WCAN-TV
Encyclopedia
WCAN-TV was a CBS
-affiliated television station that was licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and served the Milwaukee area from 1953 to 1955.
. It broadcast on Channel 25, whose signal space is now used by the digital signal of WCGV-TV
(a station which is unrelated to WCAN-TV). A primary affiliate of the CBS
network, perhaps it is most noted for having been the only CBS affiliate in Wisconsin to air Edward R. Murrow
's See It Now
broadcast of March 9, 1954, in which the anti-Communist campaign of Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy was criticized. As a CBS affiliate, the station did well in the ratings, even surpassing NBC
affiliate WTMJ-TV
, rare at the time for a UHF station. The station, along with WOKY-TV
(channel 19), was also profitable as a CBS affiliate, and helped spur purchases of UHF converter boxes in the Milwaukee area.
On October 21, 1954, CBS purchased rival WOKY-TV Channel 19, a part-time ABC
affiliate, for $335,000 and announced it was moving its affiliation from WCAN-TV to the newly-acquired station. WCAN-TV owner Lou Poller sold CBS the studio facilities of WCAN-TV, effectively merging the station into WOKY-TV, which then took on the new call sign WXIX. The last day of broadcasting for WCAN-TV was February 26, 1955, after which Poller turned the license for the station back to the Federal Communications Commission
. CBS had given Poller the old WOKY-TV studio to continue broadcasting on Channel 24, but Poller never did so.
In 1958, the FCC
shifted the UHF channel allocations in Milwaukee from Channels 19, 25 and 31 to Channels 18, 24 and 30. Lou Poller held a construction permit to put a new station on Channel 24, but sold it in December 1966 to Field Communications
, which had just put WFLD
on the air in Chicago and was seeking to expand that independent station's market coverage with a full-powered repeater station in Milwaukee. However, Field never built the station, and the permit was deleted by the FCC in 1969. WCGV-TV, whose original construction permit dates back only to 1973, started broadcasting on Channel 24 in 1980, coincidentally using the old WCAN-TV studio site on North 27th Street in Milwaukee.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-affiliated television station that was licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
and served the Milwaukee area from 1953 to 1955.
Station history
WCAN, which first signed on the air at 11:25 P.M. Central Time on 6 September 1953, was the first UHF and second overall television station in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. It broadcast on Channel 25, whose signal space is now used by the digital signal of WCGV-TV
WCGV-TV
WCGV-TV, digital channel 25 , is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, affiliated with MyNetworkTV Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin, including the cities of Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Waukesha...
(a station which is unrelated to WCAN-TV). A primary affiliate of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network, perhaps it is most noted for having been the only CBS affiliate in Wisconsin to air Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
's See It Now
See It Now
See It Now is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, Murrow being the host of the show. From 1952 to 1957, See It Now won four Emmy Awards and was nominated three times...
broadcast of March 9, 1954, in which the anti-Communist campaign of Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy was criticized. As a CBS affiliate, the station did well in the ratings, even surpassing NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WTMJ-TV
WTMJ-TV
WTMJ-TV, digital channel 28 ; branded as "Today's TMJ4", is the NBC-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the flagship station of the Journal Broadcast Group. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha,...
, rare at the time for a UHF station. The station, along with WOKY-TV
WVTV
WVTV is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA and serves as Southeast Wisconsin's The CW Television Network affiliate. The station broadcasts from the Milwaukee Public Television tower on Milwaukee's northeast side with WMVS/WMVT, along with WCGV , WVTV's sister station...
(channel 19), was also profitable as a CBS affiliate, and helped spur purchases of UHF converter boxes in the Milwaukee area.
On October 21, 1954, CBS purchased rival WOKY-TV Channel 19, a part-time ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate, for $335,000 and announced it was moving its affiliation from WCAN-TV to the newly-acquired station. WCAN-TV owner Lou Poller sold CBS the studio facilities of WCAN-TV, effectively merging the station into WOKY-TV, which then took on the new call sign WXIX. The last day of broadcasting for WCAN-TV was February 26, 1955, after which Poller turned the license for the station back to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
. CBS had given Poller the old WOKY-TV studio to continue broadcasting on Channel 24, but Poller never did so.
In 1958, the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
shifted the UHF channel allocations in Milwaukee from Channels 19, 25 and 31 to Channels 18, 24 and 30. Lou Poller held a construction permit to put a new station on Channel 24, but sold it in December 1966 to Field Communications
Field Communications
Field Communications was a division of Field Enterprises, which owned the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News. The company owned independent television stations in the United States, with WFLD-TV in Chicago as its largest-market station....
, which had just put WFLD
WFLD
WFLD, virtual channel 32 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation, the station is owned in a duopoly with area MyNetworkTV affiliate WPWR-TV...
on the air in Chicago and was seeking to expand that independent station's market coverage with a full-powered repeater station in Milwaukee. However, Field never built the station, and the permit was deleted by the FCC in 1969. WCGV-TV, whose original construction permit dates back only to 1973, started broadcasting on Channel 24 in 1980, coincidentally using the old WCAN-TV studio site on North 27th Street in Milwaukee.