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{{Short description|TV station in Buffalo, New York (1953–1958)}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} |
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} |
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{{Infobox television station |
{{Infobox television station |
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| country = US |
| country = US |
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| analog = 17 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]]) |
| analog = 17 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]]) |
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| affiliations = {{ubl|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1953–1956)|[[CBS]] (1953–1954)|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1953–1955)|[[NBC]] (1956–1958)}} |
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| affiliations = {{ubl|}} |
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| airdate = {{Start date|1953|8|17}} |
| airdate = {{Start date|1953|8|17}} |
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| last_airdate = {{End date|1958| |
| last_airdate = {{End date|1958|10|1}} |
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| callsign_meaning = "Buffalo" |
| callsign_meaning = "Buffalo" |
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| erp = 1,000 kW |
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| haat = {{cvt|686|ft|m}} |
| haat = {{cvt|686|ft|m}} |
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⚫ | | coordinates = {{coord|42|57|14|N|78|52|37|W}}<ref name="TVF">{{Cite web |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1957-TV-Factbook/TV-Factbook-1957-all.pdf#page=164 |title=WBUF |work=Television Factbook |volume=25 |date=Fall 1957 |via=World Radio History |page=162 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012025211/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1957-TV-Factbook/TV-Factbook-1957-all.pdf#page=164 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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| coordinates = {{coord|42|57|13.87|N|78|52|37.315|W}} |
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'''WBUF-TV'''{{efn|The call sign was WBUF, no suffix, from 1956 to 1958 under NBC ownership.{{r|TVF}} }} was a television station that broadcast on [[ultra high frequency]] (UHF) channel 17 in [[Buffalo, New York]], United States. It broadcast from August 1953 to February 1955 and again from March 1955 |
'''WBUF-TV'''{{efn|The call sign was WBUF, no suffix, from 1956 to 1958 under NBC ownership.{{r|TVF}} }} 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. |
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The first of two early UHF television stations in Buffalo, the station—like others in its day—struggled to gain traction because of coverage and reception issues specific to UHF stations and not experienced by their [[very high frequency]] (VHF) counterparts. The station went on the air under the aegis of local owners. After its initial shutdown in February 1955, it was bought by [[NBC]] in part as an experiment hoping to mitigate the issues ailing UHF broadcasting across the country and also because revised ownership rules allowed station groups to purchase additional UHF stations. In August 1956, all NBC programs moved to WBUF, which at the same time moved into a new showplace studio facility. Despite high UHF set conversion rates (as sets had to be converted to receive UHF in the days before the [[All-Channel Receiver Act]]) and a high-power installation, WBUF was generally a failure—NBC ratings were far lower in Buffalo than in most other cities, and the station lost money—and the approval of a third VHF station for the city signaled WBUF-TV's final demise in 1958. |
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WBUF left a legacy in Buffalo of notable broadcast personalities in and out of the market, including [[Rick Azar]] and [[Mac McGarry]], as well as a substantial physical plant. The channel 17 transmission facility was donated to start [[WNED-TV]], Buffalo's educational TV station, which began broadcasting in March 1959. The studio has been occupied since 1960 by WBEN-TV (now known as [[WIVB-TV]]). |
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==First era== |
==First era== |
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===Prehistory=== |
===Prehistory=== |
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The [[Federal Communications Commission]] declared a freeze on television station applications in 1948, during which time 70 new channels were created in the UHF band to meet the demand for television service that previously only had 12 VHF channels. In 1951, Buffalo was initially awarded channels 17 and 23 (the latter for noncommercial use), and channels 2 and 7 were also placed in the region in addition to Buffalo's only pre-freeze station, [[WIVB|WBEN-TV]] (channel 4).<ref name="Buff510323">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249137/second-regular-tv-channel-2-on-uhf-prop/|date=March 23, 1951|page=5|title=Second Regular TV Channel, 2 on UHF Proposed for City|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Fri --> |
The [[Federal Communications Commission]] declared a freeze on television station applications in 1948, during which time 70 new channels were created in the UHF band to meet the demand for television service that previously only had 12 VHF channels. In 1951, Buffalo was initially awarded channels 17 and 23 (the latter for noncommercial use), and channels 2 and 7 were also placed in the region in addition to Buffalo's only pre-freeze station, [[WIVB|WBEN-TV]] (channel 4).<ref name="Buff510323">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249137/second-regular-tv-channel-2-on-uhf-prop/ |date=March 23, 1951 |page=5 |title=Second Regular TV Channel, 2 on UHF Proposed for City |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045732/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249137/second-regular-tv-channel-2-on-uhf/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> |
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After the lifting of the freeze in 1952, the FCC received applications from all over the United States, and the two new VHF channels each met with multiple applicants that would require comparative hearings to sort out; further, Buffalo was low in the national priority order for hearing applications.<ref name="Buff520826">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249463/2-more-file-pleas-for-tv-outlets-in-wny/|date=August 26, 1952|page=1|edition=Financial|title=2 More File Pleas For TV Outlets In WNY; Total Now 8|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Tue --> Buffalo's two UHF channels did not attract the same interest, and it was channel 17 that led to the first grant of a new TV station in Buffalo since the freeze when the commission granted a construction permit to the Chautauqua Broadcasting Company on December 18, 1952.<ref name="Buff521219">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249624/2-new-tv-stations-for-buffalo-within-a-y/|date=December 19, 1952|page=I:8|title=2 New TV Stations For Buffalo Within A Year in Prospect|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The firm had 18 stockholders, headed by Sherwin Grossman and Gary L. Cohen, each in families with other business interests;<ref name="Buff521218">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249852/fcc-authorizes-company-to-build-tv-stati/|date=December 18, 1952|page=1|title=FCC Authorizes Company to Build TV Station Here|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Thu --> two others had withdrawn in August.<ref name="Buff520812">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250159/2-key-backers-drop-from-corporation-seek/|date=August 12, 1952|page=12|title=2 Key Backers Drop From Corporation Seeking TV Permit|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Tue --> The transmitter would be erected atop the [[The Marin|Marine Trust Company building]] in downtown Buffalo, while a studio site had not been selected when the FCC granted the construction permit.{{r|Buff521218}} Days later, a second uncontested application for a UHF channel was granted to the Buffalo-Niagara Television Corporation for channel 59.<ref name="Buff521224">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249809/2d-tv-station-here-on-ultra-high-band-au/|date=December 24, 1952|page=10|title=2d TV Station Here On Ultra-High Band Authorized By FCC|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Wed --> |
After the lifting of the freeze in 1952, the FCC received applications from all over the United States, and the two new VHF channels each met with multiple applicants that would require comparative hearings to sort out; further, Buffalo was low in the national priority order for hearing applications.<ref name="Buff520826">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249463/2-more-file-pleas-for-tv-outlets-in-wny/ |date=August 26, 1952 |page=1 |edition=Financial |title=2 More File Pleas For TV Outlets In WNY; Total Now 8 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045733/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249463/2-more-file-pleas-for-tv-outlets-in/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> Buffalo's two UHF channels did not attract the same interest, and it was channel 17 that led to the first grant of a new TV station in Buffalo since the freeze when the commission granted a construction permit to the Chautauqua Broadcasting Company on December 18, 1952.<ref name="Buff521219">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249624/2-new-tv-stations-for-buffalo-within-a-y/ |date=December 19, 1952 |page=I:8 |title=2 New TV Stations For Buffalo Within A Year in Prospect |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045733/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249624/2-new-tv-stations-for-buffalo-within-a/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The firm had 18 stockholders, headed by Sherwin Grossman and Gary L. Cohen, each in families with other business interests;<ref name="Buff521218">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249852/fcc-authorizes-company-to-build-tv-stati/ |date=December 18, 1952 |page=1 |title=FCC Authorizes Company to Build TV Station Here |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045737/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249852/fcc-authorizes-company-to-build-tv/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> two others had withdrawn in August.<ref name="Buff520812">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250159/2-key-backers-drop-from-corporation-seek/ |date=August 12, 1952 |page=12 |title=2 Key Backers Drop From Corporation Seeking TV Permit |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045732/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250159/2-key-backers-drop-from-corporation/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> The transmitter would be erected atop the [[The Marin|Marine Trust Company building]] in downtown Buffalo, while a studio site had not been selected when the FCC granted the construction permit.{{r|Buff521218}} Days later, a second uncontested application for a UHF channel was granted to the Buffalo-Niagara Television Corporation for channel 59.<ref name="Buff521224">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249809/2d-tv-station-here-on-ultra-high-band-au/ |date=December 24, 1952 |page=10 |title=2d TV Station Here On Ultra-High Band Authorized By FCC |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045737/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109249809/2d-tv-station-here-on-ultra-high-band/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> |
