An independent station is a broadcast station, usually a television station , not affiliated with a larger broadcast network . As such, it only broadcasts syndicated programs it has purchased; brokered programming, for which a third party pays the station for airtime; and local programs that it produces itself.
161-657: WSKY-TV (channel 4) is an independent television station licensed to Manteo, North Carolina , United States, serving the Hampton Roads area. It is the flagship station of the Hampton, Virginia –based Lockwood Broadcast Group , and has studios on Salters Creek Road in Hampton; its transmitter is located near South Mills, North Carolina . Despite WSKY-TV being licensed to Manteo, the station maintains no physical presence there. The history of WSKY-TV can be traced as early as 1995, when
322-527: A Toledo, Ohio –based radio dramatic group and, like Clayton, joined WCKT at its 1956 launch. Serving as a booth announcer and doing fill-in work for vacationing staffers Baxter was asked by management to create a horror host character but without any direction, merely saying, "We need a monster. You're it." Baxter developed the character "M. T. Graves" for the Sunday afternoon horror movie showcase titled The Dungeon after improvising with makeup and establishing
483-523: A loss leader . WCKT and the Herald partnered for Charlie Reads The Comics , a Sunday morning show that launched on July 22, 1969, with Baxter reading the newspaper's Sunday comic strips to a studio audience of children, and Folds as Toby. Baxter resigned from the station on April 29, 1970, while on vacation; later attributing his departure to burnout , Baxter eventually revived his "M. T. Graves" character on WKID (channel 51). Stage actor Wayne Chandler
644-480: A satellite dish used to receive NBC programming, deadpanning, "why don't you take it home on the airplane?" No formal announcement was made to WSVN's staff that day beyond a terse internal memo, with some staffers admitting to checking job openings in Broadcasting magazine amid a combination of anxiety and gallows humor . One unidentified WSVN manager described it as a difficult day because they also had to report
805-562: A special election for Dade County sheriff attracted controversy when the station called on Republican challenger Fred A. Phillips to withdraw, saying incumbent T. A. Buchanan was "almost certain to win", prompting Phillips to file a compliant with the FCC. Miami News columnist Rollene Saal criticized the editorials both for taking away time from the newscast itself and the subject matter; Sidney contended that television had an obligation to editorialize and present dissenting viewpoints in accord with
966-479: A $ 1 million purchase (equivalent to $ 8,761,722 in 2023) of 637 acres (258 ha) of land in northeast Marion County, Indiana , on August 21, 1968, at the time the largest land sale in the county's history. The purchased land was developed into Indianapolis's Castleton neighborhood , helping make Sunbeam one of the largest land developers in Indiana. Due to the license being a short-term permit similar to
1127-475: A Face was cancelled the following March when ABC was obligated to honor a financial commitment for another game show, but Clayton kept his WCKT duties. Clayton moved back to Miami as Barber's replacement for the station's midday program, which was reformatted to be like Today, when 1963 began. By the end of the year, Hugh Downs recruited Clayton as announcer for the NBC game show Concentration , which Downs hosted;
1288-479: A bath." Rick Sanchez, who was in consideration to co-host Live at Five , was suspended in March 1986 after revelations of ties to influence peddler Alberto San Pedro came to light. While not directly implicated in any criminal activity, Sanchez left the market to take a reporting job with Houston's KHOU . Choate expressed frustration at continued perception of WSVN as a "perennial third-place station" while critics noted
1449-522: A burden not faced by network-affiliated stations – these factors made prospective owners skittish about signing on a television station as an independent. By the 1970s, however, cable television had gained enough penetration to make independent stations viable in smaller markets. This was especially true in markets that were either located in rugged terrain or covered large areas; in these regions, cable (and later satellite) are all but essential for acceptable television. Nearly 300 independent stations existed in
1610-669: A channel 7 license increased to five on December 16, 1953, after real estate developer Sidney Ansin filed one under the Sunbeam Television Corp. name. Ansin included a proposal for studios located in Miami's Allapattah neighborhood and encompassing his existing six-block Park-and-Shop City development dubbed "Television City", with sons Ronald and Edmund Ansin assisting. Originally a shoe maker from Massachusetts , Sidney relocated to Miami Beach, Florida , in 1941 and sold land to Mitchell Wolfson for WTVJ's transmission tower after
1771-504: A competitive advantage. As part of the change, Sunbeam acquired the rights for the WSVN call letters from PBS member WBRA-TV in Roanoke, Virginia , which had used them for their Norton -licensed satellite. Sunbeam invested a total of $ 150,000 into this change, including $ 50,000 for the call letter purchase and FCC paperwork and $ 100,000 for an extensive marketing campaign. The call sign change
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#17331152519601932-513: A complicated six-station affiliation switch in South Florida saw WSVN in Miami switch from NBC to Fox in 1989, the station adopted a news-intensive format unlike any independent station or Fox affiliate prior, a scheduling choice initially ridiculed in local media but which quickly attracted industry attention and saw ratings success. This model was copied by stations owned by New World Communications and SF Broadcasting that switched to Fox in
2093-1037: A daily program that already covered similar topics to those shows was regarded as an upgrade. WSVN became the central figure in a complicated dispute between Sunbeam, NBC and CBS that lasted nearly two years. WTVJ's founding owner, Wometco, was acquired by merchant banker Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in a 1983 leveraged buyout worth $ 1 billion. KKR also took over Storer Communications in 1985. The FCC directed KKR to divest either Storer's cable systems in Miami and Wometco's cable systems in Atlanta—or WTVJ and Storer's WAGA-TV —within 18 months to satisfy then-existing cross-ownership rules. KKR initially sold WTVJ and Storer's station group to Lorimar-Telepictures for $ 1.85 billion on April 25, 1986, with WTVJ alone selling for $ 405 million. The Lorimar deal collapsed after CBS inquired with Taft Broadcasting about purchasing WCIX for as much as $ 125 million; CBS's subsequent $ 170 million offer for WTVJ
2254-678: A design that took 45 minutes to properly apply. Baxter crafted a backstory for "M. T. Graves": born in St. Petersburg, Russia , Graves learned the art of the occult after being adopted by Romani people , was imprisoned in Budapest and fled to America, then was trapped in an underground "dungeon" which the WCKT studios were built on top of. The Dungeon became immediately popular with younger viewers who were drawn to Graves's clown-like antics and jokes, were unfazed by his appearance or "villain" role, and saw him as
2415-539: A distinct class of station because their lack of network affiliation led to unique strategies in program content, scheduling, and promotion, as well as different economics compared to major network affiliates. The Big Three networks in the United States — ABC , CBS , and NBC — traditionally provided a substantial number of program hours per day to their affiliates, whereas later network startups— Fox , UPN , and The WB (the latter two were succeeded by The CW and, to
2576-473: A documentary simply because it's important—not even our own—and I'm sure other viewers don't either." Daily on-air editorials were instituted, with Harriette Bishop presenting the station's viewpoint, largely written by either Sidney or Charles Kelly; Fort Lauderdale News critic Joe Bryant praised Bishop for her "crisp, clean, businesslike... strong delivery" that could easily be mistaken for WCKT's news anchors. One December 4, 1963, editorial in advance of
2737-530: A female viewer referred Clayton to her daughter—a talent agent in New York City—Clayton was cast as host for the ABC game show Make a Face , which WPST-TV carried locally starting on October 2, 1961. It was originally assumed that Clayton would leave the market, but Clayton arranged to commute from New York to Miami by airplane every two weeks, filming Movie 7 interstitials and commercials in advance. Make
2898-510: A freeze on additional television licenses on September 30, 1948, the Miami market had only one television station in operation during that period: WTVJ, which signed on the air on March 21, 1949. In preparation for the freeze being lifted, WIOD radio and the Miami Daily News —jointly controlled by publisher James M. Cox —filed an application with the FCC for a new station on very high frequency (VHF) channel 7 on May 26, 1952. As part of
3059-541: A full-service variety format, while others are devoted primarily to classic television (such as MeTV ) and/or films, or carry mainly niche programming. Many stations that are affiliated with the larger post-1980s networks still behave much like independents, as they program far more hours a day than a station affiliated with one of the Big Three networks. This is especially the case with MyNetworkTV, whose efforts to offer first-run programming were largely unsuccessful. By 2009,
