WTAG-TV?

[Peter Q. George]

 I'm not sure
> but I think some other short-lived UHF station lived and
> died in Worcester in the 50's as well.  In that
> climate, the T&G's judgment might not look totally
> crazy.

The other UHF station (which never came to the air) was WAAB-TV Channel 20 in Worcester.  After seeing that Channel 14 (WWOR-TV) was loosing money hand-over-fist, they decided to let the WAAB-TV CP lapse.  At that time, UHF's were losing money, except for those who were in UHF Islands (markets without a VHF station).  And even then, it was at a minimal profit. Springfield was one of those rare markets.  WWLP and WHYN-TV (Channels 22 and 40) had no other competitors until 1957 when WTIC-TV (Channel 3, now WFSB) signed on, eventually displacing the existing CBS affiliate (owned and operated WHCT-TV, Channel 18).  WHCT had a dismal signal and was not a factor in the Springfield area. About that time, WWLP (then a combo NBC/ABC affiliate) and WHYN-TV (a combo CBS/ABC affiliate, now WGGB) changed their part-time affiliations to full-time with WWLP going full-time NBC and WHYN-TV going full-time ABC, a line-up that continues to this very day.  Of course WWLP
 had a better coverage in the the market with fulltime satellite WRLP (Channel 32) in Greenfield signing on in '57, serving the northern area of Western Massachusetts. 

    As for Channel 20 in Worcester.  That allocation was eventually shifted to Waterbury, CT to allow WATR-TV to move from Channel 53 to Channel 20, though to a shorter tower in lieu of their old Meriden site atop Meriden Mountain.       



Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
"Scanning the bands since 1967"

radiojunkie3@yahoo.com
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