WROV-TV
Encyclopedia
WROV-TV, UHF Channel 27 in Roanoke, Virginia
, was the second-oldest TV station in Roanoke (having signed on shortly after WSLS-TV
). Established February 15, 1953, it left the air on July 13, 1953, becoming the first UHF television station
in the United States to have ceased operations.
had allocated channels 7, 10, and 27 for Roanoke and 13 for nearby Lynchburg, Virginia
. Shenandoah Life Insurance Company (the owners of WSLS radio) obtained the channel 10 license and launched WSLS-TV
on December 11, 1952; Roanoke Radio (owners of WROV
radio) signed on soon after with Channel 27. Lynchburg Broadcasting signed on Channel 13, WLVA
, on February 8, 1953.
The station operated from a converted WROV radio studio at the Mountain Trust Bank building, using a transmitter atop Mill Mountain. Operating with one camera from poorly-lit studios, WROV-TV relied heavily on personnel such as Lee Garrett and Coleman Austin who were shared with the established radio station.
As TV manufacturers were not required at the time to include UHF tuners in new TV's, few could receive the station. According to Lee Garrett, "we couldn't get the sponsors because we didn't have the programs and we couldn't get the programs because we didn't have the sponsors. A Catch 22. And we were the first and as far as I know the only station in the country who has ever voluntarily surrendered its permit to the FCC. We gave it up."
WROV-TV became the first UHF station in the country to go dark in 1953; its owners becoming competing applicants for the last available local VHF allocation, channel 7.
Times World
, a newspaper publisher which operated WDBJ radio, was seeking the channel 7 allocation for WDBJ-TV. WROV ultimately was to drop its application for channel 7 in return for being able to recover its expenses by selling the WROV-TV facilities to WDBJ. Frank Koehler, formerly in charge of WROV, was to leave the station to work for WDBJ.
Radio Roanoke stations WROV
AM 1240 and WROV-FM
103.7 were ultimately sold to other investors as Times World, which already owned WDBJ
AM 960 and WDBJ-FM 94.9, was unable to take on additional radio stations on the same bands in the same market.
and KCTY
in Kansas City
would soon follow WROV-TV into perpetual silence. UHF TV's outlook was to remain poor until the All-Channel Receiver Act finally required UHF tuners in new TV sets sold in or after 1964.
A later attempt was made to launch ABC
affiliate WRFT on channel 27 Roanoke; this short-lived station, launched in 1966, left the air in 1974 due to competition from the stronger Lynchburg station. The channel would then remain vacant until 1986, when a third station would launch as WVFT; originally a religious broadcaster, it had become an independent commercial station within a year and soon became a successful Fox TV affiliate, WFXR.
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, was the second-oldest TV station in Roanoke (having signed on shortly after WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV, channel 10 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Roanoke, Virginia. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County. The station is owned by Media General who also owns local newspapers The News & Advance and Danville Register & Bee...
). Established February 15, 1953, it left the air on July 13, 1953, becoming the first UHF television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in the United States to have ceased operations.
History
In 1950s, the Federal Communications CommissionFederal 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...
had allocated channels 7, 10, and 27 for Roanoke and 13 for nearby Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
. Shenandoah Life Insurance Company (the owners of WSLS radio) obtained the channel 10 license and launched WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV, channel 10 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Roanoke, Virginia. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County. The station is owned by Media General who also owns local newspapers The News & Advance and Danville Register & Bee...
on December 11, 1952; Roanoke Radio (owners of WROV
WROV-FM
WROV-FM is an Album Oriented Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Martinsville, Virginia, serving the New River Valley and the Southside of Virginia...
radio) signed on soon after with Channel 27. Lynchburg Broadcasting signed on Channel 13, WLVA
WLVA
WLVA is a Religious formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, serving Lynchburg, Roanoke and Bedford. WLVA is owned and operated by Truth Broadcasting Corporation.-History:...
, on February 8, 1953.
The station operated from a converted WROV radio studio at the Mountain Trust Bank building, using a transmitter atop Mill Mountain. Operating with one camera from poorly-lit studios, WROV-TV relied heavily on personnel such as Lee Garrett and Coleman Austin who were shared with the established radio station.
As TV manufacturers were not required at the time to include UHF tuners in new TV's, few could receive the station. According to Lee Garrett, "we couldn't get the sponsors because we didn't have the programs and we couldn't get the programs because we didn't have the sponsors. A Catch 22. And we were the first and as far as I know the only station in the country who has ever voluntarily surrendered its permit to the FCC. We gave it up."
WROV-TV became the first UHF station in the country to go dark in 1953; its owners becoming competing applicants for the last available local VHF allocation, channel 7.
Times World
The Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Landmark Media Enterprises...
, a newspaper publisher which operated WDBJ radio, was seeking the channel 7 allocation for WDBJ-TV. WROV ultimately was to drop its application for channel 7 in return for being able to recover its expenses by selling the WROV-TV facilities to WDBJ. Frank Koehler, formerly in charge of WROV, was to leave the station to work for WDBJ.
Radio Roanoke stations WROV
WGMN
WGMN is a Sports Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving the Metro Roanoke area. WGMN is owned and operated by 3 Daughters Media.-History:...
AM 1240 and WROV-FM
WROV-FM
WROV-FM is an Album Oriented Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Martinsville, Virginia, serving the New River Valley and the Southside of Virginia...
103.7 were ultimately sold to other investors as Times World, which already owned WDBJ
WFIR
WFIR is a News/Talk formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving the Roanoke Valley. WFIR is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.-Programming:...
AM 960 and WDBJ-FM 94.9, was unable to take on additional radio stations on the same bands in the same market.
Epilogue
Of the 130 pioneering UHF TV stations in US operation at the beginning of 1954, only a minority were to survive. Stations such as WBES-TV in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and KCTY
KCTY (defunct)
KCTY operated on channel 25 in the Kansas City market from June 9, 1953 to February 28, 1954. The studio for channel 25 was located in the Pickwick Hotel in downtown Kansas City, Missouri but the transmitter was located in a rural area of Overland Park, Kansas.The station was the second...
in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
would soon follow WROV-TV into perpetual silence. UHF TV's outlook was to remain poor until the All-Channel Receiver Act finally required UHF tuners in new TV sets sold in or after 1964.
A later attempt was made to launch 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 WRFT on channel 27 Roanoke; this short-lived station, launched in 1966, left the air in 1974 due to competition from the stronger Lynchburg station. The channel would then remain vacant until 1986, when a third station would launch as WVFT; originally a religious broadcaster, it had become an independent commercial station within a year and soon became a successful Fox TV affiliate, WFXR.