A St. Louis Ghost Television Station
KSTM, Channel 36, St. Louis, MO
The "Big Mo" becomes St. Louis' first UHF.
KSTL Radio was partially responsible for the roots of KSTM-TV, which would ultimately broadcast on channel 36 and qualify as St. Louis' first UHF station. Broadcast House, Inc. would apply for, be granted, own, operate, and eventually shut down the television station.
Broadcast House wasn't the only company applying for the channel 36 allocation The other applicant was Cecil W. Roberts, who eventually won the allocation for WBLN, channel 15 in Bloomington, Illinois Roberts filed his application in August of 1952 and proposed a facility with a construction cost of a mere $133,878 His proposal also placed the station's studio at the Melbourne Hotel at 3601 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis It is assumed the hotel's roof would be home for the stations' proposed DuMont transmitter and RCA antenna.
The Broadcast House application included a construction cost of $350,000 and operating costs of $260,000 in the first year of operation The application also stated that the station would take a loss in the first year because revenue was only projected at $240,000 The studio location was originally to be at 999 South 6th Street in St. Louis, with the transmitter/tower located near the intersection of Northrup Avenue and Kingshighway. General Electric would manufacture both the transmitter and the antenna.
Broadcast House's Board of Directors included William Ware, president; Oscar D. Guth, vice president; Edward E. Haverstick Jr., treasurer; and William H. Biggs, board chairman. The president of KSTL Radio, William Ware, held 25 percent of the radio station but only 10 percent of the TV station. Ware was also the owner of WPEO Radio in Peoria. Ware was appointed the president and general manager of the future TV station KSTM-TV, a position that would contribute to his premature death at 44.
On August 20th, 1953, even before KSTM would hit the air, the pressures of building the television station would claim the life of 44 year old William E. Ware, pictured here. His cause of death would be listed as hypertension and uremia.
More on his story below.
(Breoadcasting/Telecasting Magazine)
This is the posting of the Broadcast House application for Channel 36 from August 4, 1952.
(from Broadcasting Magazine)
Cecil Roberts also applied for Channel 36 in St. Louis and several other allocations for other cities as they became available. He was only awarded the one for WBLN, Channel 15, Bloomington, Illinois. You can get the details on that attempt by clicking on the WBLN site.
(Broadcasting/Telecasting Magazine)
Newspaper ads promoted KSTM-TV before sign-on. The challenge was to air programming that would justify the additional costs for viewers of UHF antennas/turners for TV sets.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
"The Big Mo" Story
The first question you might ask is, "Why was it called 'The Big Mo?'" Here's the answer: As the TV station was being planned, the owners sought to recognize the USS Missouri's significance, just eight years after WWII, by making the battleship the station's mascot. Called "The Big Mo," it was a source of local pride.
The USS Missouri was a famous battleship of the US Navy and served as the site of the surrender of Japan to the US, formally ending World War II on September 2, 1945. The USS Missouri went on to be of service during the Korean War and, even more recently, Operation Desert Storm. It is now a museum ship docked in Honolulu, Hawaii.
When the studios of KSTM were being built, the lobby of the TV station included a mosaic rendition of the USS Missouri in the middle of the floor. The lobby walls reportedly included many pictures of the battleship.
"The Big Mo" Begins Construction
The original studio/transmitter location of KSTM would change even before the first shovel was turned. On May 25, 1953, Broadcast House would request a change in the studio/transmitter location on the company's application to 5915 Berthold Avenue in St. Louis. An existing building was rejected after the initial filing and replaced with the construction of a new broadcast facility solely to house the new television station. William Ware stated the projected cost of the building at $750,000. The construction increase was more than twice the original proposed cost of $350,000.
Then problems began to occur during the early construction, which would delay the opening of the new station. As excavation began in early June 1953, construction was halted as a strike by union construction workers and union iron workers began. It would take until early August to see an agreement between the union and the contractors. The original completion date was to be September 1 before the strike. It was changed to September 27, but even with that delay, the completion of KSTM would have to take on a breakneck schedule if it were to be completed on time.