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[[File:Jericho Road Community Health Center - former |
[[File:Jericho Road Community Health Center - former WGR-TV studios - Buffalo, New York - 20200306.jpg|alt=A two-story brick building with a partially dismantled tower behind it|left|thumb|The WBUF-TV studios on Barton Street were later shared with, and eventually solely used by, [[WGRZ|WGR-TV]], Buffalo's second VHF station.]] |
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Taking the call letters WBUF-TV (and with Chautauqua changing its name to WBUF-TV Inc.), the station filed in April 1953 to locate at a facility at 184 Barton Street and to erect the transmitter tower there instead of on the Marine Trust Company building.<ref name="Buff530409">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250470/wbuf-tv-ask-right-to-change-location/|date=April 9, 1953|page=I:4|title=WBUF-TV Ask Right To Change Location|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Thu --> Work then began on facilities with an August 15 deadline, which Grossman pledged would not be missed "by many hours", and on erection of a {{convert|421.5|ft|m|adj=on}} tower.<ref name="Buff530722">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250669/radio-television-news/|date=July 22, 1953|page=III:38|first=Ray|last=Finch|title=Radio & |
Taking the call letters WBUF-TV (and with Chautauqua changing its name to WBUF-TV Inc.), the station filed in April 1953 to locate at a facility at 184 Barton Street and to erect the transmitter tower there instead of on the Marine Trust Company building.<ref name="Buff530409">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250470/wbuf-tv-ask-right-to-change-location/ |date=April 9, 1953 |page=I:4 |title=WBUF-TV Ask Right To Change Location |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909203049/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250470/wbuf-tv-ask-right-to-change-location/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> Work then began on facilities with an August 15 deadline, which Grossman pledged would not be missed "by many hours", and on erection of a {{convert|421.5|ft|m|adj=on}} tower.<ref name="Buff530722">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250669/radio-television-news/ |date=July 22, 1953 |page=III:38 |first=Ray |last=Finch |title=Radio & Television News |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909203048/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250669/radio-television-news/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --><ref name="Buff530728">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250797/construction-of-tower-for-wbuf-tv-slated/ |date=July 28, 1953 |page=22 |title=Construction of Tower For WBUF-TV Slated |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909203045/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250797/construction-of-tower-for-wbuf-tv-slated/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> A South Carolina firm was responsible for the latter; a Confederate flag was used to mark the high point reached, and it was left atop the finished mast for a time as a dare by one of the steeplejacks.{{r|BC530824}} The transmitter arrived on August 14;{{r|BC530824}} three days later, on August 17, WBUF-TV began broadcasting as Buffalo's second television station;<ref name="Buff530817">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109251015/wbuf-tv-on-air-gives-schedule/ |date=August 17, 1953 |page=1 |edition=Final Sports |title=WBUF-TV On Air, Gives Schedule |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909203046/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109251015/wbuf-tv-on-air-gives-schedule/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> audio troubles marred the first night on air.<ref name="Buff530818">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109251098/wbuf-tv-picture-good-but-static-plagues/ |date=August 18, 1953 |page=III:33 |title=WBUF-TV Picture Good But Static Plagues Sound |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909203046/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109251098/wbuf-tv-picture-good-but-static-plagues/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> It originally aired programs from [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], and the [[DuMont Television Network]]; DuMont Laboratories supplied the transmitter, its first 1,000-watt UHF unit.<ref name="BC530824">{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1953/BC-1953-08-24.pdf |date=August 24, 1953 |id={{ProQuest|1401206943}} |pages=62–66 |title=Five UHF Stations Make Their Debut; Pittsburgh, Buffalo Among Markets |work=Broadcasting |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108154601/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1953/BC-1953-08-24.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> A second UHF station briefly joined the Buffalo scene on September 27 when channel 59 was activated as [[WBES-TV]], but it folded on December 18.<ref name="Buff531219">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687825/wbes-tv-halts-operations-returns-its-li/ |date=December 19, 1953 |page=7 |title=WBES-TV Halts Operations, Returns Its License to FCC |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045734/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687825/wbes-tv-halts-operations-returns-its/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
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===A fight for a fourth VHF channel and temporary shutdown=== |
===A fight for a fourth VHF channel and temporary shutdown=== |
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Looming over the station's existence from the start was the first of two hearings for a new VHF television station in Buffalo, on channel 2. WBUF-TV attempted to intervene in the channel 2 hearing, citing economic injury and loss of advertisers and network shows that would result with a second VHF outlet on the air, but was denied the opportunity by the FCC in January 1954; every commissioner bar [[Frieda Hennock]] voted against allowing WBUF-TV to become part of the proceeding.<ref name="Buff540115">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109252782/court-action-is-only-way-left-open-to-wb/|date=January 15, 1954|page=16|title=Court Action Is Only Way Left Open to WBUF on Channel 2|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref><!-- Fri --> Meanwhile, facilities improvements continued. In August 1954, effective radiated power was increased to 229,000 watts, a twelvefold increase on the way to Grossman's goal: transmitting the UHF maximum of one million watts.<ref name="Buff540828">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253690/fcc-commissioner-opens-wbuf-tvs-new/|date=August 28, 1954|page=3|title=FCC Commissioner Opens WBUF-TV's New Transmitter|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sat --> It also joined a regional network exchanging local programs alongside [[WSEE-TV]] in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], and [[WVET-TV]] in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]].<ref name="Buff540814a">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687698/wbuf-tv-increases-picture-signal-12-fold/|date=August 14, 1954|page=Television 8|title=WBUF-TV Increases Picture Signal 12-Fold, Installs New Antenna|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
Looming over the station's existence from the start was the first of two hearings for a new VHF television station in Buffalo, on channel 2. WBUF-TV attempted to intervene in the channel 2 hearing, citing economic injury and loss of advertisers and network shows that would result with a second VHF outlet on the air, but was denied the opportunity by the FCC in January 1954; every commissioner bar [[Frieda Hennock]] voted against allowing WBUF-TV to become part of the proceeding.<ref name="Buff540115">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109252782/court-action-is-only-way-left-open-to-wb/ |date=January 15, 1954 |page=16 |title=Court Action Is Only Way Left Open to WBUF on Channel 2 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045734/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109252782/court-action-is-only-way-left-open-to/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> Meanwhile, facilities improvements continued. In August 1954, effective radiated power was increased to 229,000 watts, a twelvefold increase on the way to Grossman's goal: transmitting the UHF maximum of one million watts.<ref name="Buff540828">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253690/fcc-commissioner-opens-wbuf-tvs-new/ |date=August 28, 1954 |page=3 |title=FCC Commissioner Opens WBUF-TV's New Transmitter |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045734/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253690/fcc-commissioner-opens-wbuf-tvs-new/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> It also joined a regional network exchanging local programs alongside [[WSEE-TV]] in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], and [[WVET-TV]] in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]].<ref name="Buff540814a">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687698/wbuf-tv-increases-picture-signal-12-fold/ |date=August 14, 1954 |page=Television 8 |title=WBUF-TV Increases Picture Signal 12-Fold, Installs New Antenna |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045734/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687698/wbuf-tv-increases-picture-signal/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