3220-651: A heart attack. Lead anchor Steve Rondinaro left in August 1984 after declining an offer to return to field reporting, calling wages paid to anchors " hazard pay " due to their jobs being dependent on ratings. Rondinaro's coverage of the 1984 Democratic National Convention garnered praise, having done so knowing his contract was not renewed. His replacement was CNN Headline News anchor Peter Ford , an Australian native. WSVN debuted Live at Five , an hour-long lifestyle-centered newscast anchored by Denise White and Frank Robertson, on August 1, 1986. While in development for nearly
3381-459: A hero. After relaying the story of a seven-year-old girl reacting with joy to a phone call from M. T. Graves similar to teenage Elvis fans , Herald critic Jack Anderson mused, "Now, what's that again about TV's scaring the daylights out of the very young? The only thought that lingers with me... is that her taste had better improve." Baxter added a Saturday morning science fiction film show as "M. T. Space" (Graves's astronaut brother orbiting "
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#17331152519603542-470: A hit among viewers and was voted one of the best local TV personalities in a Herald readers' poll. WCKT soon added the Sunday night MGM Theater sponsored by a local mattress company and acquired rights to the rest of MGM's 300-title film library in April 1958. A popular twice-weekly segment of Movie 7 focused on pet adoption . Clayton teamed up with fellow announcer Don Barber for The Don and Bob Show ,
3703-415: A larger role. When Sidney began inviting friends to appear on WCKT newscasts, Edmund threatened to quit in support of the news department's editorial independence , prompting Sidney to end the practice. Under news director Gene Strul, the station furthered a reputation for hard-hitting newscasts and investigative journalism , with Strul resisting outside pressure from politicians, community members, and even
3864-520: A late-morning daily comedy show that eventually moved to Saturday late-nights , but ended production at the start of 1962 due to low ratings. Clayton's star was on the rise after playing a bell captain in the 1960 Jerry Lewis movie The Bellboy , filmed at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach; Lewis tabbed Clayton later in the year for the unsold television pilot Permanent Waves . After
4025-472: A lesser extent, MyNetworkTV )—provided substantially fewer shows to their affiliates. Through the early 1990s, Fox affiliates were often considered independents. The term independent station most often is used to refer to stations with general entertainment formats. Historically, these stations specialized in children's programming, syndicated reruns or first-run shows, and sports coverage. Some independent stations, mostly those once having been affiliated with
4186-460: A major affiliation switch . With minimal advance preparation, WSVN relaunched their news department with an emphasis on tabloid journalism under Joel Cheatwood 's direction, an unconventional decision initially pilloried by the local media but since been emulated and copied throughout the industry. WSVN's newscasts have attracted national and international attention for aggressive and controversial content and have been credited as an inspiration for
4347-606: A major bank failed and a truck carrying pigs overturned on the freeway on the same day, WPLG would lead with the pigs, WTVJ probably would go with the bank and WSVN would miss the stories altogether. Live at Five struggled in the ratings; the May 1987 sweeps book showed minimal improvement over Quincy, M.E. reruns that it replaced, with Sun-Sentinel critic Bill Kelley saying, "the way I look at it, if you're determined to keep that ailing family dog that everyone in town has been telling you to put to sleep, you do more for him than give him
4508-653: A major network affiliation. However, in a broader sense, there are independent stations that focus on a specific genre of television programming. For instance, religious independent stations buy and schedule, or produce locally, evangelism and study programs, and ethnic independent stations purchase or produce programs in specific languages or catering to specific communities. During the 1950s and 1960s, independent stations filled their broadcast hours with movies, sports, cartoons, filmed travelogues , and some locally produced television programs, including in some instances newscasts and children's programs. Independents that were on
4669-970: A major network, produce substantial amounts of news and public affairs programming. The model for these stations was WSVN in Miami , an NBC affiliate that switched to Fox in January 1989 and dramatically expanded its news output. Further affiliation changes and news expansions from the 1990s onward have produced a number of additional stations, such as KTVK in Phoenix (an ABC affiliate until 1995); WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida (a CBS affiliate until 2002); and WHDH in Boston (an NBC affiliate until 2017), as well as stations such as WGN-TV in Chicago and KUSI-TV in San Diego that never held
4830-660: A network programming style as much as possible; but in turn, Fox only carried a late-night talk show at its launch in October 1986, and beginning in April 1987, offered one night of prime time programming a week (on Sundays). The network only programmed two hours of prime time programming each night (and, beginning in the 1990s, some children's programming through Fox Kids ), but gradually expanded its prime time lineup to all seven nights until January 1993. Fox's owned-and-operated stations left INTV in March 1992. The lack of programming in other dayparts forced most Fox affiliates to maintain
4991-529: A newscaster. Hanover left the station in May 1982 to marry Rudy Giuliani before working for the Justice Department in Washington, with NewsCenter 7 remaining stuck in third place. Sally Fitz, who had been doing local news updates during Today along with general reporting duties, was Hanover's replacement. Sandra Easely of the Herald said of the switch, "Fitz is 29 and has short, dark hair. Hanover
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5152-440: A qualified applicant for a licensee has been compelled, by the moral shortcomings of his original competitors and of public servants themselves, to spend 10 years in the quest... it is perhaps not arbitrary to suggest that, as against the new applicants who have been spared that frustrating and expensive experience, the commission may take note of the fact—for it is nothing more—that the four-months licensee has actually been operating
5313-498: A replacement license to WCKY owner L.B. Wilson, Inc., the only bidder for the channel 10 license not disqualified, but FCC chairman Frederick W. Ford said that new license was short-term and meant to ensure uninterrupted broadcasting if another bidding process took place. Following a year-long review, WCKT's license was officially revoked by the FCC on July 26, 1961, but the ruling was held in abeyance to allow Biscayne an opportunity to appeal. Biscayne's petition for reconsideration
5474-511: A replacement. Clayton's duties were not limited to entertainment, as he teamed with newsman Charles Harrison to interview ten Hungarian refugees following the country's recent revolution for a special half-hour program. By May 1957, Clayton was reassigned to host Movie 7 , a daily showcase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films recently purchased by the station. Competing against Chuck Zink 's Popeye Playhouse on WTVJ and The Mickey Mouse Club on WPST-TV, Clayton's friendly demeanor proved to be
5635-447: A result of the various network launches that have occurred since the 1986 launch of Fox, true independent stations have become a rarity. The smallest stations, which in the past would have been forced to adopt a locally originated independent program schedule, now have other options – 24-hour-a-day networks that require no local or syndicated programming for the station to carry; some of these networks, such as AMG TV or America One , follow
5796-551: A schedule dominated by shows held over from and an affiliate body primarily made up of stations previously aligned with its two predecessors. Some of the newly independent stations subsequently found a new network home through MyNetworkTV , itself created out of the prospect that the UPN affiliates of corporate sister Fox Television Stations would become independents due to The CW choosing to affiliate with CBS Television Stations and Tribune Broadcasting stations in overlapping markets. As
5957-510: A specific finding declaring they were "completely innocent" while the other applicants disqualified themselves. Stern issued his ruling on September 14, 1960, agreeing with the general counsel's proposals and affirmed them in his recommendations, with Sunbeam the recipient of a new license by default. Sidney Ansin was "delighted" at the ruling but unsure if it meant Sunbeam would be awarded a new license outright with no bidding process. The FCC revoked WPST-TV's license on July 14, 1960, and awarded
6118-495: A standalone basis have become quite rare in the United States and, in turn, independents that are senior partners in duopolies are fairly uncommon. With the proliferation of duopolies and local marketing agreements since that point, most independent stations are operated alongside a major network affiliate (more commonly, one of either ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox), which may share syndicated programming with and/or produce newscasts in non-competitive timeslots for its unaffiliated sister. This
