The Start Of The ABC Television Network…A Short Primer
Since a lot of us are a bit rusty on ABC’s television roots, here’s a thumbnail sketch. By the way, the photo is of Bob King…the first cameraman hired at ABC Hollywood.
On April 19, 1948, the ABC Television Network began its broadcasts on its first primary affiliate, WFIL-TV in Philadelphia. In August 1948, the network’s flagship owned-and-operated station, WJZ-TV in New York City, began its broadcasts. That first NYC broadcast ran for two hours in the evening of August 10, 1948. ABC’s other owned-and-operated stations launched over the course of the next 13 months.
WENR-TV in Chicago launched on September 17, 1948, while WXYZ-TV in Detroit went on the air October 9, 1948. KGO-TV in San Francisco went on the air May 5, 1949.
On May 7, 1949, Billboard revealed that ABC would spend $2.5 million to convert the old Vitagraph/Warner East Annex in Hollywood into The Prospect Studios, and construct a transmitter on Mount Wilson in anticipation of the launch of KECA-TV, which went on the air on September 16, 1949. The rest as they say, is history. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
WENR premiere 9/17/48
WJZ premiere 8/10/48
Do network cameramen still have to wear ties?
Some history on the Chicago end of this. WENR-TV was owned by ABC, operating on Channel 7. WBKb-TV was owned by the Balaban & Katz theater chain which was a subsidiary of United Paramount Theaters. When ABC merged with United Paramount, that left them with two O&O channels in Chicago. ABC sold channel 4 to CBS and moved their programming to WBKB, which later became WLS-TV. CBS, not long after the sale, moved their broadcast frequency to channel 2, which has been known ever since as WBBM-TV.
I couldn’t find an ad for the premieres of KGO or KECA, but I have their opening schedules. KGO was the first to debut on 5/5/49
KECA debuted on 9/16/49. The call letters come from the initials of Earl C. Anthony, original owner of KECA radio.
WBBM tried for years to get an O&O in Chicago. Zenith had Channel 2 tied up. Once they relinquished, CBS-TV finally got an O&O in Chicago. Before then, WGN-TV would carry the CBS shows; however, WBKB gave CBS a lot of air time. (I read somewhere that Ed Sullivan first appeared in Chicago on WGN.)
My uncle Clair Higgins was a cameraman on ABC I think on the Lawrence Welk show he’s out of the country but will get a photo
How did they adjust the iris on the multiple lenses?
hand held meant something different in those days … great pic though …!
I just came here for the test patterns