The KSTM Fight Begins
The competition between the future KSTM and WTVI in Belleville would heat up even before KSTM went on the air. William Ware was set to battle WTVI, channel 54, in Belleville. Ware filed against WTVI with the Federal Trade Commission and the FCC, charging a violation of the FTC Act, which prohibits "unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce."
It seems that WTVI was advertising that it was "now on the air" and was a St. Louis TV station. Ware contends it is neither on the air nor a St. Louis TV station. It seems the promotional material was a little premature. WTVI eventually went on air on August 10th, 1953. The KSTM general manager offered to withdraw the complaints if WTVI admitted to being a Belleville, Illinois, station and provided significant local coverage for the community on the east side of the Mississippi. The action by Ware would be a nuisance to WTVI and appeared to go nowhere legally.
Staffing KSTM
The delay in construction allowed Ware to assemble his staff. Edward F. Murphy was added as the station program director. Others on the team included Alvin M. King, vice president of sales, and E. L. "Ted" Favors, vice president of engineering. It was a short time after the three managers' announcements that they would be called on to head the proposed television station for the reason told in the next section.
It's impossible to know how many people were employed at KSTM or to mention their names. That list has been lost to history. Some names did appear in industry publications as leaving KSTM for other stations or facilities. Those include Seral A. Smith, an accountant at KSTM who moved to WTVI, and John Kurtz, an assistant program director who moved to WTVD, Durham, North Carolina.
A few other names included in some of the listings of KSTM from a 1954 Broadcasting yearbook include Edward B. Bench, Jr. as chief engineer, William A. Knight as commercial manager, Edward Brown as program director, Tom Taylor as film buyer, and Charley Packard as sports director. Dick J. Kasten was general manager later(more on Kasten below). It's believed that most of these employees were probably some of the station's last.
The Death of the General Manager
On August 20th, 1953, even before KSTM hit the air, the pressures of building the television station would claim the life of 44-year-old William E. Ware. His cause of death would be listed as hypertension and uremia. Even an obituary described the situation leading up to his death as the "stresses of building a broadcast facility and a new television station took its toll on the relatively young broadcaster, as he was 'driving himself' in the efforts to get the station on the air."
William Ware was an active broadcaster whose activities included a spot on the NARTB Sports Committee, a former general manager at KFMX-FM and KSWI Radio in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Ware was a strong proponent of FM broadcasting and was president of the FM Association. He was also a former sales manager of North Central Broadcasting System and its Mississippi Valley Network. He was appointed president and general manager of KSTL Radio in March of 1950. He was survived by his wife, Louise Davies Ware, and two children, Barbara and William E. Ware III.
"Big Mo" New Management
William H. Biggs, chairman of the Broadcast House, Inc. board, appointed the three recently hired vice presidents as a management team effective immediately after William Ware's death. Edward F. Murphy, program director; Alvin M. King, commercial manager; and E. L. "Ted" Favors, chief engineer, were now responsible for achieving a sign-on date of September 27th, 1953.
After William Ware's death, the appointment of a management team seemed to be a permanent solution to getting KSTM on the air. However, it was just a short tenure for the young, inexperienced managers (despite what the ad to the right states about their level of expertise). Their management team's position in August would only last until the appointment of Marshall H. Pengra, which was announced on September 15, 1953. It would be up to Pengra "to right the ship and take it home."
It seemed to be rather apparent to Pengra and perhaps to Broadcast House that the only way that KSTM-TV would survive as a television station was that it would have to change its dial position from UHF to VHF. The FCC has not yet assigned either channel 4 or channel 11. There were many other applicants for each allocation.
Pengra and Broadcast House petitioned the FCC to eliminate the available VHF channels and add allocations at channel 64, 70, 76, and 82 to the already allowed list of UHF channels already assigned or applied for. Those included channel 14 (KACY, Festus, Missouri), channel 30 (applicants pending), channel 36 (KSTM, St. Louis), channel 42 (applicants pending), and channel 54 (WTVI, Belleville, Illinois).
