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45-479: At the beginning of a typical Dialing for Dollars program, the host (a local television personality) would announce the day's password, which often contained one or more of the following: a secret word, the amount of money at stake, and a randomly determined "count." Each time the game was played, the host would randomly select and call a telephone number, using either numbers previously submitted by viewers or slips of paper cut from residential telephone directories. If

90-483: A radio program in 1939 on WCBM in Baltimore, Maryland , hosted by Homer Todd. With the advent and rise of commercial television broadcasting in the U.S. during the late 1940s and 1950s, the format switched to television and was franchised nationally as a popular, low-budget way to fill local market airtime, especially in the late mornings. On some stations (such as KTVU hosted by Pat McCormick, who also did voices for

135-472: A certain word (indicated by the onscreen appearance of a plane marked "SPY"). Viewers that enter their phone number into the Adult Swim website can then have a chance to be picked to win a prize of some sort if they are picked during the drawing (which is broadcast Thursdays at 9PM on the livestream) and say the correct word. A similar format, The Money Man , was used on WLOS-TV Asheville, North Carolina , in

180-623: A deal to buy Britt's stock in Skyway Broadcasting and thus assume majority ownership of the WLOS stations. The FCC approved the transaction in August, and upon closure, several WTVJ employees moved to Asheville to help manage WLOS radio and television. In 1959, Bill Norwood, known on air as "Mr. Bill", began hosting a children's program under a range of titles (the last being Mr. Bill's Friends ) which continued to air until June 1988, later returning as

225-679: A fill-in weatherman in the late 1990s. Bill's sidekick was a clown named Bumbo, played by longtime WLOS weatherman Bob Caldwell. Wometco sold off WLOS AM to the Greater Asheville Broadcasting Corporation in 1969, retaining the FM and TV stations; the AM station changed its call sign to WKKE when the sale took effect. WLOS continued to share ABC programming in the western Carolinas with WAIM-TV (channel 40) in Anderson, South Carolina , on

270-412: A morning newscast debuted upon the end of Mr. Bill and Friends in 1988. AnchorMedia also invested in new equipment upon taking over. News programming slowly expanded: by 2008, the station had a two-hour morning newscast, 90 minutes of early evening news, and the 11 p.m. newscast on weeknights, and WMYA aired 6:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts produced by WLOS. In 2022, WLOS debuted a weekly sports show during

315-401: A person would call in to answer the question. Once the caller gets a correct answer, the caller then chooses a number between 1 and 18 (including two "53" spaces) that were listed on the wheel before Cynthia would spin it. Once a random non-selected number was landed, the caller would win a selected amount of money or a smaller prize that was given such as coupons and tickets. If a selected number

360-587: A reputation as a residential showplace", to use as its studios. By July 1954, work was under way on the Mount Pisgah transmitter facility, and a September 18 start date goal had been set; WLOS-TV had signed for affiliation with ABC and the DuMont Television Network . WLOS-TV, as projected, began broadcasting on September 18, 1954. This gave Asheville its second station, as WISE-TV had begun broadcasting on channel 62 in August 1953. Local programming

405-457: A separately programmed independent station , WFBC-TV, in September 1995. WFBC-TV later became The WB affiliate WBSC-TV in 1999 and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYA-TV in 2006. River City merged with Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. WFBC-TV was sold to a related company to Sinclair, Glencairn, Ltd. Glencairn subsequently changed its name to Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation , but its stock

450-651: A transmitter on Mount Pisgah in Haywood County, North Carolina . WLOS-TV began broadcasting in September 1954 as the ABC affiliate for Asheville and most of the western Carolinas and the city's second TV station. It was founded by the Skyway Broadcasting Corporation, owner of WLOS radio , and owned by Wometco Enterprises from 1958 to 1987; Sinclair has owned it since 1996. Its local news coverage has historically focused on western North Carolina, in contrast to

495-461: A wheel containing photos of both station personalities and stars of the syndicated fare seen on the station; he would then ask the caller to identify that person. If they did so successfully, they won the jackpot (which always ended in 43 cents). This lasted for many years until the station opted to replace the Prize Movie with a slate of syndicated talk shows in the fall of 1993; this was a failure and

