report: NBC to sell Hartford, Miami TVs

[Doug Drown]

Wasn't it Storer who later bought Channel 38 from the Archdiocese of Boston 
and turned it into a major indie?
Sounds like that was "Plan B," and it certainly worked.

-Doug


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>
To: "Kevin Vahey" <kvahey@comcast.net>; "Scott Fybush" <scott@fybush.com>
Cc: "Boston Radio Group" <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 4:14 PM
Subject: Re: report: NBC to sell Hartford, Miami TVs


>I think it was earlier than the mid 60s; I think it was in the '50s,
> but I could be wrong. At the time, the station was owned by radio
> pioneer George B Storer, who, IIRC, bought it expressly because of the
> possibility of moving it into the Boston market. I forget why the move
> fell apart; seems to me it was not because it wouldn't work
> technically or because of NIMBY problems with constructing a very tall
> tower in what I believe to be an upscale North Shore community, but
> rather because it would have deprived NH of its only commercial VHF
> allocation. I don't think Channel 11 had yet been allocated to Durham
> and it isn't a commercial allocation anyhow. Channel 8 transmitted
> from NH but was licensed to Maine. I don't know if Storer tried to
> placate the Granite State by proposing to keep the Studios in
> Manchester, but I believe that the NH Congressional delegation brought
> plenty of pressure on the FCC to reject the application. I don't
> recall whether a CP was ever granted, but, IIRC, when Storer realized
> he wasn't going to be able to make the move (or at least that getting
> authorization was going to take many years and many millions), he gave
> up and sold the station. Somebody will post the identity of the buyer;
> I don't recall.
>
> -----
> Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
> eFax 1-707-215-6367
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Kevin Vahey" <kvahey@comcast.net>
> To: "Scott Fybush" <scott@fybush.com>
> Cc: "Boston Radio Group" <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
> Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 3:23 PM
> Subject: Re: report: NBC to sell Hartford, Miami TVs
>
>
>> Scott may have more info on this in his files.
>>
>> Back in the mid 60's WMUR tried to move the transmitter to
>> Georgetown,
>> MA with the idea of being a Boston indy. They filed papers with the
>> FCC that tried to show Nashua and Manchester would actually get a
>> better signal.
>>
>> WMUR was in pre-cable days almost unwatchable in Manchester as
>> everybody had their antennas pointed towards Newton-Needham and the
>> channel 9 tramsmitter was due west of the city in Goffstown.
>>
>> For years WMUR had a translator on channel 13 in downtown Manchester
>> because of the problem.
>>
>> Richard Eaton who owned channel 9 then started a cable company in
>> Manchester - United Cable.
>