6279-453: A unanimous 5–0 vote, concluding that they possessed all the necessary qualifications. Community Broadcasting Corp. filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, arguing that the FCC's inclusion of Sunbeam's ongoing record maintaining the interim operation was unfair to their bid. The court ruled in favor of Sunbeam and the FCC in June 1966, with judge Carl E. McGowan noting: Where
6440-477: A very different program format from their predecessors. While sitcom reruns are still popular, expanded newscasts and other syndicated programs such as talk shows; courtroom shows; reruns of recent scripted comedy and drama series; and no-cost public domain programming are common. Another type of content being added to many independent station lineups in recent years has been brokered programming , including infomercials , home shopping and televangelist programs ;
6601-460: A year with a $ 2 million investment, production manager Frank Biancuzzo said, "we're going to be the David Letterman of the 5 p.m. shows, in that we'll try anything." WSVN also began a series of remote broadcasts spotlighting the region's history titled Celebrating South Florida and billed themselves as "Your Hometown Station". When a major story breaks in Miami, you don't turn to WSVN... If
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6762-426: Is 32 and blond. And that's all about there is to say about the changeover in female anchors at Ch. 7." Discrepancies also began to emerge between Arbitron and Nielsen ratings for the Miami market: both placed WCKT's 6 p.m. news at third during July 1982 surveys, but Arbitron had it 10 points behind WPLG, while Nielsen showed the race as closer. Still, station officials were optimistic about NBC's prospects entering
6923-607: Is a television station in Miami, Florida , United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Serving as the flagship station of locally based Sunbeam Television , it has studios on the 79th Street Causeway in North Bay Village and a transmitter in Miami Gardens, Florida . The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regards WSVN as having signed on for the first time on December 19, 1962, as WCKT under Sunbeam ownership. However,
7084-958: Is because in most markets, independents tend to have lower viewership than that of a network affiliate, and usually fall within part of the FCC's duopoly criteria (which allows a company to own two stations in the same market if one is not among the four highest-rated at the time of an ownership transaction). 5.4 MyNetworkTV August 16, 1969 (2nd incarnation) July 5, 1976 (current incarnation) April 1, 1971 (2nd incarnation) 68.2 ABC November 1, 1964 (current incarnation) 23.2 ABC 19.2 MeTV/MyNetworkTV 19.2 Independent 55.2 MeTV 7.2 The CW June 1994 (current incarnation) April 30, 1997 (current incarnation) (now WGPX-TV) (now WMYA-TV) (now KSIX-TV) 13.2 Independent 13.3 CBS 13.2 Independent 13.3 Telemundo (now KHII-TV) (now KCVH-LD 6 ) (now KYAZ) 4.2/29.2 Independent (now WNDY-TV) (now WJAX-TV) 30.2 MyNetworkTV/MeTV 30.4 Telemundo 47.4 MyNetworkTV WSVN WSVN (channel 7)
7245-572: The Nassau Guardian-Observer to publish a front-page editorial rebuking "the meddlesome Miami television crew" and advised WCKT to "go home—and stay there!" A citizens committee in Broward County accused WCKT, WTVJ, and WLBW of engaging in biased reporting regarding education in the state, focusing on WCKT and Sidney's real estate business as a conflict of interest. Future NBC reporter Brian Ross later said of Strul's work, "he goes after
7406-436: The 1982–83 television season , with Edmund Ansin calling newly installed network chairman Grant Tinker "superb" and "the best management team they've had in 20 years". Rick Sanchez , a Cuban exile who joined the station in 1982, produced the five-part series Why I Left Cuba that November and was part of the station's coverage of President Ronald Reagan 's visit to Little Havana the following May. WCKT also aligned with
7567-577: The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament . WTKR did broadcast late newscasts at midnight when the coverage concluded. The station's signal is multiplexed : WSKY-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, in November 2006. The station's digital signal moved to VHF channel 9, in mid-May 2010, using virtual channel 4. Independent television station In North American and Japanese television, independent stations with general entertainment formats emerged as
7728-503: The 26th of July Movement that they regarded Silver as one of their own. Fariss's newscasts were additionally translated in Spanish and simulcast over local radio beginning in 1962, with his scripts translated and interpreted in real time. While Fariss was originally said to deliver newscasts via notes instead of a prepared script, he eventually allowed producer David Choate to assist with any advance preparation and copy editing ; Fariss
7889-722: The Eastern and Pacific time zones, and 9:00 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones. Network stations aired their late newscasts an hour later. From the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, independent stations in several U.S. cities, particularly those that had yet to receive a cable franchise, carried a form of a network affiliation through subscription television networks (such as ON TV , Spectrum and SelecTV ); these services – which were formatted very similarly to their pay cable counterparts – ran sports, uncut and commercial-free movies (both mainstream and pornographic , broadcasts of
8050-601: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rezoned it for broadcasting, which became the source for his interest in the medium. Sidney filed an application after consulting a friend in Washington, D.C. , and included Ronald and Edmund—both Harvard University students—when they expressed interest. After the Davenport-based group withdrew their bid, hearings were scheduled to begin on February 19, 1954, for
8211-579: The NBC Radio Network . This resulted in the network terminating its existing affiliation with WGBS-TV, which was forced to convert into an independent . Groundbreaking for the new combined radio-television studios at the WIOD transmitter site took place on March 20, 1956, which Trammell promised would be ready for operation by June. In order to prevent interference from WCKR's towers, $ 25,000 worth of copper sheeting (equivalent to $ 2,801,714 in 2023)
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#17331152519608372-536: The News that WCIX was not only not for sale, but TVX was committed to owning the station, forcing CBS to negotiate with Ansin by default. In multiple interviews, Ansin expressed a hope to keep WSVN as a network affiliate and eventually pass control of Sunbeam to his children; when asked about WSVN possibly becoming an independent station, Ansin replied, "that's not good... I don't think it'll happen." One Wall Street analyst suggested that Ansin's objections really centered around
8533-525: The Radio-Television News Directors Association for outstanding televised news story, citing the station "having courage to use a news story on sexual psychopaths"; Whispered Menace was also screened at area schools and PTA meetings. After Harrison left WCKT in October 1957, veteran CBS News correspondent Bill Shadel was hired as his replacement. Within the station's first year, WCKT succeeded in achieving ratings parity with
8694-502: The Satellite News Channel , an ABC/ Westinghouse Broadcasting joint venture, providing hourly local news updates; in announcing the affiliation, Leider said, "we have to become the news information center for South Florida. That's where our future lies." We first changed all the cosmetic things you can do, even the call letters from WCKT to WSVN. We had to position ourselves to know what we were... We wanted to be looked upon as
8855-686: The United States Bicentennial on July 4, 1976, with a special taped production recreating news events of July 4, 1776, with anchors Fariss, Klass and Cafiero dressed in period-appropriate attire; news director Gene Strul spent several months with pre-planning and research in advance of the taping. By September 1977, Vic Mason replaced Klass as 6 p.m. co-anchor after Klass returned to reporting; Cafiero also left WCKT to return to New Orleans but quickly returned. Recently promoted to station manager, Robert Leider explained that Mason represented an effort to attract younger viewers, particularly in
9016-602: The [Miami] Herald and had not disclosed this to the FCC we would have been subject to loss of our licenses... I thought there were very serious implications to the untrue rumor, and I felt that as a member of the FCC, [Richard] Mack should know the facts. The FCC decided to reopen the process for the channel 7 license on April 3, 1959, and hold hearings on conflict of interests among the commissioners and do so outside of Washington, D.C., conducting them in Philadelphia. Mack had resigned under pressure from President Eisenhower and
9177-517: The circle 7 logo similar to a design originally created for ABC's owned-and-operated stations on January 19. WCKT replaced 6 p.m. co-anchor Richard Whitcomb with Larry Klass for The Fariss-Klass Report , with Carmel Cafiero taking over Klass's prior weekend duties and becoming the station's first female news anchor. Klass's on-air delivery, described as "sedate" in a way that matched WCKT's overall presentation, contrasted with his youthful demeanor and penchant for cynicism. The station celebrated