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Despite this, the station's economic picture dimmed considerably after [[WGRZ|WGR-TV]] began telecasting August 14—sharing the Barton Street building of WBUF-TV, which it had agreed to lease to WGR-TV owner Niagara Frontier Amusement |
Despite this, the station's economic picture dimmed considerably after [[WGRZ|WGR-TV]] began telecasting August 14—sharing the Barton Street building of WBUF-TV, which it had agreed to lease to WGR-TV owner Niagara Frontier Amusement Company in January.<ref name="Buff540118">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687606/fcc-recesses-hearing-on-tv-channel-2-for/ |date=January 18, 1954 |page=1 |title=FCC Recesses Hearing On TV Channel 2 For Study of Stipulations |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045734/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687606/fcc-recesses-hearing-on-tv-channel-2/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --><ref name="Buff540814">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687520/full-18-hour-schedule-of-programs-planne/ |date=August 14, 1954 |page=Television 4 |title=Full 18-Hour Schedule Of Programs Planned By Channel 2 Station |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045735/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109687520/full-18-hour-schedule-of-programs/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> WGR-TV became the new NBC affiliate, and CBS programs moved to WBEN-TV.<ref name="Buff540814b">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109688266/local-tv-audience-totals-million-growth/ |date=August 14, 1954 |page=Television 4 |first=Ray |last=Finch |title=Local TV Audience Totals Million; Growth Rapid in 6 Short Years |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045735/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109688266/local-tv-audience-totals-million/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> In October, major cutbacks were made in the station's local program production, with WBUF-TV becoming dependent on network shows and movies and eight employees being laid off. This was to continue until the FCC ruled on a petition made by Grossman to change the Buffalo allocations of channels 2, 4, and 7 to 2, 4, 5, and 8, thereby giving the city a fourth VHF channel, in expectation that the commission would make a ruling in the near future.<ref name="Buff541117">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253728/drastic-cutbacks-start-next-week-on/ |date=November 17, 1954 |page=63 |title=Drastic Cutbacks Start Next Week On Station WBUF-TV |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045735/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253728/drastic-cutbacks-start-next-week-on/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> In February 1955, ahead of an expected ruling, Grossman announced that the station would continue "as long as there is any concrete hope of bringing a fourth [VHF] TV service to Western New York".<ref name="Buff550222">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253762/fcc-is-expected-to-rule-tomorrow-on/ |date=February 22, 1955 |page=1 |title=FCC Is Expected To Rule Tomorrow On WBUF-TV Plea |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045740/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253762/fcc-is-expected-to-rule-tomorrow-on/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> |
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However, when the FCC failed to rule on the four-VHF proposal in its February 23, 1955, meeting, Grossman could no longer afford to keep WBUF-TV in service, and the station went off the air that night.<ref name="Buff550224">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253839/wbuf-tv-stops-broadcasting-but-may/|date=February 24, 1955|page=1|title=WBUF-TV Stops Broadcasting, But May Resume Later|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Thu --> From startup to December 31, 1954, WBUF-TV had made a net loss of $236,324.42.{{r|BC550411}} |
However, when the FCC failed to rule on the four-VHF proposal in its February 23, 1955, meeting, Grossman could no longer afford to keep WBUF-TV in service, and the station went off the air that night.<ref name="Buff550224">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253839/wbuf-tv-stops-broadcasting-but-may/ |date=February 24, 1955 |page=1 |title=WBUF-TV Stops Broadcasting, But May Resume Later |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045735/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253839/wbuf-tv-stops-broadcasting-but-may/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> From startup to December 31, 1954, WBUF-TV had made a net loss of $236,324.42 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|236324.42|1954}}}} in {{inflation/year|US}} dollars).{{r|BC550411}} |
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==NBC ownership== |
==NBC ownership== |
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===Acquisition=== |
===Acquisition=== |
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On March 11, 1955, Grossman and [[Sylvester "Pat" Weaver]] jointly announced that NBC would purchase WBUF-TV. NBC, however, would not be able to put its programming on channel 17 immediately, as WGR-TV's NBC affiliation contract did not end until August 1956. A basic ABC affiliation agreement was signed at the same time as the sale deal was reached; NBC painted itself as the savior of UHF television in Buffalo, hoping the purchase would have beneficial implications for the development of UHF.<ref name="Buff550311">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253375/nbc-buys-wbuf-will-continue-it-as-uhf/|date=March 11, 1955|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253397/wbuf-deal-explained/ 3]|title=NBC Buys WBUF, Will Continue It As UHF Station|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The $312,500 deal would make NBC the first network to own the maximum complement of five VHF and two UHF television stations, after it had earlier agreed to purchase [[WVIT|WKNB-TV]] in [[New Britain, Connecticut]].<ref name="BC550411">{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-04-11-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=April 11, 1955|title=NBC Buy of WBUF-TV Awaits FCC Approval|page=9|via=World Radio History}}</ref> |
On March 11, 1955, Grossman and [[Sylvester "Pat" Weaver]] jointly announced that NBC would purchase WBUF-TV. NBC, however, would not be able to put its programming on channel 17 immediately, as WGR-TV's NBC affiliation contract did not end until August 1956. A basic ABC affiliation agreement was signed at the same time as the sale deal was reached; NBC painted itself as the savior of UHF television in Buffalo, hoping the purchase would have beneficial implications for the development of UHF.<ref name="Buff550311">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253375/nbc-buys-wbuf-will-continue-it-as-uhf/ |date=March 11, 1955 |page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253397/wbuf-deal-explained/ 3] |title=NBC Buys WBUF, Will Continue It As UHF Station |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253375/nbc-buys-wbuf-will-continue-it-as-uhf/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The $312,500 deal would make NBC the first network to own the maximum complement of five VHF and two UHF television stations, after it had earlier agreed to purchase [[WVIT|WKNB-TV]] in [[New Britain, Connecticut]].<ref name="BC550411">{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-04-11-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |date=April 11, 1955 |id={{ProQuest|1285721035}} |title=NBC Buy of WBUF-TV Awaits FCC Approval |page=9 |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915210903/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-04-11-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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Grossman and Cohen retained ownership of the Barton Street studio to lease to WGR-TV, and NBC began scouting for sites to relocate WBUF-TV; meanwhile, WGR-TV announced it would fight to keep its NBC affiliation.<ref name="Buff550323">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253983/nbc-making-studies-for-studio-tower/|date=March 23, 1955|page=34|title=NBC Making Studies For Studio, Tower Sites for WBUF-TV|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Wed --> In July, the FCC indicated that the deal likely would necessitate a hearing after WGR-TV lodged a formal protest; in a response, NBC noted that the complaints were not germane for a hearing and that the purchase would not create antitrust issues, and it also said that if the sale were to languish past the end of the year, WBUF-TV would go off the air again.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-08-29-BC.pdf|date=August 29, 1955|work=Broadcasting|title=NBC Urges WBUF-TV Sale Be Approved|page=73}}</ref> Meanwhile, ABC shows slowly returned to channel 17,<ref name="Buff550910">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254169/wbuf-tv-adds-more-network-shows-to-list/|date=September 10, 1955|page=24|title=WBUF-TV Adds More Network Shows to List|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sat --> while some NBC shows also appeared because WGR-TV was dropping them as part of its dispute with the network.<ref name="Buff551008">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254203/cancellations-shifts-mark-tv-battle/|date=October 8, 1955|page=36|title=Cancellations, Shifts Mark TV Battle Between NBC, WGR|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
Grossman and Cohen retained ownership of the Barton Street studio to lease to WGR-TV, and NBC began scouting for sites to relocate WBUF-TV; meanwhile, WGR-TV announced it would fight to keep its NBC affiliation.<ref name="Buff550323">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253983/nbc-making-studies-for-studio-tower/ |date=March 23, 1955 |page=34 |title=NBC Making Studies For Studio, Tower Sites for WBUF-TV |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109253983/nbc-making-studies-for-studio-tower/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> In July, the FCC indicated that the deal likely would necessitate a hearing after WGR-TV lodged a formal protest; in a response, NBC noted that the complaints were not germane for a hearing and that the purchase would not create antitrust issues, and it also said that if the sale were to languish past the end of the year, WBUF-TV would go off the air again.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-08-29-BC.pdf |date=August 29, 1955 |work=Broadcasting |title=NBC Urges WBUF-TV Sale Be Approved |id={{ProQuest|1014925465}} |page=73 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151631/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-08-29-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, ABC shows slowly returned to channel 17,<ref name="Buff550910">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254169/wbuf-tv-adds-more-network-shows-to-list/ |date=September 10, 1955 |page=24 |title=WBUF-TV Adds More Network Shows to List |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254169/wbuf-tv-adds-more-network-shows-to-list/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> while some NBC shows also appeared because WGR-TV was dropping them as part of its dispute with the network.<ref name="Buff551008">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254203/cancellations-shifts-mark-tv-battle/ |date=October 8, 1955 |page=36 |title=Cancellations, Shifts Mark TV Battle Between NBC, WGR |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254203/cancellations-shifts-mark-tv-battle/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
