that horrible BEEP

[Doug Drown]

That early history of television in the Capital District is indeed
interesting and quite complicated.  I can remember when WTEN (then party of
the Capital Cities family, along with WROW AM and FM) operated not one, but
two adjunct UHF stations --WCDC, Channel 19 in Adams, Mass (the original
WROW-TV)., and WCDA, Channel 41 in Albany --- to compensate for its
inadequate signal coverage amidst the surrounding hills and mountains.  I
assume that it was that reason that enabled Cap Cities to get around
whatever rules then existed regarding local media monopolies.

Similarly, WAST, Channel 13, simulcast on WTRI, Channel 35.

All of this changed when the stations built new towers in the
      -Doug








----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>
To: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross.com>
Cc: <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 9:01 AM
Subject: Re: that horrible BEEP


> The reasons for the big Capital District radio-network affiliation
> shift of the mid fifties were complicated. It was played to the public
> that the group (from Providence) that acquired WTRY was committed to
> local independent radio and so dropped the (very lucrative) CBS
> affiliation, thus precipitating the round-robin switch, which left
> WTRY indpendent and made WOKO a network affiliate (which it had not
> been in many years). As an independent, WTRY continued to prosper.
> However, I think the the reason for the shift was more
> complex--related to the lifting of the freeze on construction of TV
> stations and the formation of Capital Cities Broadcasting (which over
> many decades and many mergers, morphed into ABC and Disney).
>
> Capital Cities started in the Capital District (and indeed was named
> for it) and WROW was its very first station! WROW got a TV CP, which
> initially resulted in the construction of Channel 41 (now Channel 10
> et al). In those days, it was cutomary for radio and TV networks to
> affiliate with commonly owned radio and TV stations in most markets
> where they existed. IIRC, WROW-TV (which was later renamed WTEN after
> it built the Channel 10 facility in Vail Mills) initially became the
> CBS-TV affiliate. It was thus fitting for WROW (AM) to be the CBS
> Radio affiliate. Although WTRY was 5 kW-U with excellent coverage of
> Albany, Troy, and Schenectady, it couldn't match WROW's daytime
> coverage of the Hudson Valley. WROW's lower night power (1 kW)
> apparently didn't bother CBS, perhaps because WROW's low dial position
> at least partially compensated for the lower power.
>
> -----
> Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
> eFax 1-707-215-6367
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "A. Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross.com>
> To: "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>
> Cc: <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2008 11:57 PM
> Subject: Re: that horrible BEEP
>
>
> > On 19 Jan 2008 at 9:28, Dan.Strassberg wrote:
> >
> >> I believe that those "blips" were (barely) audible cues from a
> >> system
> >> that CBS installed at the radio network in (I think) the '50s and
> >> continued to use for decades thereafter. It was called NetAlert. If
> >> I'm not mistaken, I first heard NetAlert cues on WROW Albany after
> >> it
> >> replaced WTRY Troy as the CBS affiliate in New York's Capital
> >> District. That would have been while I was in college around 1953
> >> or
> >> so.
> >
> > Since I remember it, and we moved to Albany just after Thanksgiving
> > 1953, I think this would have been sometime in 1954 or maybe 1955.
> > I
> > never understood why the change took place, but it affected three of
> > the four networks and four stations.  CBS moved from WTRY to WROW,
> > ABC moved from WROW to WPTR, and Mutual moved from WPTR to WOKO.
> > NBC
> > remained on WGY.
> >
> > -- 
> > A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                           617.367.0468
> > 92 State Street, Suite 700                   Fax 617.507.7856
> > Boston, MA 02109-2004                    http://www.attorneyross.com
> >
> >
>