9338-414: The 'hometown station,' just as the slogan says, the place where you get everything from your entertainment to your news. Sunbeam filed paperwork with the FCC in mid-March 1983 to change WCKT's call sign to WSVN, derived from "seven", while retaining their existing "South Florida 7" slogan. Calling it "one of the biggest moves" made by the station in recent years, general manager Robert Leider explained that
9499-633: The 18–34 demographic. Mason resigned abruptly in October 1978, with Constance Hicks replacing him as co-anchor. WPLG was now on a ratings upswing led by anchors Glenn Rinker and Ann Bishop (who went by Harriette while at WCKT). By the end of 1977, it was challenging WCKT for second place; it overtook channel 7 in 1979. WCKT reporters and cameramen, 27 in total, voted to join the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians in January 1979 despite past resistance from management in three prior attempts. Reporters were allowed to participate in
9660-477: The August 1959 Arbitron ratings commanded a 23.8 share at 6:30 p.m; this prompted WCKT to move Fariss's early-evening newscast to 6 p.m., in between the station's late-afternoon movie hosted by Bob Clayton . WCKT had a substantial scoop when Fariss and reporter Ben Silver were selected by Gov. Collins to be a part of a fact-finding tour of the Soviet Union in June 1959, with Fariss providing reports to
9821-597: The Causeway"; this was rejected by management. Herald radio critic Jack Anderson described the facility as "impressive" but noted the absence of a parking lot , saying, "it would help to have some Swiss mountain climbing experience to get into the building." Dedication of the building took place on November 10, 1956, with multiple dignitaries and politicians in attendance including Florida governor LeRoy Collins , Sen. George Smathers, FCC chairman George McConnaughey , and commissioner John C. Doerfer ; WCKT and WCKR carried
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#17331152519609982-586: The Clown" on the Sunday morning Seven's Circus and "Toby the Robot " on the Saturday morning Superheroes (with The Marvel Super Heroes between in-studio wraparound segments ). Drawing inspiration from a similar robot character he had portrayed several years earlier, Folds assembled Toby's costume from several garbage cans and assorted pieces of junk that weighed 40 lb (18 kg ) and intoned "beep-beep-beep" as
10143-451: The FCC in 1951 endorsed WKAT owner A. Frank Katzentine, who bid for the channel 10 license but lost out to National Airlines, who signed on WPST-TV. Whiteside testified several days later that Mack was a part-owner of Stembler-Shelden Insurance, which handled the insurance for both WPST-TV and Biscayne Television. In reply, Trammell called the Mack connection "a complete surprise" and claimed he
10304-478: The FCC invited filings for a license to operate a television station in Manteo on channel 4. Six groups applied for the license. Before its fall 2001 launch, channel 4 on Cox Cable housed LNC or Local News on Cable , WVEC-TV 's 24-hour cable news television station. When WSKY launched, LNC moved up to channel 5 on Cox Cable lineups. The station's analog signal signed off in late November 2006, as its digital signal
10465-453: The FCC rejecting any proposal filed to order the station to do dark . Biscayne's license grant was reaffirmed by the FCC on June 21, 1957, by a 4–2 vote. The FCC gave Biscayne a demerit for "possible conflict of interest " with regards to Trammell, but still considered the company to be the "best qualified applicant" for the license. The license application file was closed by the commission that December. "[John S.] Knight told me he knew
10626-399: The FCC's fairness doctrine . Bishop hoped her role would lead to females having more substantive on-air roles "a step removed from fashion and recipes" but was fired after 18 months for trying to land a reporting job at the station, remarking later, "they said I was too ambitious". Sidney was the public face of Sunbeam but remained unfamiliar with television, while Edmund started to assert
10787-484: The Federal Communications Commission did not allow infomercials to be broadcast on American television until 1984, but since then, it has proven to be a lucrative, if somewhat polarizing with viewers, way to fill airtime. During the 1990s when infomercials gained popularity, many stations began broadcasting 24 hours a day rather than signing off at night. By filling the overnight hours with infomercials,
10948-400: The Miami market was now more familiar identifying the station by channel number, saying, "if someone asks you if you saw Hill Street Blues last night, you say, 'Yeah, I saw it last night on Ch. 7'... you don't say 'on WCKT.'" The station was also being placed on different channel positions over area cable systems , in some cases on channels "O" and "D", and felt the WSVN name helped provide
11109-585: The Rich and Famous , Star Search , Independent Network News and Star Trek: The Next Generation (as well as canceled network series revived for first-run syndication such as Fame , Too Close for Comfort , Charles in Charge , It's a Living and Baywatch ), and made-for-television movies and miniseries like Sadat . This trend primarily benefited independent stations. Independents scheduled these first-run programs during prime time and on weekends. In
11270-504: The Robot) by beeping. By acting inside, I can make the kids laugh or cry. The kids actually know what I'm saying... kids either like a mechanical thing or a clown, if I wasn't a robot, I'd be a clown. The Dungeon ended production on September 7, 1967, after Baxter claimed the station ran out of horror movies to show, at one point airing the Jungle Jim serial during its final year. Superheroes
11431-474: The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, citing the station's Peabody Award and industrial acclaim. However, the May 21, 1962, issue of Broadcasting reported Biscayne proposed donating WCKT's license and assets to the University of Miami , which would be leased back to Sunbeam; Sunbeam regarded the FCC ruling as a new license outright. Sidney Ansin confirmed that the proposal was suggested two months earlier but
11592-633: The United Paramount Network ( UPN ). The WB, UPN and their affiliates used a very similar programming model to that initially used by Fox and its stations during their first four years of existence (although neither network would expand their prime time lineups to all seven nights); the launch of those networks resulted in PTEN's demise in 1997, as most stations that became affiliates of UPN and The WB (whose respective founding parents, Chris-Craft Industries and Time Warner , jointly owned PTEN) either dropped
11753-542: The United States by the mid-1980s, in markets of varying sizes, up from fewer than 100 in 1980. They could buy new shows without cash using barter syndication . Many stations belonged to the Association of Independent Television Stations (INTV), a group similar to the National Association of Broadcasters , and which lobbied the FCC on behalf of independents. In the 1980s, television syndicators began offering original, first-run series such as Solid Gold , Lifestyles of
11914-1023: The United States during the 1960s and 1970s, independent stations from large and mid-sized markets were imported by these systems via wire or microwave relay to smaller media markets , which often only had stations that were affiliated with the Big Three television networks ( ABC , NBC and CBS); these independents became the first " superstations ," which were distributed on a statewide or regional basis. In December 1976, Ted Turner decided to uplink his struggling Atlanta , Georgia station WTCG to satellite for national distribution. Soon, other companies decided to copy Turner's idea and applied for satellite uplinks to distribute other stations; WGN-TV in Chicago, KTVU in Oakland -San Francisco, and WPIX and WOR-TV in New York City would begin to be distributed nationally during
12075-729: The United States, many independent stations were commonly owned. Companies that operated three or more independents included: In 1986 several independent outlets, led by the Metromedia stations, formed the Fox Broadcasting Company , the first major venture at a fourth U.S. broadcast television network since the DuMont Television Network shut down in August 1956 (which resulted in some of its affiliates, including those owned by Metromedia, becoming independents). Fox made efforts, slowly at first, to have its affiliates emulate
12236-419: The United States; some mid-sized markets would not regain a general entertainment independent until the early 2000s, through sign-ons of unaffiliated stations and disaffiliations by existing stations from other commercial and noncommercial networks. In 2001, Univision Communications purchased several English language independents in larger markets (which mostly operated as Home Shopping Network affiliates until
12397-688: The WTVJ sale announcement was made, while WTVJ's CBS contract ran through April 1988. Industry speculation centered over where the CBS affiliation would go to in the market, along with the possibility WTVJ could be owned by NBC and operate as a CBS affiliate for a prolonged period of time. NBC pledged to honor WSVN's contract, while CBS showed renewed interest in WCIX, itself in the process of being sold to TVX Broadcast Group . In an interview on WSVN's 6 p.m. newscast on March 10, 1987, Ansin announced Sunbeam would challenge