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The commission approved the purchase in September 1955,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-09-26-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=September 26, 1955|pages=27, 29|title=New Twist to the Tangle: Forget U's, Add V's—Lee|via=World Radio History}}</ref> though continued protests and a filing in appeals court by WGR-TV held up completion of the sale<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-10-10-BC.pdf|date=October 10, 1955|work=Broadcasting|page=86|title=WGR-TV Files Economic Protest on NBC Purchase}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-12-26-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=December 26, 1955|page=9|title=FCC Denies Buffalo Buy Stay}}</ref> until December 30, when the appeals court dismissed the case.<ref name="Buff551230">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254248/nbc-says-wbuf-will-offer-strong-local/|date=December 30, 1955|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254358/elmwood-ave-center-costing-1000000-p/ 9]|title=NBC Says WBUF Will Offer 'Strong' Local Schedule|newspaper=Buffalo Evening News|location=Buffalo, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref><!-- Fri --> |
The commission approved the purchase in September 1955,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-09-26-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |date=September 26, 1955 |pages=27, 29 |id={{ProQuest|1014918311}} |title=New Twist to the Tangle: Forget U's, Add V's—Lee |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151353/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-09-26-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> though continued protests and a filing in appeals court by WGR-TV held up completion of the sale<ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-10-10-BC.pdf |date=October 10, 1955 |id={{ProQuest|1014919880}} |work=Broadcasting |page=86 |title=WGR-TV Files Economic Protest on NBC Purchase |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151424/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-10-10-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-12-26-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |date=December 26, 1955 |page=9 |title=FCC Denies Buffalo Buy Stay |id={{ProQuest|1285742361}} |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151227/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-12-26-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> until December 30, when the appeals court dismissed the case.<ref name="Buff551230">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254248/nbc-says-wbuf-will-offer-strong-local/ |date=December 30, 1955 |page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254358/elmwood-ave-center-costing-1000000-p/ 9] |title=NBC Says WBUF Will Offer 'Strong' Local Schedule |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254248/nbc-says-wbuf-will-offer-strong-local/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> |
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Actions taken by original owner Grossman while running WBUF-TV would rebound on his efforts to be selected to build [[WFOR-TV|a new TV station in Miami]] in the early 1960s. In September 1960, an FCC examiner handed down an initial decision awarding the South Florida Amusement Company, a company majority-owned by Grossman, a construction permit for channel 6.<ref name="Miam600913">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109692836/south-florida-inc-gets-channel-6-nod/ |date=September 13, 1960 |page=1-A |title=South Florida, Inc., Gets Channel 6 'Nod' |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109692836/south-florida-inc-gets-channel-6/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> A competing applicant alleged that Grossman had ordered program logs from 1955, immediately prior to the NBC takeover, not be made available to anyone; that WBUF-TV had aired a bingo program in contravention of the [[Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters]] and never delivered promised prizes; and that it aired excessive commercials during movies.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-05-08-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |pages=114, 116 |via=World Radio History |title=Deception charged in Miami ch. 6 case |id={{ProQuest|1014460318}} |date=May 8, 1961 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151446/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-05-08-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> While the FCC initially did not admit the evidence, the uncovering of new data led the commission to reopen the record in the first week of 1962, with new charges that letters from Buffalo civic leaders supporting the addition of VHF stations there had been forged.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1962/1962-01-08-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |date=January 8, 1962 |page=54 |title=FCC finds new data, reopens Florida case |id={{ProQuest|692767846}} |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151331/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1962/1962-01-08-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the initial nod and after being cleared of allegations of wrongdoing, Grossman was allowed to withdraw from contention in November 1963, paving the way for the other applicant, Coral Television Company, to receive the construction permit.<ref name="Miam631102">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109692911/now-he-can-bow-out-grossman-cleared-in/ |date=November 2, 1963 |page=7-C |first=Jack |last=Anderson |title=Now He Can Bow Out: Grossman Cleared In Ch. 6 Probe |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109692911/now-he-can-bow-out-grossman-cleared-in/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
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===The rebuild=== |
===The rebuild=== |
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The same day as the sale was consummated, NBC announced its plans for WBUF, including a schedule of new local programs and the relocation of NBC network shows to channel 17 in August 1956; a new facility capable of eventual expansion to broadcast one million watts; and the construction of interim and permanent studios at 2077 Elmwood Avenue, with the move from Barton Street to take place immediately.{{r|Buff551230}} The |
The same day as the sale was consummated, NBC announced its plans for WBUF, including a schedule of new local programs and the relocation of NBC network shows to channel 17 in August 1956; a new facility capable of eventual expansion to broadcast one million watts; and the construction of interim and permanent studios at 2077 Elmwood Avenue, with the move from Barton Street to take place immediately.{{r|Buff551230}} The station was off the air from December 31 until January 9, when it returned to operation from the interim facilities on Elmwood;<ref name="Buff560109">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689542/wbuf-resumes-tonight/ |date=January 9, 1956 |page=22 |title=WBUF Resumes Tonight |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689542/wbuf-resumes-tonight/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> the Barton Street site was then purchased outright by WGR-TV.<ref name="Buff560222">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689650/barton-st-building-purchased-by-wgr/ |date=February 22, 1956 |page=17 |title=Barton St. Building Purchased by WGR |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689650/barton-st-building-purchased-by-wgr/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> Intensive promotion of UHF set conversion began; where just 25 percent of sets were equipped for UHF in January 1956, 52.9 percent were by October.{{r|Var561017}} |
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The first phase of the permanent, $1.5 million studio center was completed in time for WBUF to become the NBC station in Buffalo on August 14,<ref name="Buff560725">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109676018/wbuf-tv-to-move-into-new-studio/ |date=July 25, 1956 |page=4 |title=WBUF-TV To Move Into New Studio Building Aug. 13 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109676018/wbuf-tv-to-move-into-new-studio/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> while transmitter power was increased to 489,000 watts{{r|TVF}} in October,<ref name="Buff561001">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689719/better-picture-for-most-on-17-some-comp/ |date=October 1, 1956 |page=24 |first=Sturgis |last=Hedrick |title=Better Picture For Most on 17; Some Complain |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689719/better-picture-for-most-on-17-some/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> and a formal dedication was held on October 11, with a national telecast on ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' featuring [[Dave Garroway]] and [[J. Fred Muggs]]; president [[Robert Sarnoff]] had intended to visit but was ill.<ref name="Buff561011">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689784/wbuf-dedication-seen-all-over-u-s-on-t/ |date=October 11, 1956 |page=45 |title=WBUF Dedication Seen All Over U. S. On the 'Today' Show |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045833/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689784/wbuf-dedication-seen-all-over-u-s-on/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The new studio was NBC's first to be automated; paper tape controlled nearly all station functions, and operators were only needed to handle the loading of film and slide projectors.