS is the longtime ABC affiliate, and WPTV-TV (now WSHB) and WMC-TV were ABC affiliates since 1980, due to in part of the network's higher ratings.

 

[stratonapba]

Also on December 12, 1983: Two New TV Shows Created by Glen A. Larson debuted on ABC Primetime on a lot of stations including newly-owned Scripps Howard Station WSHB (in Palm Beach, FL) the first one is Masquerade which starred Rod Taylor, Kirstie Allen & Greg Evigan and Automan which starred Desi Arnaz, Jr., Chuck Wagner, Heather McNair, Robert Lansing & Gerald S. O'Loughlin

And when WPLG got Whammied by taking ABC to WTVJ in Miami and with WGR in which the station whammied the NBC affiliation to WIVB in Buffalo: Peter Tomarken and Patty Duke Astin appeared on Star Words with host Nipsey Russell as Tomarken is plugging his new show on CBS Daytime called Press Your Luck which started in September and airs right before TPIR with Bob Barker.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

Well amazing. Move on.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 19, 1983

The merger between Radio Corporation of America and Westinghouse Electric Corporation was finalized. The new merging company would be called "Westinghouse-RCA", and owns twelve television stations that serve 25% of the country.

Westinghouse is one of the co-founders of Radio Corporation of America, who owns the current NBC television network.

One of NBC's most successful group deals were LIN TV Corporation, General Electric Broadcasting and Times-Mirror Broadcasting, who owns a handful of TV stations.

NBC owns three of the five largest television markets in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, while General Electric (also a co-founder of RCA) owns two markets in Philadelphia and San Francisco, the nation's fourth and fifth largest television markets.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 22, 1983

Scripps-Howard Broadcasting, a Cincinnati-based broadcaster and subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company, announced a $1 billion offer to purchase Kelly Broadcasting Company of Sacramento.

Kelly Broadcasting is owner and licensee of ABC affiliate KCRA-TV in Sacramento, and independent station KCPQ-TV in Tacoma/Seattle.

Scripps-Howard Broadcasting is owner and licensee of three ABC affiliates WEWS-TV in Cleveland, WMC-TV in Memphis and WSHB-TV in West Palm Beach, NBC affiliate KJRH-TV in Tulsa, CBS affiliate WCPO-TV in Cincinnati and independent station KSHB-TV in Kansas City.

Scripps-Howard would now have eight television stations once the deal is finished. This butterflies Scripps' acquisition of WXYZ-TV in Detroit away.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 25, 1983

WGEB-TV, the current NBC affiliate owned by General Electric Broadcasting in Minneapolis/St. Paul is undergoing an "all-news" format. WGEB-TV would add two news programming to the schedule.

The first one is First News, which is based off the format that was invented by KOA-TV in Denver, as well as other General Electric television stations.

The second one is The Minnesota Evening News, which is based off the format used by other GE-owned stations in San Francisco, Schenectady and Miami, designed to air after NBC Nightly News at 6:30.

General Electric's flagship television stations in the East Coast was WRGB-TV in Schenectady, and its West Coast flagship is KRGB-TV in San Francisco. It is also announced to General Electric executives that two Nashville stations WSIX-AM-FM would change its call letters to WNGE-AM-FM to match its TV call sign. It is also announced that KOAQ would change its callsign to KOA-FM in Denver.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

December 30, 1983

Metromedia Inc., who owns seven TV properties WNYW in New York, KTTV in Los Angeles, WFLD in Chicago, WTTG in Washington, D.C., KMSP-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul, KRIV-TV in Houston and WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, strikes a deal to purchase Coral Television for $5.4 billion.

Coral Television is principal owner of WCIX-TV, channel 6 in Miami/Fort Lauderdale.

Coral has plans to add additional programs mandated by Metromedia to the newscast. This means Metromedia would now have nine television stations, which plans to include KNBN-TV in Dallas.

Metromedia would now see a station in the Miami area.