12558-500: The WTVJ sale before the FCC, citing "anti-competitive overtones ... adverse" to the public interest. With former channel 7 operations manager Allen Sternberg as legal counsel, Ansin retained former FCC commissioner Charles D. Ferris as his lead representation. Ansin also reached out to Florida's congressional delegation for additional lobbying, including Rep. Dante Fascell and Sen. Lawton Chiles . The petition to deny claimed WSVN's status among programmers and advertisers
12719-472: The accomplishments of both the News and Herald ; Cox cited the News ' s crusade against Al Capone 's 1929 move to Miami, while Knight referenced multiple awards given to the Herald for public service, with both newspapers Pulitzer Prize recipients. East Coast was primarily represented by Lee Phillips, a former WTVJ employee, while Jack C. Stein testified for South Florida Television, boasting his corporation consisted of Miami-based shareholders and
12880-682: The agency of his resignation from NBC. Cox testified to speaking on the phone with Mack in December 1955, regarding rumors of a sub rosa arrangement between the News and Herald that Cox feared threatened not only the Biscayne bid but the licenses of his other broadcast assets. After the hearings concluded, FCC general counsel proposed revoking WCKT's license and disqualifying Biscayne, South Florida Television and East Coast Television from participating in any subsequent license applications. All three companies denied any wrongdoing, while Sunbeam requested
13041-432: The air during this period would sign-on at times later than that of stations affiliated with a television network, some not doing so until the early or mid-afternoon hours. Another source of programming became available to independent stations by the mid-1960s: reruns of network programs which, after completing their initial runs, were sold into syndication . As cable television franchises began to be incorporated around
13202-435: The application process. Sunbeam purchased WCKT's assets and re-launched the station under a new license with uninterrupted service, while claiming the old WCKT's history as its own. The market's NBC affiliate since its inception, WCKT was renamed WSVN in 1983 and became an independent with Fox programming on January 1, 1989, after NBC's purchase of CBS affiliate WTVJ and CBS's purchase of Fox affiliate WCIX-TV initiated
13363-424: The application, WIOD and the News proposed a new studio facility built at WIOD's transmission towers on the 79th Street Causeway , totaling a $ 1.25 million investment (equivalent to $ 14,342,105 in 2023). The WIOD- News application was met with a competing application filed several weeks later by WQAM owner Miami Broadcasting Company, controlled by Miami Herald publisher John S. Knight . Faced with
13524-419: The arrest of a postman for selling quaaludes with the footage admissible in court; management for WPLG and WCIX saw this as going against all journalism ethics and compromising WCKT's ability to cover police-related stories objectively. After a seven-month hiatus, Wayne Fariss returned to anchor duty on February 2, 1981, to co-anchor the noon newscast with Connie Eng; in addition, Fariss joined WKAT radio as
13685-538: The commission's policy of encouraging diversity in mass media ownership and risked creating a competitive imbalance in the Miami market. The Dade County Central Labor Union (CLU), the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) all filed protests with the FCC, with the CLU's protest citing both newspapers holding anti-labor policies, but these were dismissed. The FCC formally awarded
13846-423: The committee was "trying to whitewash " behavior by Eisenhower administration officials, told reporters an unnamed commissioner engaged in bribery regarding an unspecified license application dispute. Schwartz testified under oath that commissioner Richard Mack was paid several thousand dollars by Thurman A. Whiteside, a lawyer National Airlines retained as a " fixer ", according to Schwartz. Letters Mack sent to
14007-619: The competition, while WGBS-TV shut down on April 13, 1957, after Storer sold off the station's assets to National Airlines to help with the launch of WPST-TV . Bill Shadel left the station by May 1958 to join ABC News after that network reportedly "made him an offer he couldn't resist". WCKT hired Wayne Fariss from WTVT in Tampa, Florida , where he had been that station's first newscaster, to be lead anchorman starting on June 30, 1958. Fariss competed against top-rated Ralph Renick at WTVJ, who in
14168-520: The course of the bulletin, which included a train derailment report. The news team had radio backgrounds: Harrison was a distinguished reporter at Philadelphia 's WFIL , Shaw and Kelleher were WQAM veterans, and assistant news director Gene Strul was previously WIOD's news director. Under Harrison's guidance, WCKT produced its first long-form documentary — Whispered Menace , about sex psychology and molesters —that premiered on August 7, 1957. This documentary helped WCKT win its first national award by
14329-436: The dedication live. At launch, WCKT's newscasts were handled by Gordon Shaw in mornings, news director Charles Harrison in early evenings, and Phil Kelleher in late evenings; the station also boasted "a completely equipped" newsroom located adjacent to the main studio. WCKT's debut program was a news bulletin anchored by Shaw, with Jack Anderson retrospectively noting the excess goodwill at startup that Shaw smiled throughout
14490-531: The early evening, and movies during prime time and late night hours. In some areas, independent stations carried network programs that were not aired by a local affiliate. In larger markets such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, independent stations benefited from a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that barred network-affiliated stations within the top 50 television markets from airing network-originated programs in
14651-616: The few bright spots on NBC's entire lineup, which was experiencing a prolonged and substantial ratings downturn starting in the middle of the decade. Consequently, WCKT preempted network fare more often than WTVJ or WPLG by 1978, with Leider noting the substituted programs generally performed better and NBC rarely commented on them. In late 1977, WCKT substituted The Devil's Brigade and Anchors Aweigh in place of Black Sheep Squadron , briefly revived from cancellation by star Raymond Burr , causing Burr to personally call WCKT operations manager Allen Sternberg and NBC executives and protest
14812-530: The former circulating play money containing anti-WCKT messages, while the latter was accused of defacing one roadside billboard for the station with the message, "The KKK is watching you." A three-part series in November 1968 over a proposed "power and privileges" bill in the Parliament of the Bahamas —where media outlets accused of "false or misleading" information would be called to testify before Parliament—led
14973-445: The four remaining applicants—Biscayne, Sunbeam, East Coast Television Corporation, and South Florida Television Corporation—supervised by FCC examiner James D. Cunningham. All four applicants agreed to a timetable of informal conferences with Cunningham so as to reduce the amount of needed testimony to one-tenth of what normal applications called for. Biscayne was the first to complete their case in mid-May, with Cox and Knight extolling
15134-400: The funds would help bolster its scientific education and research programs. The $ 3.4 million sale was approved on December 5, 1962, with Biscayne dropping all remaining challenges and appeals. Ansin retained all on- and off-air personnel, including existing station manager Charles Kelly, and re-used the WCKT call sign for the new license. Ownership of the island housing both WCKT and WCKR
15295-673: The hour preceding prime time. This legislation, known as the Prime Time Access Rule , was in effect from 1971 to 1995, and as a result independents faced less competition for syndicated reruns. Some stations in larger markets (such as WGN-TV in Chicago; KTLA , KCOP-TV and KHJ-TV in Los Angeles; KWGN-TV in Denver ; and (W)WOR-TV, WPIX and WNEW-TV in New York City) ventured into local news broadcasts, usually airing at 10:00 p.m. in
15456-527: The late 1970s and early 1980s (in the case of KTVU, it would revert to being a regional superstation by the early part of the latter decade). By the start of the 1970s, independent stations typically aired children's programming in the morning and afternoon hours, and movies and other adult-oriented shows (some stations aired paid religious programs ) during the midday hours. They counterprogrammed local network-affiliated stations' news programs with syndicated reruns – usually sitcoms and hour-long dramas – in
15617-457: The late 1990s) from USA Broadcasting to form the nuclei of the upstart Spanish language network Telefutura (now UniMás ), which launched in January 2002. Several stations affiliated with The WB and UPN became independent again when the respective parent companies of those networks (Time Warner and CBS Corporation ) decided to shut them down to form The CW , which launched in September 2006 with
15778-486: The latter often created legal issues that were eventually largely cleared up due to an FCC regulation that legally allowed the broadcast of programs featuring content that would otherwise be deemed indecent when broadcast "in the clear" if the encrypted signal was not visible or audible to nonsubscribers), and on some services, television specials. Independents usually ran the services during the evening and overnight hours in lieu of running movies and other programs acquired off