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Engineer/1977-08-09.pdf |work=RCA Engineer |volume=23 |issue=2 |page=38 |date=August 1977 |first=W. A. |last=Howard |title=NBC Engineering—a fifty-year history (Part II) |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006120426/https://worldradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Engineer/1977-08-09.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Much was riding on the proposal for NBC; Sarnoff had earlier floated the idea that groups could own more than seven stations if the additional outlets were UHF, and Buffalo at the time was the nation's 14th-largest television market.<ref name="Var561017">{{Cite news |id={{ProQuest|1014797403}}|via=ProQuest|pages=28, 48|title=NBC Determined to Prove a Lot Of 'U' Plusses in Buff. TV Dedication; Conversions Already Top 50% Mark|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 17, 1956}}</ref> In September 1957, WBUF completed its last transmitter upgrade and began broadcasting with one million watts.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-09-09-BC.pdf |date=September 9, 1957 |work=Broadcasting |title=WBUF (TV) Ups Power To 1 Mgw |id={{ProQuest|1285754126}} |page=106 |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319191042/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-09-09-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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Channel 17 first went on the air on August 17, 1953, as '''WBUF-TV''', operating as a commercial station, the second in Buffalo after WBEN-TV (channel 4), transmitting from a 428-foot tower by Lafayette Ave.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buffalobroadcasters.com/archives-history/uhf-in-buffalo/|title = UHF in Buffalo}}</ref> At first, WBUF-TV was locally owned and carried programs from [[CBS]] (which was also carried by WBEN-TV at the time), [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]. WGR-TV (channel 2, now [[WGRZ]]) later signed on in August 1954 and became the market's NBC affiliate, leaving WBEN-TV as the market's sole CBS affiliate. This left WBUF-TV with ABC and the failing DuMont network. Unable to compete with two strong [[Very high frequency|VHF]] stations, the original owners of channel 17 took their station [[dark (broadcasting)|dark]] in February 1955. |
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Even though it was a UHF station with a generally economical operation,{{r|Var561017}} in terms of personnel, WBUF was operated along the lines of other NBC owned-and-operated outlets. Several faces seen on channel 17 went on to lengthy broadcasting careers in and out of Buffalo. Longtime Buffalo sportscaster [[Rick Azar]], later of [[WKBW-TV]], did sports and weather at WBUF.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local/history/when-irv-rick-and-tom-were-buffalo-broadcast-royalty/article_67d24a0a-8be3-5983-99f1-2f353fd8addc.html |date=March 31, 2020 |title=When Irv, Rick and Tom were Buffalo broadcast royalty |work=The Buffalo News |first=Steve |last=Cichon |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=April 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406032216/https://buffalonews.com/news/local/history/when-irv-rick-and-tom-were-buffalo-broadcast-royalty/article_67d24a0a-8be3-5983-99f1-2f353fd8addc.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Broadcaster [[Dave Roberts (broadcaster)|Dave Roberts]] (then still known as Dave Thomas) worked at WBUF-TV from 1956 to 1958—his first on-air appearance coming on Christmas Eve—before later stints at WKBW-TV and [[WPVI-TV]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://6abc.com/archive/7162264/ |title=Dave Roberts - Signing off |website=WPVI-TV |date=December 17, 2009 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423045813/https://6abc.com/archive/7162264/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Several personalities originated from elsewhere in the NBC chain: [[Mac McGarry]], who came from NBC's [[WRC-TV]] in Washington, D.C., was a weatherman in Buffalo;<ref name="Buff560627">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250348/radio-tv-news-joe-mabels-appeal/ |date=June 27, 1956 |page=46 |first=Sturgis |last=Hedrick |title=Radio & TV News: Joe & Mabel's Appeal Likely To Grow on You |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109250348/radio-tv-news-joe-mabels-appeal/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> he returned to Washington after WBUF folded.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/article_bd317581-be4a-543b-bd6a-83344b41a927.html |work=The Buffalo News |date=December 15, 2013 |title=Mac McGarry, TV quizmaster of 'It's Academic,' dies |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045826/https://buffalonews.com/news/article_bd317581-be4a-543b-bd6a-83344b41a927.html |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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Only one month later in March, NBC announced that it would purchase channel 17, partly as an experiment to see if a UHF station could compete with VHF stations given sufficient signal strength, marketing promotion and investments in both programming and technical facilities. The network also hoped to expand its presence in major markets beyond the five stations where the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) allowed any network or group owner to operate full-power VHF outlets, a limit NBC had reached by 1949. A revision of the FCC's ownership policy in 1954 created openings for additional ownership of two UHF outlets. |
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NBC expanded WBUF's transmitter power considerably to improve its signal strength and range, and built a new studio and transmitter complex on Buffalo's north side to provide service capabilities to match market-leading WBEN-TV and fast-rising WGR-TV, which took the ABC affiliation when NBC moved its programming to channel 17 in 1956. However, despite a large investment, WBUF never made much headway against WBEN-TV and WGR-TV. Part of the problem was that television manufacturers were not required to include built-in UHF tuning capability. Viewers needed a converter to watch WBUF, and even with one, the picture quality was often inferior to the VHF competition without an outdoor antenna. In fact, viewers in the eastern portion of the Buffalo metropolitan area often opted to watch NBC on [[WROC-TV]] in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], which operated with full power on channel 5 at the time (WROC is now a CBS affiliate operating on virtual channel 8). |
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[[File:WIVB and WNLO television studios, Buffalo, New York - 20200307.jpg|right|thumb|alt=A two-story studio building, with WIVB "We're 4 Buffalo" signage, on a property with two orange-and-white towers, one tall and one short.|The former WBUF studios on Elmwood Avenue were purchased by WBEN radio and television and expanded; [[WIVB-TV]] continues to broadcast from the facility.]] |
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⚫ | On June 10, 1958, NBC announced that WBUF would be shut down on September 30, with the award of channel 7 (eventually built as [[WKBW-TV]]) imminent; the network believed it had no chance of competing with three VHF stations, ratings for NBC were far lower in Buffalo than in other comparable markets nationally and lower than at NBC's other UHF station in Connecticut,{{r|BC580616}} and WBUF had continued to lose money—an estimated $1 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1000000|1958}}}} in {{inflation/year|US}} dollars)—under NBC ownership.{{r|Buff580611}} This contrasted with optimistic projections two years earlier by Charles Denny, operations manager for the NBC-owned stations, that it would be profitable sometime in 1957.{{r|Var561017}} As a result, WGR-TV would become the new NBC affiliate for Buffalo on October 1, with that station airing NBC and ABC programs, and the Elmwood Avenue studios would be offered for sale.<ref name="Buff580611">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254503/wbuf-closing-down-channel-17-station-on/ |date=June 11, 1958 |page=1 |title=WBUF Closing Down Channel 17 Station On September 30 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254503/wbuf-closing-down-channel-17-station-on/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> The closure came at 1:05 a.m. on October 1, with station general manager Charles C. Bevis Jr. regretting that the station was unable to obtain the desired third of the Buffalo market even though 82 percent of Buffalo-area television sets were equipped to receive UHF.<ref name="Buff580930">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689413/sadness-and-pride-mark-final-day-at-tv-c/ |date=September 30, 1958 |page=8 |title=Sadness and Pride Mark Final Day At TV Channel 17 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689413/sadness-and-pride-mark-final-day-at-tv/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> Sturgis Hedrick of the ''[[The Buffalo News|Buffalo Evening News]]'' remarked on the occasion of WBUF's closure that the station was a "good friend" with quality network and local programming.<ref name="Buff580927">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690027/area-television-loses-good-friend-in-wbu/ |date=September 27, 1958 |page=14 |title=Area Television Loses Good Friend in WBUF |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690027/area-television-loses-good-friend-in/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> |