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540-459: Is AM Buffalo ). The program was also referenced in Janis Joplin 's classic hit song " Mercedes Benz " from the 1970 album " Pearl ". More recently, cable network Adult Swim has periodically revived the concept beginning in mid-2018 for their online livestream; due to the original concept being rendered obsolete by the advancement of technology, instead viewers of the livestream must memorize

585-449: Is a complex system designed for the transmission of data, information, or signals via radio waves. These networks are an integral part of modern telecommunications, enabling communication between various devices and services over varying distances. Radio networks have evolved significantly since their inception, with numerous types and technologies emerging to cater to diverse needs and applications. There are different types of networks: In

630-646: Is still almost entirely owned by the Smith family that owns Sinclair, and the companies continue to be closely related. WLOS sold the Battle House studios to the adjoining Grove Park Inn in 1999 and began scouting for a new location. The station then secured space in the Biltmore Park commercial development south of downtown Asheville, with the first broadcasts from the new studio taking place in December 2000. Battle House

675-462: Is that WTNH's version also contains special guests and performances after dialing games or mini-games. However, WKBW's version runs for an entire hour, and WTNH's version runs for 30 minutes as normal. By the mid-1970s, the popularity faded for the Dialing for Dollars format, as competition developed from daytime talk shows , and more sophisticated game shows coming from syndication . Another factor in

720-718: The Asheville Citizen-Times Company, in March 1953. WSKY had withdrawn by August 1953, as had the Community Television Company, but Asheville tax attorney William W. Orr then filed in October, bringing the field back up to three contenders for channel 13. In December 1953, the field cleared, and Orr and the Citizen-Times Company withdrew their applications to allow WLOS to get the construction permit;

765-512: The 1950s, a small but growing cohort of rock and pop music fans, dissatisfied with the BBC's output, would listen to Radio Luxembourg – but only to some extent and probably not enough to have any impact on the BBC's monopoly; and invariably only at night, when the signal from Luxembourg could be received more easily. During the post-1964 period, offshore radio broadcasting from ships at anchor or abandoned forts (such as Radio Caroline ) helped to supply

810-601: The Charley & Humphry puppets during a local cartoon show), the Dialing for Dollars format would be used during the local telecasting of a morning or afternoon movie . The film would be interrupted by a Dialing for Dollars segment every so often, rather than going to a commercial break, after which the program either went to a commercial or directly back to the film. On others, such as WKBW's version and WTNH's version , both versions are variety shows complete with studio audience and mini-games, The difference between both stations

855-566: The Citizen-Times option through his other broadcast property, WTVJ in Miami, and that he was offering a buyout of all other shareholders in Skyway. The so-called "Britt option" that Thoms and Tison claimed to hold became the subject of multiple court cases as Thoms and Tison sued Britt and others for breach of contract. On March 1, 1958, Wolfson's company, Wometco Enterprises , announced it had reached

900-743: The FCC to reconsider its denial of the WAXA purchase. WLOS produced a limited amount of South Carolina-specific programming for air on channel 40, including a public affairs program, Viewpoint 40 , and a 6 p.m. newscast using the resources of the Anderson Independent-Mail newspaper. In 1994, Continental Broadcasting—the former AnchorMedia—was purchased by River City Broadcasting , a St. Louis -based owner of television and radio properties. The three ABC affiliates owned by Anchor represented River City's first major network affiliates. River City spun WAXA out as

945-507: The Prize Movie was brought back in January of 1994 and ended for good that August. WFLI-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning with its first year of operation in 1987, ran a 30-minute live and locally-produced program entitled 53 Trivia Spin . The program was equivalent to the Dialing for Dollars format, hosted by Bob Broome and Cynthia Davis. Bob would give the viewers a question, and then

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990-576: The South Carolina part of the market if it was to lift itself from an overall third-place finish in the combined market. By the late 1970s, the station had a bureau in Greenville, which moved into a new building in 1984; that year, it also set up a news bureau in Spartanburg . The station expanded its news coverage with the addition of a new 5:30 p.m. newscast—in addition to its 6 p.m. report—in 1986, and