15939-423: The launch of Fox News . One of the largest Fox affiliates not owned by the network, it was famously called "the future of television" by onetime Fox executive Lucie Salhany . Involved with Sunbeam from the company's beginnings until his death on July 26, 2020, chairman Edmund Ansin repeatedly refused offers to sell either WSVN or his Boston stations. Due to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposing
16100-537: The license had been awarded to Biscayne Television before it was announced by the FCC," said [Stephen J.] Angland. The attorney said he asked [Niles] Trammell if he had talked to any of the commissioners while the case was pending. He said Trammell replied: "I guess I made the rounds. I don't guess I missed anybody." Without fanfare, the House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight was organized in July 1957 to investigate
16261-523: The license to Biscayne on January 20, 1956, by a 5–2 vote among the commissioners. Losing applicants East Coast Television, South Florida Television, and Sunbeam filed appeals with the United States Court of Appeals in Washington and were joined by a separate joint appeal filed by Storer Broadcasting , owner of Fort Lauderdale –licensed WGBS-TV (channel 23) and Gerico Investment, owners of ABC affiliate WITV (channel 17). The Storer-Gerico appeal
16422-424: The license. Angland's investigation found three of the four final applicants for the channel 7 license, including Biscayne, went outside of normal procedures, with Sunbeam being the only one that went through proper protocol. Subcommittee counsel Robert W. Lishman believed that internal pressure by applicants to the commission was present in nine contested TV licenses across the country. If I had been allied with
16583-521: The lone method of communication. This became Folds's defining character. Success for Charlie Folds came despite substantial shyness whenever in front of a camera; while performing a skit during a live broadcast, Toby's helmet accidentally fell off revealing Folds's face, which he later deemed as his "worst moment". Toby was soon regarded as one of the more popular children's television personalities in Miami, frequently being booked for public appearances months in advance. I communicate (when playing Toby
16744-431: The market: VHF channels 7 and 10 and ultra high frequency (UHF) channels 27 and 33. In particular, Biscayne Television faced three competing applications for channel 7, including one from two Davenport, Iowa , residents; Florida Sen. George Smathers warned of a possibility that Miami might not have another television station sign on before 1958 due to the number of competing applications. The number of applicants for
16905-433: The media and the industry that NBC was the pending owner: for the first time in the history of North American television, a broadcast network purchased an affiliate of a competing network. Ansin later described his reaction to the WTVJ purchase as "bewilderment", telling network executives visiting the station it was "bizarre and certainly unprecedented". The same executives described Ansin cursing at them and pointed at
17066-559: The mid-1990s , and to other news-producing Fox and minor network affiliates, and independent stations, by the 2000s. In September 1993, many independents began carrying the Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN), an ad-hoc programming service that emulated a network model, which featured drama series and made-for-TV movies intended for first-run syndication. In January 1995, many remaining independents, including those that carried PTEN, joined upstart networks The WB and
17227-571: The move on The Tonight Show ; Sternberg cited the show's Wednesday night slot as consistently one of the network's weakest-performing timeslots. He is unique among news directors. He is a Spartan , an individual totally immersed in his profession. He almost has blinders on that shield him from outside Involvements and personal contacts within the community. He is an inside operator. Edmund Ansin relinquished his general manager duties in June 1979 to devote more time to Sunbeam's real estate holdings, with incumbent station manager Robert Leider taking over
17388-538: The name change, WSVN continued to struggle in the ratings at both 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., often finishing in third place after WTVJ and WPLG. News director David Choate admitted, "we're not the favorite station for news in Miami... we keep battling Channel 4 for second place". Wayne Fariss left the station on January 31, 1984, initially retiring after a 36-year broadcasting career; a brief comeback attempt as vice president of news for WEVU-TV in Naples ended after Fariss suffered
17549-541: The network had abandoned its first-run programming efforts and became a "programming service", with its programming now focused upon off-network reruns of drama series. After this transition, many of MyNetworkTV's affiliates began to downplay their affiliation with the network and move the block to alternate timeslots (such as late-night); network owner Fox Television Stations rebranded most of its MyNetworkTV stations as offshoots of their parent Fox stations (such as " Fox 11 Plus" for KCOP-TV ) Current independents follow
17710-437: The network's talent and organized Biscayne after convincing Cox and Knight to collaborate rather than compete. In addition, Biscayne would purchase WIOD from Cox, Knight would divest WQAM, and Cox and Knight would each hold 42.5 percent of company stock, with Trammell holding the remaining 15 percent. Despite this new joint venture, the application found itself as one of 12 competing applications for four channel allotments in
17871-408: The new station's planned affiliation with NBC while also saying, "while it would be improper to anticipate when the commission will confirm Mr. Cunningham's report, Biscayne hopes to be in operation as shortly thereafter as possible." The FCC's broadcast bureau challenged Cunningham's recommendation of Biscayne due to Cox and Knight's ownership of the city's two daily newspapers, stating it undermined
18032-417: The news department from the first WCKT carried over directly to the second WCKT, several changes started to take place under Sidney Ansin. This included a gradual increase in the on-air quality of existing local public affairs productions via an increased budget, but Sidney explained, "...it's not enough that they be important and well done: they have to entertain, be of real interest to the viewer. I don't watch
18193-523: The newscasts had improved substantially since Fariss's 1980 removal from evenings. The station even made the news on October 17, 1985, when an electrical fire broke out in the studio during the 11 p.m. newscast, temporarily forcing the station off the air. Veteran weatherman Wayne Chandler's career ended abruptly on December 7, 1984, after suffering a severe head injury when another driver collided into his 1970 Volkswagen Beetle . By coincidence, Chandler's hospitalization occurred hours after Wayne Fariss
18354-434: The one awarded for WPST-TV replacement WLBW-TV , Sunbeam faced another bidding process for a full-time license. Sunbeam's only opposition came from Community Broadcasting Corp., composed of advertising executive Tally Embry and other Miami-based interests. FCC examiner Thomas Donahue ruled in favor of Sunbeam, saying that even though much of the station's programming output was done so "knowing ... that continued operation of
18515-413: The over-the-air subscription services had shuttered operations by the end of the 1980s. Until the late 1970s, independent stations were usually limited to the larger American television markets, due to several factors. Most smaller markets did not have a large enough population to support four commercial stations. Even in markets that were large enough to support a fourth station, the only available license
18676-475: The position. Leider's promotion came after the May 1979 sweeps period showed The Fariss-Hicks Report at 6 p.m. tied for third place alongside Star Trek reruns on WCIX amid a significant overall decline in the station's ratings. News director Gene Strul, a part of channel 7 since the first WCKT's 1956 sign-on, resigned several days later with minimal fanfare. While credited for channel 7 having won over 200 regional and national journalism awards, Strul
18837-405: The possibility of protracted competitive hearings before the FCC lasting last two to three years, Cox and Knight withdrew their bids and filed a joint application as Biscayne Television Corporation, operating autonomously from either newspaper and with former NBC president Niles Trammell as its president. Trammell, who joined NBC in 1929 and parent RCA in 1923, was credited for developing much of
18998-437: The practices of federal regulatory agencies. During a cross-examination of FCC chairman John C. Doerfer on February 5, 1958, information was revealed that Civil Aeronautics Board chairman James R. Durfee had a 1956 golf trip paid in full by an undisclosed airline amid accusations of "personal misconduct" among four of the seven active FCC commissioners. Bernard Schwartz, recently fired as subcommittee counsel after alleging
19159-457: The prior WCKT's history as its own. Edmund's want to work with his father was his lead reason for joining Sunbeam after briefly considering working on Wall Street and encompassed additional ventures; this included a life insurance company formed in 1966 that bore the Sunbeam name that was divested two years later. Edmund headed the most significant expansion for Sunbeam's real estate operations:
19320-422: The risk of losing untold millions of dollars if WSVN failed to secure an affiliation. The FCC approved the sale of WTVJ to GE on September 17, 1987, despite Sen. Chiles introducing an amendment into an FCC appropriations bill that requested a full hearing on the sale. Ferris also acknowledged he held doubts from the beginning about the FCC being receptive to Ansin's challenge; undeterred, Ansin pledged to appeal
19481-463: The same programming model as independent stations during non-prime time slots, and during its early years, on nights without prime time programming from the network. Fox coerced most of its affiliates to air prime time newscasts (there were some holdouts as late as 2013, while many others opted to run outsourced local newscasts from a competing network affiliate) as well as news programming in other dayparts common with other major network affiliates. When
19642-546: The service or moved its lineup out of prime time when those networks launched. Other stations banded together to become charter outlets of the Pax TV (now Ion Television ) network in August 1998, although some of the stations that aligned with Pax had earlier affiliated with its predecessor, the Infomall TV Network (inTV), two years before. The launches of these networks drastically reduced the number of independent stations in
19803-511: The seventh moon of Jupiter ") and a daily children's show as uninhibited child "Charlie Baxter" but was still easily recognizable to younger fans of M. T. Graves even without the makeup. Charlie Folds, who started at WCKT in 1958 as a editor removing profanities from movies , joined The Dungeon as sidekick " Count Down the Vampire ", establishing both a close friendship and partnership with Baxter. In addition to "Count Down", Folds played "Buffo
19964-411: The so-called sacred cows ... no one is immune where he is concerned." WCKT's local programming extended beyond newscasts. Bob Clayton was a charter on-air staffer in 1956 and was teamed with Corine Gustafson to host the early-afternoon talk show Your Biscayne Host . Gustafson left the station in October, prompting a succession of guest co-hosts in an audition process before Sue Lawton was chosen as
20125-576: The station via radio and telephone. The station won the Peabody Award on April 19, 1961, for its coverage of the Cuban Revolution and its local ramifications including several long-form documentaries, the first time a Florida radio or television station won the award. Silver's reporting of the Battle of Santa Clara in particular, alongside NBC newsman Herb Kaplow and Ed Scott, was so well received by
20286-424: The station was at stake", Sunbeam demonstrated that they knew how to operate WCKT. The FCC's broadcast bureau disagreed with Donahue's findings, specifically due to Sunbeam getting credit for operating the station under pressure of the interim authority, with an FCC attorney considering the bidding process to be "very close" but Sunbeam still had an edge. The FCC awarded Sunbeam a full-time license on May 15, 1965, by
20447-490: The station was the result of a long and contentious legal battle between Sunbeam and three other applicants for the channel 7 allocation in Miami. Biscayne Television Corporation, a three-way partnership including the publishers of the Miami News and Miami Herald signed on a previous WCKT on July 29, 1956, only to be stripped of its license due to ethics violations within the FCC and unethical behavior by its principals during
20608-544: The station would be able to generate extra revenue where they had previously been off the air. Home shopping programs (mainly simulcasts of cable services that also have over-the-air distribution such as QVC and the Home Shopping Network) or syndicated programs fill overnight time periods on stations that do not run infomercials during that day part. Since the FCC revised its media ownership rules to permit station duopolies in August 1999, independents that operate on
20769-461: The station's sales department. Controversy was courted several times. Carnival operator Newell Taylor sued WCKT and Florida governor W. Haydon Burns after Burns called Taylor "one of the biggest gamblers in South Florida" in an interview WCKT broadcast despite threats from Taylor. Two successive documentaries on extremist groups "Let Freedom Ring" and the Ku Klux Klan in late 1965 resulted in
20930-488: The station. WCKT became the first station in the market to broadcast all local programming in color on December 27, 1965, through a $ 500,000 investment in new color cameras and color news film. By the end of 1966, station manager Charles Kelly had left WCKT for a similar position at West Palm Beach's WEAT-TV , with Edmund assuming his role as station manager. After Sidney Ansin died of a heart attack on October 22, 1971, Edmund succeeded him as Sunbeam's president. While
21091-474: The story on the evening newscasts. During their coverage of the sale, Ansin revealed GE executives previously offered to purchase WSVN, which he rejected under the belief that they would not buy a competitor. Likewise, one NBC executive told the News NBC had preferred to buy WSVN, but the station was not available. Complicating matters, WSVN's NBC contract ran until January 1989 and had been extended 15 days before
21252-605: The syndication market by the station, although a few eventually began to carry these services for most of the broadcast day. The services required the use of decoder boxes to access the service's programming (some of which were fairly easy to unencrypt due to the transmission methods stations used to scramble the signal during the service's broadcast hours); some required the payment of an additional one-time fee to receive events and adult films. As cities added cable franchises, thus allowing people to subscribe to conventional premium television networks like HBO and Showtime , nearly all of
21413-529: The three-year period and successfully filing for must-carry status, the station returned to the DirecTV lineup on January 1, 2012. On July 15, 2013, Lockwood Broadcast Group announced it would be acquiring 51% of WSKY-TV pending FCC approval. The sale was finalized on November 25. Since its inception, WSKY-TV has aired no local news programming of its own. However, it did air two 11 p.m. weeknight newscasts from CBS affiliate WTKR during that station's coverage of
21574-465: The two had been friends dating back to when Tonight Starring Jack Paar , which Downs announced, originated from Miami Beach. Initially resuming the practice of filming interstitials for Movie 7 and the Saturday morning children's show Bobsville for weeks in advance, Movie 7 was dropped for The Mike Douglas Show by May 1965, and Clayton relinquished Bobsville by that September. Charlie Baxter's broadcast career began at age 14 when he joined
21735-427: The vote, as the station also had them also perform camera work and film editing. Johnny Carson accused both WCKT and Dallas – Fort Worth 's KXAS-TV of 'clipping' portions of The Tonight Show during the program's July 26, 1978, installment, citing a viewer letter claiming WCKT joined Tonight in the middle of Carson's monologue after playing extra commercials. Two years earlier, West Palm Beach station WTVX
21896-612: Was a personal friend of Mack, engaged in 29 telephone conversations with him over a two-year span. Mack then contacted Herald associate editor John D. Pennekamp inquiring about the character of Biscayne's officials, which Pennekamp saw as "disjointed" on Mack's end and a potential tip off of the commission's actions. John S. Knight also approached President Dwight D. Eisenhower , Ohio senator John W. Bricker , and previous FCC chairman George McConnaughey about applying political pressure to help Biscayne's application; McConnaughey, Doerfer, and Mack all voted in favor of Biscayne and to reaffirm
22057-461: Was accused of the same practice, prompting the FCC's Broadcast Bureau to hold hearings over their license. Edmund Ansin denied the accusations, citing timing failure from a master control clock that ran 30 seconds behind throughout the newscast that preceded the program. Carson later offered a written apology to Ansin, explaining his stance was based solely on the viewer letter and was not verified prior to going on air. Tonight was, in fact, one of
22218-543: Was also criticized for not adding flair to the newscasts or allowing them to be more feature-driven. David Choate rejoined WCKT as Strul's replacement following a brief stint at NBC News's Miami bureau. Choate initiated multiple changes that included adopting the NewsCenter 7 brand—already in use among several of NBC's owned-and-operated stations —and replacing lead anchors Constance Hicks and Wayne Fariss with Steve Rondinaro and Donna Hanover , respectively. Fariss's removal
22379-405: Was appointed to examine potential misconduct surrounding all disputed or contested licenses. Two weeks before the hearings started, Angland suffered a fatal heart attack, but his extant findings and prior testimony were admitted as evidence. Under oath , Trammell admitted to speaking multiple times with FCC commissioners but denied exerting undue influence and stated that the talks were to inform
22540-416: Was best able to represent the interests of Miamians. The last to present, Sidney Ansin stated on Sunbeam's behalf that he believed television "presented a wonderful future" and was described as the organization's "moving spirit". All four applicants completed their case summaries by mid-August. Cunningham delivered his recommendation for Biscayne Television on January 18, 1955; in response, Trammell announced