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The news was read in industry trades as a dire sign of the troubles facing UHF stations nationwide. ''[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]'' magazine commented that the news of WBUF's folding put UHF television at "a new crossroads", stirring a debate about whether VHF and UHF channels should co-exist in a given area.<ref name="BC580616">{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-06-16-BC.pdf |date=June 16, 1958 |title=Uhf no go against multiple v's—NBC |id={{ProQuest|1401228643}} |page=32 |work=Broadcasting |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108154605/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1958/1958-06-16-BC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> For ''Television Digest'', the decision proved "with utmost finality" that a UHF station could not compete in a market that had two VHF outlets and was "a blow to UHF morale".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-TV-Digest/50s/Television-Digest-1958-06.pdf#page=16 |work=Television Digest |title=NBC Dropping WBUF—A Blow to UHF Morale |pages=2–3 |date=June 14, 1958 |via=World Radio History |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011215920/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-TV-Digest/50s/Television-Digest-1958-06.pdf#page=16 |url-status=live}}</ref> Frontier Television, which had proposed to start a second UHF station in Buffalo to be known as WNYT and had reached a deal with NBC to use the former interim WBUF studio,<ref name="Buff570306">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689938/wnyt-tv-will-ask-for-transfer-from/ |date=March 6, 1957 |page=41 |title=WNYT-TV Will Ask For Transfer from Channel 59 to 29 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109689938/wnyt-tv-will-ask-for-transfer-from/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> dropped its plans and announced it would seek a VHF channel, with its president noting that 300,000 television set owners had paid for UHF converters that would soon be worthless in the area.<ref name="Star580612">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109693002/uhf-channel-closing-hits-300000-users/ |date=June 12, 1958 |page=1 |title=UHF Channel Closing Hits 300,000 Users |newspaper=Star-Gazette |location=Elmira, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109693002/uhf-channel-closing-hits-300000-users/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --><ref name="Buff580612">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690013/frontier-tv-inc-to-seek-license-for/ |date=June 12, 1958 |page=55 |title=Frontier TV Inc. To Seek License for VHF Channel Here |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690013/frontier-tv-inc-to-seek-license-for/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> CBS, which had similarly attempted to make a go of a UHF owned-and-operated station with [[WUVN|WHCT]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut]], announced in October that it would unwind that experiment and affiliate with [[WFSB|a VHF station]] in that city; a column in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' noted that "CBS probably figured 'If NBC could do it in Buffalo, why can't we do it in Hartford?'".<ref>{{cite news |page=31 |id={{ProQuest|1014807048}}|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 15, 1958|title=The Hartford Story}}</ref> |
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Broadcaster [[Dave Roberts (broadcaster)|Dave Roberts]] (then still known as Dave Thomas) worked at WBUF from 1956 to 1958. |
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Bevis remained in Buffalo for four months after the closure to supervise the disposal of WBUF's extensive physical plant and transmission assets. The taller of two towers and former interim building were sold to WGR-TV, while a shorter tower and the studio building were sold to WBEN.<ref name="Buff590205">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690091/bevis-is-appointed-to-special-staff-posi/ |date=February 5, 1959 |page=15 |title=Bevis Is Appointed To Special Staff Position by NBC |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690091/bevis-is-appointed-to-special-staff/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The [[WBEN (AM)|WBEN]] radio stations and WBEN-TV, now [[WIVB-TV]], made extensive renovations, including a two-story office addition, and moved into the facility in January 1960;<ref name="Buff600102">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690349/central-control-room-is-the-heart-of-new/ |date=January 2, 1960 |page=TV Topics 4 |title=Central Control Room Is the Heart of New WBEN & TV Center |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045827/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690349/central-control-room-is-the-heart-of/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> the portion built for WBUF housed the radio studios.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Television-Magazine/Television-1964-Jun.pdf |work=Television |date=May–June 1964 |page=38 |title=WBEN-AM-FM-TV |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129071736/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Television-Magazine/Television-1964-Jun.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> WBEN also purchased the 1921-vintage fire engine "Engine No. 17",{{r|Var561017}} renamed "Old No. 4", that had been used by WBUF for promotional purposes and as part of a fire safety awareness program.{{r|Buff561011}}<ref name="Buff600108">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690373/celeste-made-a-holm-out-of-a-fire-truck/ |date=January 8, 1960 |page=32 |first=Sturgis |last=Hedrick |title=Celeste Made a Holm Out of a Fire Truck |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045827/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690373/celeste-made-a-holm-out-of-a-fire-truck/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> |
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The final blow came in late 1956, when the FCC ended an almost decade-long competitive process and issued a [[construction permit#broadcasting|construction permit]] for Buffalo's only remaining VHF allocation, channel 7. The winner was Churchill Broadcasting, owner of [[WWKB|WKBW radio]], for the station which was to become [[WKBW-TV]]. Realizing that it could not hope to compete against three VHF stations, NBC signed off WBUF on September 30, 1958 (two months to the day before WKBW-TV signed on) and returned its affiliation to WGR-TV. More or less by default, ABC signed with the new channel 7. |
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WGR and WBEN, along with NBC, also ensured that there would still be a channel 17 in Buffalo, though not on a commercial basis. In February 1959, a consortium of educational leaders organized as the Western New York Educational Television Association applied for a new construction permit for the station, having secured the temporary use of equipment of both stations at Elmwood and the long-term use of soon-to-be-vacated WGR facilities in the Hotel Lafayette, as well as a pledge for $115,000 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|115000|1959}}}} in {{inflation/year|US}} dollars) in equipment from NBC.<ref name="Buff590207">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690131/approval-sought-for-educational-tv-stati/ |date=February 7, 1959 |page=7 |title=Approval Sought For Educational TV Station Here |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045828/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690131/approval-sought-for-educational-tv/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> The FCC granted the group a construction permit on March 4,<ref name="Buff590304">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690195/fcc-authorizes-uhf-educational-station-o/ |date=March 4, 1959 |page=1 |title=FCC Authorizes UHF Educational Station on Ch. 17 |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045828/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690195/fcc-authorizes-uhf-educational-station/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> and [[WNED-TV]] began broadcasting on March 30, making it the first educational TV station in the state of New York.<ref name="Buff590331">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690236/wned-tv-on-airfirst-educational-station/ |date=March 31, 1959 |page=27 |title=WNED-TV on Air—First Educational Station in the State |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045829/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690236/wned-tv-on-airfirst-educational/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> It broadcast from the former WBUF-TV antenna, which was moved to the Lafayette that summer,<ref name="Buff590523">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254594/antenna-changes-mean-better-service/ |date=May 23, 1959 |page=TV Topics 2 |title=Antenna Changes Mean Better Service |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045828/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109254594/antenna-changes-mean-better-service/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> while WGR radio relocated to the Elmwood site.<ref name="Buff590423">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690298/a-famous-daughter-on-gene-kelly-show/ |date=April 23, 1959 |page=35 |first=Sturgis |last=Hedrick |title=A Famous Daughter On Gene Kelly Show |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919045829/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109690298/a-famous-daughter-on-gene-kelly-show/ |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> |
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⚫ | On June 10, 1958, NBC announced that WBUF would be shut down on September 30, with the award of channel 7 imminent; the network believed it had no chance of competing with three VHF stations, ratings for NBC were far lower in Buffalo than in other markets nationally, and WBUF had continued to lose money—an estimated $1 |
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After WBUF was shut down, NBC returned the channel 17 license to the FCC. The WBUF studio building was acquired by WBEN, which moved its [[WBEN (AM)|radio]] and television stations there and from which [[WIVB-TV]], the successor to WBEN-TV, still operates. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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{{Buffalo TV}} |
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[[Category:1953 establishments in New York (state)]] |
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[[Category:1958 disestablishments in New York (state)]] |
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[[Category:Defunct television stations in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Television stations in Buffalo, New York|BUF-TV]] |
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[[Category:Defunct mass media in New York (state)|BUF-TV]] |
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[[Category:NBC]] |
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[[Category:Television channels and stations disestablished in 1958]] |
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[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953]] |
Latest revision as of 19:21, 3 April 2024
| |
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Channels | |
Programming | |
Affiliations | |
History | |
First air date | August 17, 1953 |
Last air date | October 1, 1958 |
Call sign meaning | "Buffalo" |
Technical information | |
ERP | 1,000 kW |
HAAT | 686 ft (209 m) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°57′14″N 78°52′37″W / 42.95389°N 78.87694°W[1] |
WBUF-TV[a] 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.
