Music Till Dawn on WEEI

[Kevin Vahey]

This explains the Chicago saga

http://www.chicagotelevision.com/WBKB.htm





On 2/25/08, Doug Drown <revdoug1@verizon.net> wrote:
> My bad.  I had forgotten that WMAQ in Chicago is 5, not 4.  I hadn't known
> about Chicago and Milwaukee's convoluted TV history, either.  -Doug
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kevin Vahey" <kvahey@comcast.net>
> To: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@verizon.net>
> Cc: <kvahey@comcast.net>; "Dan. Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>;
> "Boston Radio Interest" <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 11:16 AM
> Subject: Re: Music Till Dawn on WEEI
>
>
> > NBC didn't get 4 in Chicago as WBKB came first. Then in a complicated
> > move we discussed a few weeks ago. CBS bought WBKB and moved it to
> > Channel 2 and changed the calls to WBBM. The WBKB calls moved to
> > Channel 7 and later became WLS.
> >
> > This all happened for 2 reasons. The FCC had to move WTMJ Milwaukee
> > from channel 3 as it was to close to another 3 in Michigan. ABC had to
> > sell either 4 or 7 because of a merger with Paramount and elected to
> > keep 7 because of the NY connection. CBS only paid 6 million for WBKB
> > but got the O&O it craved in Chicago.
> >
> > Having NBC move to channel 4 at that point would have been problematic
> > as you really couldn't give WTMJ channel 5 as Milwaukee was also
> > assigned the vacant channel 6 that was held up by the freeze.
> >
> > Today Channel 6 in Milwaukee is involved in a curious move by FOX as
> > they are selling a number of the old Storer stations they bought from
> > New World. Before the sale New World made 6 a FOX affilate dropping
> > CBS for one reason...to keep the Milwaukee rights to the Packers.
> >
> >
> > On 2/25/08, Doug Drown <revdoug1@verizon.net> wrote:
> >> > Obviously it was no accident that NY and Chicago were assigned adjacent
> >> > clear channels. 660 670, 710 720, 770 780, 880 890 for example.
> >>
> >> I had noticed that before, but I assumed it was something the networks
> >> had
> >> arranged. I gather it's also no accident that the original CBS, NBC, and
> >> ABC television O&Os were given uniform channel allocations (CBS got 2 in
> >> NY,
> >> LA and Chicago, NBC got 4, ABC got 7). Westinghouse and GE also got
> >> priority; WBZ-TV, Westinghouse's first TV O&O, got 4 and General
> >> Electric's
> >> WRGB originally got 4 in Schenectady. Both were, of course, NBC
> >> affiliates.
> >>
> >> -Doug
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@verizon.net>
> >> To: <kvahey@comcast.net>; "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>
> >> Cc: "Boston Radio Interest"
> >> <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
> >> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 8:38 AM
> >> Subject: Re: Music Till Dawn on WEEI
> >>
> >>
> >> > >CBC got all the Canadian clears with the exception of French 730 in
> >> > >Montreal which was one of the few private broadcasters allowed to beam
> >> > >south. Marconi's CFCF really got hosed considering they were perhaps
> >> > the first station in North America with a license.
> >> >
> >> > CKAC 730, if memory serves, was Montreal's second station and, though
> >> > it
> >> > broadcast primarily in French, was bilingual. It was Montreal's CBS
> >> > affiliate for many years.
> >> > That may have had something to do with it. -Doug
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > ----- Original Message -----
> >> > From: <kvahey@comcast.net>
> >> > To: "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>
> >> > Cc: "Boston Radio Interest"
> >> > <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
> >> > Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 12:09 AM
> >> > Subject: Re: Music Till Dawn on WEEI
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >> OK we know politics played a major role in what stations got favorable
> >> >> channel assignments. NBC Westinghouse and GE especially were taken
> >> >> care of.
> >> >>
> >> >> Directional patterns arrived in the early 30's after the the test on
> >> >> 620 that involved Milwaukee and Tampa.
> >> >>
> >> >> When did the government then start to calculate patterns across the
> >> >> board? How did established who got clear channels?
> >> >>
> >> >> Obviously it was no accident that NY and Chicago were assigned
> >> >> adjacent clear channels. 660 670, 710 720, 770 780, 880 890 for
> >> >> example.
> >> >>
> >> >> CBC got all the Canadian clears with the exception of French 730 in
> >> >> Montreal which was one of the few private broadcasters allowed to beam
> >> >> south. Marconi's CFCF really got hosed considering they were perhaps
> >> >> the first station in North America with a license.
> >> >
> >>
> >>
>
>