22701-438: Was criticized for its abrupt nature that News critic Sherry Woods deemed "bungled" given his years of service to the station and status as the only anchor to have successfully competed against Ralph Renick. At the same time, the revamped newscasts met positive reviews for better pacing and a more visually appealing set. WCKT also made headlines by assisting Miami Beach police with an undercover surveillance team that filmed
22862-509: Was damaged to WTVJ's benefit and that an NBC-owned CBS affiliate threatened to disenfranchise Miami television viewers. In a statement Ansin submitted to various Washington agencies, he likened the nature of the sale to the extortion-driven 1956 asset swap between NBC and Group W for stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia the commission eventually overturned nine years later. In a subsequent interview, Ansin explained that his bitterness with NBC
23023-543: Was deemed unacceptable by KKR, which offered WTVJ to Capital Cities/ABC and NBC parent General Electric (GE) under the belief a competing network would not be intimidated by a CBS disaffiliation threat. After months of rumors, KKR agreed to sell WTVJ to the General Electric Property Management Co., a holding company within GE, for $ 270 million on January 16, 1987. It was universally accepted in
23184-475: Was effective at 7 a.m. on June 7, 1983, with News radio critic Tom Jicha joking, "...the station should have gone all the way and done it at 7:07 on July 7". NBC engaged in cross-promotion to help unveil the new "WSVN" name with mentions on both Today and The Tonight Show , with Grant Tinker and Steve Sohmer congratulating Leider for the move; Sohmer also began advising NBC affiliates to stress their respective call letters for future promotions. Even with
23345-522: Was filed to prevent WCKT's sign-on until the FCC agreed to a policy of allowing only VHF or UHF stations to be built in a given market but was dismissed. Biscayne revealed the WCKT call sign for their channel 7 license on March 10, 1956, standing for the Cox-Knight-Trammell partnership. Confirming Trammell's intentions one year earlier, WCKT would sign on as the market's NBC affiliate, while WIOD would be purchased by Biscayne, renamed WCKR and join
23506-427: Was forced to retire. Folds took over as host of Sunday Funnies , which continued production through 1986. Long-running public affairs shows Impacto , Perspectives and Florida Forum , which operations manager Dave Bieber called "holdovers from a significant number of years ago", were all cancelled at the end of 1986 in advance of NBC's planned spring 1987 launch of Sunday Today . The presence of Live at Five as
23667-454: Was hired as Baxter's replacement for Charlie Reads The Comics , re-titled Sunday Funnies . Even as other locally-produced children's television shows largely ceased during the 1970s due to declines in ratings and advertising, WCKT kept Sunday Funnies on the air under the belief it remained an instructional tool for literacy . Coinciding directly with NBC's adoption of an abstract "N" logo in January 1976, WCKT unveiled an iteration of
23828-511: Was hospitalized for his heart attack. Chandler's Sunday Funnies co-host Toby the Robot had previously "retired" on April 1, 1984, when Charlie Folds accepted a full-time role as WSVN's public relations director, but the program continued in a modified form. Folds's last day playing the robot was an emotional one, saying, "when I put on that costume, I became Toby." Despite hopes of an on-air return, Chandler never fully recovered from his injuries and
23989-500: Was indicted with Whiteside on charges of influence peddling , fraud and conspiracy regarding the WPST-TV license. The first trial resulted in a hung jury ; while Mack was too ill to be retried, Whiteside was acquitted but committed suicide. Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Horace Stern presided as FCC examiner and scheduled hearings to begin on June 13, 1960, stressing they were for investigative purposes only; indeed, Stern
24150-436: Was installed around the entire building, encasing it to create "a shield within a shield". The building was still partially unfinished when WCKT took to the air on July 29, 1956, with an open house to the general public set to take place by the fall. Promotion manager Bob Nashick had an idea for an extravagant opening ceremony including water-skiers and skydivers , saying, "I want to see the biggest traffic jam in history on
24311-476: Was named WCKT board chairman. Having graduated from the Wharton Business School in 1957, Edmund began working with his father Sidney's real estate holdings in South Florida as the region continued to enjoy substantial post-war growth. Edmund's addition was the only substantial change made with the license changeover, which was otherwise conducted in such a manner that the new WCKT subsequently claimed
24472-464: Was on a UHF channel allocation. During the analog television era, the reception quality of UHF stations was not nearly as good as stations on the VHF band, especially in areas with rugged terrain (the reverse is true in the present day with the transmission of digital signals) or in markets that cover large geographic areas. Since independent stations had to buy an additional 16 hours of programming per day –
24633-445: Was partitioned between the two, with shared parking, a security guard booth and an agreement not to build anything else on the island without the other owner's consent. I gave some consideration about going to Wall Street but really wanted to be in business with my father. Upon the change in ownership on December 19, 1962, Edmund Ansin—who was Sunbeam's treasurer—was installed as the station's executive vice president, while Sidney
24794-554: Was regarded as Renick's chief competition by the end of 1962. Despite signing on, the legal battle over the WCKT license continued for nearly a full year. The Washington Court of Appeals temporarily set aside the grant of channel 7 to Biscayne on March 14, 1957, citing the FCC's failure to question any possible adverse effect from Trammell's past ties with NBC that could benefit the network, and considered him "the key figure" and "vital ' middle man '" in Biscayne's operations. The court's ruling did not suspend or affect WCKT's license, with
24955-660: Was rejected amid plans to construct a separate transmitter tower and studios. Despite the court appeal still being on file, Trammell announced on November 14, 1962, that Biscayne agreed to sell off WCKT's non-license assets to Sunbeam, while WCKR was resold back to the Cox family. As part of the agreement, James M. Cox Jr. and John S. Knight pledged their share of the proceeds to the University of Miami, with an initial $ 400,000 down payment and an additional $ 1.4 million over several years; university president Henry King Stanford announced
25116-513: Was rejected by the FCC, which reaffirmed the ruling on May 10, 1962, via a 5–1 vote. Robert E. Lee, by that point the only remaining commissioner to vote in favor of the Biscayne license in 1956 and 1957, was the lone dissenter. The FCC's reaffirming stipulated that WCKT's license would remain active for four months but did not provide a definitive date for the Biscayne-Sunbeam changeover. Biscayne president Niles Trammell filed an appeal with
25277-458: Was solicited by an unrelated agent that first contacted him in 1954. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also called in by the subcommittee to help with the investigation. Subcommittee attorney Stephen J. Angland's testimony on June 2, 1958, revealed that Knight and Trammell met with two Florida Power & Light officials—chairman McGregor Smith and vice-president Ben Fuqua—who in turn approached Mack on Biscayne's behalf. Fuqua, who
25438-443: Was succeeded by Batman-Batkids , wraparounds for reruns of Batman hosted by "Charles Baxter, Esquire " that reprised several Dungeon characters, with Folds as Baxter's valet "The Count". Created by Sidney Ansin, Seven's Circus had high ratings, a loyal audience and fan club boasting 200 members—with Baxter, George DeVries and Bill Barry as successive " ringmasters "—but was cancelled on January 4, 1968, after years of being
25599-426: Was the result of the network simply discarding decades of loyalty, especially when the network was mired in third place in the late 1970s. Ansin's visibility protesting the sale was also a marked departure from his reputation as a modest, conservative owner that rarely sought public attention and who barely knew his own station personnel. The day before WCIX's sale to TVX was completed, TVX president Tim McDonald told
25760-472: Was three weeks away from completion. The tower was rebuilt and finished in November 2007. WSKY-DT started broadcasting a test pattern on November 24, 2007, and it began regular broadcasts on November 27, 2007. On January 1, 2009, DirecTV removed the channel from its lineup. The station erroneously did not re-elect for must-carry status on the provider for the next three years, and it had no regulatory recourse otherwise to remain on DirecTV. After waiting out
25921-480: Was to sign-on from a new tower in Camden County, North Carolina . WSKY had some challenges covering the northern part of the market ( Williamsburg , Newport News , Hampton) on its analog signal, which was to be remedied with its new digital tower. Between 6 and 7 a.m. on March 2, 2007, in high winds during storms moving through the area, WSKY-DT's tower collapsed, also destroying the transmitter building. The tower
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