The first of two early UHF television stations in Buffalo, the station—like others in its day—struggled to gain traction because of coverage and reception issues specific to UHF stations and not experienced by their very high frequency (VHF) counterparts. The station went on the air under the aegis of local owners. After its initial shutdown in February 1955, it was bought by NBC in part as an experiment hoping to mitigate the issues ailing UHF broadcasting across the country and also because revised ownership rules allowed station groups to purchase additional UHF stations. In August 1956, all NBC programs moved to WBUF, which at the same time moved into a new showplace studio facility. Despite high UHF set conversion rates (as sets had to be converted to receive UHF in the days before the All-Channel Receiver Act) and a high-power installation, WBUF was generally a failure—NBC ratings were far lower in Buffalo than in most other cities, and the station lost money—and the approval of a third VHF station for the city signaled WBUF-TV's final demise in 1958.
WBUF left a legacy in Buffalo of notable broadcast personalities in and out of the market, including Rick Azar and Mac McGarry, as well as a substantial physical plant. The channel 17 transmission facility was donated to start WNED-TV, Buffalo's educational TV station, which began broadcasting in March 1959. The studio has been occupied since 1960 by WBEN-TV (now known as WIVB-TV).
First era
Prehistory
The Federal Communications Commission declared a freeze on television station applications in 1948, during which time 70 new channels were created in the UHF band to meet the demand for television service that previously only had 12 VHF channels. In 1951, Buffalo was initially awarded channels 17 and 23 (the latter for noncommercial use), and channels 2 and 7 were also placed in the region in addition to Buffalo's only pre-freeze station, WBEN-TV (channel 4).[2]
After the lifting of the freeze in 1952, the FCC received applications from all over the United States, and the two new VHF channels each met with multiple applicants that would require comparative hearings to sort out; further, Buffalo was low in the national priority order for hearing applications.[3] Buffalo's two UHF channels did not attract the same interest, and it was channel 17 that led to the first grant of a new TV station in Buffalo since the freeze when the commission granted a construction permit to the Chautauqua Broadcasting Company on December 18, 1952.[4] The firm had 18 stockholders, headed by Sherwin Grossman and Gary L. Cohen, each in families with other business interests;[5] two others had withdrawn in August.[6] The transmitter would be erected atop the Marine Trust Company building in downtown Buffalo, while a studio site had not been selected when the FCC granted the construction permit.[5] Days later, a second uncontested application for a UHF channel was granted to the Buffalo-Niagara Television Corporation for channel 59.[7]
Taking the call letters WBUF-TV (and with Chautauqua changing its name to WBUF-TV Inc.), the station filed in April 1953 to locate at a facility at 184 Barton Street and to erect the transmitter tower there instead of on the Marine Trust Company building.[8] Work then began on facilities with an August 15 deadline, which Grossman pledged would not be missed "by many hours", and on erection of a 421.5-foot (128.5 m) tower.[9][10] A South Carolina firm was responsible for the latter; a Confederate flag was used to mark the high point reached, and it was left atop the finished mast for a time as a dare by one of the steeplejacks.[11] The transmitter arrived on August 14;[11] three days later, on August 17, WBUF-TV began broadcasting as Buffalo's second television station;[12] audio troubles marred the first night on air.[13] It originally aired programs from ABC, CBS, and the DuMont Television Network; DuMont Laboratories supplied the transmitter, its first 1,000-watt UHF unit.[11] A second UHF station briefly joined the Buffalo scene on September 27 when channel 59 was activated as WBES-TV, but it folded on December 18.[14]
A fight for a fourth VHF channel and temporary shutdown
Looming over the station's existence from the start was the first of two hearings for a new VHF television station in Buffalo, on channel 2. WBUF-TV attempted to intervene in the channel 2 hearing, citing economic injury and loss of advertisers and network shows that would result with a second VHF outlet on the air, but was denied the opportunity by the FCC in January 1954; every commissioner bar Frieda Hennock voted against allowing WBUF-TV to become part of the proceeding.[15] Meanwhile, facilities improvements continued. In August 1954, effective radiated power was increased to 229,000 watts, a twelvefold increase on the way to Grossman's goal: transmitting the UHF maximum of one million watts.[16] It also joined a regional network exchanging local programs alongside WSEE-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania, and WVET-TV in Rochester.[17]
Despite this, the station's economic picture dimmed considerably after WGR-TV began telecasting August 14—sharing the Barton Street building of WBUF-TV, which it had agreed to lease to WGR-TV owner Niagara Frontier Amusement Company in January.[18][19] WGR-TV became the new NBC affiliate, and CBS programs moved to WBEN-TV.[20] In October, major cutbacks were made in the station's local program production, with WBUF-TV becoming dependent on network shows and movies and eight employees being laid off. This was to continue until the FCC ruled on a petition made by Grossman to change the Buffalo allocations of channels 2, 4, and 7 to 2, 4, 5, and 8, thereby giving the city a fourth VHF channel, in expectation that the commission would make a ruling in the near future.[21] In February 1955, ahead of an expected ruling, Grossman announced that the station would continue "as long as there is any concrete hope of bringing a fourth [VHF] TV service to Western New York".[22]
However, when the FCC failed to rule on the four-VHF proposal in its February 23, 1955, meeting, Grossman could no longer afford to keep WBUF-TV in service, and the station went off the air that night.[23] From startup to December 31, 1954, WBUF-TV had made a net loss of $236,324.42 (equivalent to $2.13 million in 2023 dollars).[24]
NBC ownership
Acquisition
On March 11, 1955, Grossman and Sylvester "Pat" Weaver jointly announced that NBC would purchase WBUF-TV. NBC, however, would not be able to put its programming on channel 17 immediately, as WGR-TV's NBC affiliation contract did not end until August 1956. A basic ABC affiliation agreement was signed at the same time as the sale deal was reached; NBC painted itself as the savior of UHF television in Buffalo, hoping the purchase would have beneficial implications for the development of UHF.[25] The $312,500 deal would make NBC the first network to own the maximum complement of five VHF and two UHF television stations, after it had earlier agreed to purchase WKNB-TV in New Britain, Connecticut.[24]
Grossman and Cohen retained ownership of the Barton Street studio to lease to WGR-TV, and NBC began scouting for sites to relocate WBUF-TV; meanwhile, WGR-TV announced it would fight to keep its NBC affiliation.[26] In July, the FCC indicated that the deal likely would necessitate a hearing after WGR-TV lodged a formal protest; in a response, NBC noted that the complaints were not germane for a hearing and that the purchase would not create antitrust issues, and it also said that if the sale were to languish past the end of the year, WBUF-TV would go off the air again.[27] Meanwhile, ABC shows slowly returned to channel 17,[28] while some NBC shows also appeared because WGR-TV was dropping them as part of its dispute with the network.[29]
The commission approved the purchase in September 1955,[30] though continued protests and a filing in appeals court by WGR-TV held up completion of the sale[31][32] until December 30, when the appeals court dismissed the case.[33]
