WTAG-TV?

[vzeej5wn@myfairpoint.net]

Worcester was indeed a thriving radio market for many years.  During 
the '60s, WORC and WAAB both had Top 40 formats and were hotly 
competitive; WNEB, the smallest of the bunch, held the CBS affiliation, 
and was oriented toward older listeners; and WTAG, the kingpin, was 
with NBC, had a full-service format, and a powerful regional signal 
that went well up into New Hampshire and Vermont.  It was arguably one 
of the most prominent stations in New England, which adds to the 
mystery as to why it would pass in the TV license. 

As for the NBC affiliation, though WTAG was one of the first NBC 
affiliates, it left the network in 1943, if memory serves, to join CBS 
(formerly with WORC).  It would have been during the time of its CBS 
affiliation that the station started building its TV studio.   WTAG 
dropped CBS in the late fifties and was independent for several years 
before reaffiliating with NBC around 1966.  It remained with the 
network through the Westwood One transition, returned to CBS in the 
early nineties, and is now with Fox. 

Dick Wright, the former GM of WTAG, got together with some his 
colleagues and tried to buy the station from the T&G before the 
newspaper was sold to the San Francisco Chronicle.  Didn't happen, 
obviously. 

-Doug


Quoting Kevin Vahey <kvahey@comcast.net>:
> Worcester was a thriving radio market up until 30 years ago. WTAG,
> WORC, WNEB and WORC all did well. 
>
> People forget that Worcester was the second largest city in all of 
> New England. 
>
> The city tried many things, such as the downtown mall that failed and
> the Centrum that worked for awhile. The airport was and is a disaster
> which is sad because in another location it could be as big as
> Providence or Manchester as a regional airport. 
>
> The Turnpike by-passing Worcester didn't help and is similar to how
> Philadelphia suffered when the NJ Turnpike was built. To this day
> Philly drivers have no direct slam dunk route to NYC. 
>
> Providence was perhaps worse off than Worcester but turned things around. 
>
> Who knows what the NY Times will do with the T&G. I suspect they may
> fold it and publish a Central Mass edition of the Globe if they can't
> sell it. 
>
> Had WTAG-TV launched you can only wonder what the landscape would be
> like today. If they had become a NBC affilate which given the strong
> relationship TAG had with NBC I suspect that as ownership rules
> changed NBC would have bought the station and when channel 4 became
> CBS in 1995, NBC would have made a move similar to what happened in
> San Jose-San Francisco. 
>