1035-416: The chosen person answered the call within a set number of rings and gave the correct password, he/she won the money at stake; if not, money was added to the prize for the next playing. The prize was reset to a starting value after it was won. The count, when it was part of the password, consisted of a number from 1 to 9 and a direction of "up" or "down." The host drew a slip cut from the telephone book(s) for

1080-548: The commercialization of the well-known summit. A United States Forest Service hearing in February 1954 drew 50 attendees and thousands of letters, telegrams, and postcards, but the federal government approved the Pisgah tower site at the end of February 1954. Meanwhile, the station acquired the Battle House, a 1925-built residence on Macon Avenue described by The Asheville Citizen as "long considered one of Asheville's finest ... [with]

1125-684: The demand in western Europe for pop and rock music. The BBC launched its own pop music station, BBC Radio 1 , in 1967. International broadcasts became highly popular in major world languages. Of particular impact were programs by the BBC World Service , Voice of America , Radio Moscow , China Radio International , Radio France Internationale , Deutsche Welle , Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Vatican Radio and Trans World Radio . Interest in old-time radio has increased in recent years with programs traded and collected on reel-to-reel tapes , cassettes and CDs and Internet downloads, as well as

1170-476: The firm and were going to exercise it. Skyway denied that any such option existed, claiming that it was based on an option extended to a minority stockholder—J. E. Edmonds—and later withdrawn. The matter was taken to court, where Edmonds attacked the validity of the 1953 Citizen-Times option, which remained outstanding. Then, that option catapulted into the spotlight when Miami businessman Mitchell Wolfson —a summer resident of Asheville—announced that he had acquired

1215-467: The football season, Saturday Sports Night , covering regional college football. The station's signal is multiplexed : WLOS discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, on June 12, 2009. It had intended to do so on February 17, even after the federal government moved the deadline back four months, but general manager Jack Connors explained that the FCC would have also required

1260-553: The former GFG Productions facilities in Brooklyn. The project was never completed due to Guber's illness which was diagnosed soon after; he died of a brain tumor on March 27, 1988. The program has also been satirized on the Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV . Live with Kelly and Ryan carries on the tradition with its daily Travel Trivia contest, and a few local shows directly trace their lineage to Dialing for Dollars (an example

1305-538: The former WAIM-TV, in Anderson; the company proposed to simulcast WLOS on channel 40 for the benefit of viewers in the southern portion of the market who could not receive the Asheville station. The FCC denied an outright sale, citing the stations' overlapping coverage areas, but AnchorMedia continued to negotiate a simulcast agreement with WAXA's existing ownership. It also won a victory in federal appeals court, which ordered

1350-550: The late 1960s. Host Bob Caldwell would call viewers and ask them to tell how much money was in the jackpot and name the show or star of the day. This aired in late afternoons, during reruns of Perry Mason and the station's 5:30 PM newscast. Another similar format, the Prize Movie , aired for many years on WUAB-TV in Cleveland, Ohio; host John Lanigan would call people in a manner similar to Dialing for Dollars , and would spin

1395-475: The latter received an option to buy stock in Skyway, though it was cautioned that such would require additional FCC approval. The next step was securing a transmitter site. WLOS immediately proposed to erect a 300-foot (91 m) tower atop Mount Pisgah, which was met with divided sentiment. Civic groups favored the location and claimed it was the only site in the mountainous area from which the station could provide regional coverage; others derided what they felt as

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1440-403: The major overhaul of TV allocations accompanying the introduction of ultra high frequency (UHF) channels resulted in only one VHF channel being allotted to Asheville: 13, along with UHF 56 (educational) and 62. The Skyway Broadcasting Company, corporate parent of WLOS, applied for channel 13 on December 7, 1951. It was soon joined by WSKY (1230 AM) in August 1952 and WWNC (570 AM), owned by

1485-405: The opposite end of the market. It was a dual ABC/ CBS affiliate; while WAIM-TV's ABC affiliation agreement allowed it to carry any network program not aired by WLOS in Asheville, which was not receivable in the Anderson area. This ended in January 1979; after an ownership change at channel 40, ABC only allowed the station to continue airing its programming through the end of 1978. In 1984, Wometco