Actions taken by original owner Grossman while running WBUF-TV would rebound on his efforts to be selected to build a new TV station in Miami in the early 1960s. In September 1960, an FCC examiner handed down an initial decision awarding the South Florida Amusement Company, a company majority-owned by Grossman, a construction permit for channel 6.[34] A competing applicant alleged that Grossman had ordered program logs from 1955, immediately prior to the NBC takeover, not be made available to anyone; that WBUF-TV had aired a bingo program in contravention of the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters and never delivered promised prizes; and that it aired excessive commercials during movies.[35] While the FCC initially did not admit the evidence, the uncovering of new data led the commission to reopen the record in the first week of 1962, with new charges that letters from Buffalo civic leaders supporting the addition of VHF stations there had been forged.[36] Despite the initial nod and after being cleared of allegations of wrongdoing, Grossman was allowed to withdraw from contention in November 1963, paving the way for the other applicant, Coral Television Company, to receive the construction permit.[37]
The rebuild
The same day as the sale was consummated, NBC announced its plans for WBUF, including a schedule of new local programs and the relocation of NBC network shows to channel 17 in August 1956; a new facility capable of eventual expansion to broadcast one million watts; and the construction of interim and permanent studios at 2077 Elmwood Avenue, with the move from Barton Street to take place immediately.[33] The station was off the air from December 31 until January 9, when it returned to operation from the interim facilities on Elmwood;[38] the Barton Street site was then purchased outright by WGR-TV.[39] Intensive promotion of UHF set conversion began; where just 25 percent of sets were equipped for UHF in January 1956, 52.9 percent were by October.[40]
The first phase of the permanent, $1.5 million studio center was completed in time for WBUF to become the NBC station in Buffalo on August 14,[41] while transmitter power was increased to 489,000 watts[1] in October,[42] and a formal dedication was held on October 11, with a national telecast on Today featuring Dave Garroway and J. Fred Muggs; president Robert Sarnoff had intended to visit but was ill.[43] The new studio was NBC's first to be automated; paper tape controlled nearly all station functions, and operators were only needed to handle the loading of film and slide projectors.[44] Much was riding on the proposal for NBC; Sarnoff had earlier floated the idea that groups could own more than seven stations if the additional outlets were UHF, and Buffalo at the time was the nation's 14th-largest television market.[40] In September 1957, WBUF completed its last transmitter upgrade and began broadcasting with one million watts.[45]
Even though it was a UHF station with a generally economical operation,[40] in terms of personnel, WBUF was operated along the lines of other NBC owned-and-operated outlets. Several faces seen on channel 17 went on to lengthy broadcasting careers in and out of Buffalo. Longtime Buffalo sportscaster Rick Azar, later of WKBW-TV, did sports and weather at WBUF.[46] Broadcaster Dave Roberts (then still known as Dave Thomas) worked at WBUF-TV from 1956 to 1958—his first on-air appearance coming on Christmas Eve—before later stints at WKBW-TV and WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.[47] Several personalities originated from elsewhere in the NBC chain: Mac McGarry, who came from NBC's WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., was a weatherman in Buffalo;[48] he returned to Washington after WBUF folded.[49]
Shutdown and disposal of assets
On June 10, 1958, NBC announced that WBUF would be shut down on September 30, with the award of channel 7 (eventually built as WKBW-TV) imminent; the network believed it had no chance of competing with three VHF stations, ratings for NBC were far lower in Buffalo than in other comparable markets nationally and lower than at NBC's other UHF station in Connecticut,[50] and WBUF had continued to lose money—an estimated $1 million (equivalent to $8.1 million in 2023 dollars)—under NBC ownership.[51] This contrasted with optimistic projections two years earlier by Charles Denny, operations manager for the NBC-owned stations, that it would be profitable sometime in 1957.[40] As a result, WGR-TV would become the new NBC affiliate for Buffalo on October 1, with that station airing NBC and ABC programs, and the Elmwood Avenue studios would be offered for sale.[51] The closure came at 1:05 a.m. on October 1, with station general manager Charles C. Bevis Jr. regretting that the station was unable to obtain the desired third of the Buffalo market even though 82 percent of Buffalo-area television sets were equipped to receive UHF.[52] Sturgis Hedrick of the Buffalo Evening News remarked on the occasion of WBUF's closure that the station was a "good friend" with quality network and local programming.[53]
The news was read in industry trades as a dire sign of the troubles facing UHF stations nationwide. Broadcasting magazine commented that the news of WBUF's folding put UHF television at "a new crossroads", stirring a debate about whether VHF and UHF channels should co-exist in a given area.[50] For Television Digest, the decision proved "with utmost finality" that a UHF station could not compete in a market that had two VHF outlets and was "a blow to UHF morale".[54] Frontier Television, which had proposed to start a second UHF station in Buffalo to be known as WNYT and had reached a deal with NBC to use the former interim WBUF studio,[55] dropped its plans and announced it would seek a VHF channel, with its president noting that 300,000 television set owners had paid for UHF converters that would soon be worthless in the area.[56][57] CBS, which had similarly attempted to make a go of a UHF owned-and-operated station with WHCT in Hartford, Connecticut, announced in October that it would unwind that experiment and affiliate with a VHF station in that city; a column in Variety noted that "CBS probably figured 'If NBC could do it in Buffalo, why can't we do it in Hartford?'".[58]
Bevis remained in Buffalo for four months after the closure to supervise the disposal of WBUF's extensive physical plant and transmission assets. The taller of two towers and former interim building were sold to WGR-TV, while a shorter tower and the studio building were sold to WBEN.[59] The WBEN radio stations and WBEN-TV, now WIVB-TV, made extensive renovations, including a two-story office addition, and moved into the facility in January 1960;[60] the portion built for WBUF housed the radio studios.[61] WBEN also purchased the 1921-vintage fire engine "Engine No. 17",[40] renamed "Old No. 4", that had been used by WBUF for promotional purposes and as part of a fire safety awareness program.[43][62]
WGR and WBEN, along with NBC, also ensured that there would still be a channel 17 in Buffalo, though not on a commercial basis. In February 1959, a consortium of educational leaders organized as the Western New York Educational Television Association applied for a new construction permit for the station, having secured the temporary use of equipment of both stations at Elmwood and the long-term use of soon-to-be-vacated WGR facilities in the Hotel Lafayette, as well as a pledge for $115,000 (equivalent to $919,624 in 2023 dollars) in equipment from NBC.[63] The FCC granted the group a construction permit on March 4,[64] and WNED-TV began broadcasting on March 30, making it the first educational TV station in the state of New York.[65] It broadcast from the former WBUF-TV antenna, which was moved to the Lafayette that summer,[66] while WGR radio relocated to the Elmwood site.[67]
Notes
References
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