The ORIGINAL CHANNEL 50...

[Kevin Vahey <fenway@ziplink.net>]

On Sat, 5 Apr 1997, PETER GEORGE, N1GGP wrote:

>      It is a shame to see a good independent like Channel 50 go down the
> toilet.  All that work in getting total cable coverage and this is what
> happens.  I really enjoyed my "Star Trek" fix at midnight.  Man, what
> a week.....we lose the "fX apartment" and "Mission:Impossible" for the
> new "FX", Channel 50 dies.  What next ?
> 

  I spent the better part of 5 years trying to get Continental to pick
them up in Cambridge, and finally last year they added it.....(and even
picked it up in Quincy)

 I worked for the original Channel 50 (WXPO) back in 1969-70 which may  have been
the least watched television station of the modern era. The station was
based in Lowell and the xmtr was in Windham, NH (by Exit 3 on 93). The
signal was spotty as we had trouble getting a good picture in master
control back in Lowell.

 The plan had been to be a stock market station by day and sports at
night...and to make the Lowell studio a major production house, but the
place was cursed from the start. The studio was located 1/4 mile from the
WLLH transmitter in Lowell and the RF problems were never solved. In less
than 3 months the station was forced to lay off 90% of the staff, and was
kept on the air mainly by ex-staffers who worked for nothing as we knew
that we were developing a cult following and believed we could stick it
out.

Programming included such high(low)lights as:

Mike Douglas (4 weeks behind WBZ.....we got the tapes from Bangor)
Steve Allen
Woody Woodbury
Maverick
Secret Agent

Local programming included News at 10..... (with NO film crew, just AP
slides)

Racing from Suffolk and Rockingham

Treehouse 50.... perhaps our most watched show as we had all new 16mm
prints of the Looney Tunes library.

Bonus Bingo.....was very popular, until the word got out that we never
paid anybody

Romper Room.....also developed a cult following as Ms. Lori had a habit of
forgetting to wear underwear (hey it was 1969!!!)

By mid spring the Lowell facility was closed, and programming limped on
from the transmitter in Windham. Finally the station went dark in June of
1970 when the power company cut the cord in the middle of a Maverick show.

but we had fun....

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End of boston-radio-interest-digest V1 #5
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