1530-555: The other major stations in the market, all of which broadcast from studios in South Carolina. Prior to the 1948 freeze on television station applications imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Skyway Broadcasting Corporation—owner of Asheville radio stations WLOS (1380 AM) and WLOS-FM (99.9)—had applied for the use of channel 7, one of three channels assigned to the city along with channel 5 (applied for by actress Mary Pickford ) and 12. However,

1575-530: The popularity of podcasts . The World United Kingdom United States India WLOS-TV WLOS (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina , United States, broadcasting ABC and MyNetworkTV programming to Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina . It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group in an effective duopoly with WMYA-TV (channel 40) in Anderson, South Carolina . WLOS maintains studios on Technology Drive (near I-26 / US 74 ) in Asheville and

1620-467: The preceding year to purchase the station from KKR. Anchor was a rapidly growing group in radio, having acquired stations in Dallas , Las Vegas , and Albuquerque , but WLOS-TV marked its first television station property. Anchor had also bid on WTVJ in Miami only to be beaten at the last minute by a bid from General Electric and NBC . During AnchorMedia's ownership, the company attempted to acquire WAXA,

1665-566: The show's decline was the trend of fewer households having stay-at-home members available to answer the phone during the day. Dialing for Dollars left the Baltimore airwaves in 1977 (although it is still seen in a few markets), after giving away $ 800,000 locally in its 38-year run there on radio and television. Broadway producer Lee Guber attempted to resurrect the concept on a national basis in 1987, meeting with Canadian broadcaster Peter Emmerson with regards to hosting what would have emanated from

1710-406: The station's analog translators, many of them serving mountainous areas shaded from Mount Pisgah by terrain, to be switched off at that time. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 56, which was among the high-band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to VHF channel 13. WLOS operates 11 translators across

1755-422: The viewing area, each containing several numbers, then used the count to choose the number by counting down from the first number listed or up from the last one. For example, a count of "6 Down" meant that the sixth number down from the top would be called. A common password was "the count and the amount," or the day's count and the total money at stake on that particular playing. Dialing for Dollars originated as

1800-406: Was also initially the smallest of the three TV newsrooms in the region. After airing its main early evening newscasts at 5:30 and later 7 p.m., WLOS went head-to-head with the South Carolina stations (then-WFBC-TV and WSPA-TV) in 1979 and began airing its evening news at 6 p.m. Even though the station's focus is western North Carolina, management recognized the station needed a presence in

1845-504: Was an improvement from 2011, when it trailed both of the Upstate stations in revenue. On September 20, 2021, "My 40" and the MyNetworkTV programming on WMYA-TV moved exclusively to the 13.2 subchannel of WLOS. As the major station based in Asheville, WLOS has traditionally focused its regional news coverage on western North Carolina, where it achieves higher ratings than its competitors. It

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1890-449: Was demolished in 2006; the inn argued that it was too deteriorated to be preserved and that a half-century of use as a TV studio had resulted in too many alterations. Among these were replacement of windows and doors and the removal of many finishes, as well as an addition to the structure made by the television station. By 2014, WLOS ranked second in estimated revenue, ahead of NBC affiliate WYFF in Greenville but behind WSPA-TV ; this

1935-743: Was immediately planned, including shows for housewives, children, and teenagers; the WLOS radio stations also occupied the Battle House. The Mount Pisgah transmitter site gave the station a wide coverage area; pre-launch advertising boasted of having the highest antenna in the South and a signal that reached Johnson City, Tennessee . A squabble over options to purchase stock in Skyway Broadcasting Company erupted in April 1957, when Harold H. Thoms—owner of WISE radio and television—and Walter Tison of Tampa, Florida , announced they had an option to buy shares in

1980-408: Was landed, a big prize would be given to the caller such as vehicles and trips. Prizes were changed each round. Radio program A radio program , radio programme , or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio . It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode . A Radio Network

2025-547: Was taken private in a leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). As part of this transaction, WLOS-FM was sold to WISE and became WRLX-FM and later WKSF . KKR struggled with the station, in part because ABC sank to third in the national ratings. It set revenue goals that were so unreachable that the entire WLOS-TV sales force turned over. AnchorMedia, associated with the Robert M. Bass Group , acquired WLOS-TV for $ 50 million in 1987 after two attempts had been made in

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