The Broadcast House argued that channel 4 and 11 assignments would complete the primary network affiliations with CBS, ABC, and DuMont (as a secondary affiliate). Therefore, granting those additional VHF stations would give the lower-numbered stations an unfair advantage, leaving the remaining UHF stations without network service and dooming them to failure.
These three men took over management in late August after William Ware's death. However, another announcement was made in late September that Marshall H. Pengra would assume the role of President and General Manager of the proposed KSTM.
(Broadcasting/Telecasting Magazine)
Click on the image in the galleries below to see a larger view and explanation of each image.
KSTM-TV, appointed H-R Television as the National Advertising Representative Agency. This announcement was made in an ad in Broadcasting/Telecasting on August 1, 1953.
The "Big Mo" sails into St. Louis Sales Battle! Ad placed in Broadcasting/Telecasting August 17, 1953.
"Big Mo" is packing 'em in! Top shows and more, attracting smart advertisers! This ad from Broadcasting/Telecasting from December 7, 1953.
KSTM-TV, appointed H-R Television as the National Advertising Representative Agency. This announcement was made in an ad in Broadcasting/Telecasting on August 1, 1953.
A mass transit ad card on St. Louis busses in late 1953 promoting KSTM-TV.
KSTM ad from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch July 27, 1954 edition.
KSTM-TV broadcasts a test pattern the week of October 19th, 1953. Ad from St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A mass transit ad card on St. Louis busses in late 1953 promoting KSTM-TV.
Aggressive Promotion by KSTM
Even with construction delays, equipment delays, hiring staff delays, and fighting with competitors, aggressive promotional activities were still conducted toward advertisers nationally, regionally, and, more than likely, locally. Some of the ads placed in Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine show the efforts to attract national ad business.
KSTM Goes on the Air
A number of ads placed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch invited those who were able to receive UHF television signals to see the KSTM, Channel 36 test pattern during the week of October 19th, 1954. The station would begin programming at 3 pm on Sunday, October 25, 1953. The broadcast day began with opening ceremonies at 3:15 pm, presumably with local dignitaries as well as television station personnel, with a tour of the facility and a description of programming that will be seen on the new Channel 36.
Pictured is the original KSTM-TV tower at 5915 Berthold Avenue, St. Louis. Unfortunately, the top UHF antenna mast wasn't included in the photo. This was taken in 1958 after the facility was taken over by KTVI, Channel 36, in February 1955.
(photo from Pinterest)
This news and commentary, which featured columnist Walter Winchell and was broadcast on ABC, was a radio simulcast and a 15-minute feature sponsored by Gruen Watches. You might recognize his voice as the narrator for "The Untouchables" beginning in 1959.
(YouTube)
Broadcast House Shoots for Channel 11
KSTM wasn't on the air but a week or so, when Broadcast House, led by Marshall Pengra, applied for the allocation of channel 11. That allocation was already being sought by 220 North Kingshighway, Inc., St. Louis Amusement Co., and St. Louis Television, Inc. (WEW Radio). After the awarding of channel 4 to KWK Radio, CBS then reapplied for channel 11 before the final approval for channel 11 was assigned. More on that later.
Broadcast House and KSTM met much resistance not only from the FCC but also from the other television station owners. The biggest issue was that Broadcast House had already been awarded channel 36, and it was against the rules to apply for a station when you already had one in the same market. The fight continued with much maneuvering by KSTM, including even applying for channel 11 as if assigned to East St. Louis—more on that action below.
"The Ray Bolger Show-Where's Raymond?" originally aired by ABC on February 18, 1954, and likely aired on KSTM-TV on that date. It starred Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow on "The Wizard of Oz").
(YouTube)
"The Death Valley Days" was a syndicated western anthology series that aired from 1952 through 1975, for a total of 558 episodes. It was hosted by several men, including "The Old Ranger," here played by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, Dale Robertson, and even Merle Haggard.
(YouTube)
This ABC "United States Steel Hour" installment aired initially on October 27, 1953, the very first episode of this series to air on KSTM-TV on that date. It is featured in an ad pictured in the second gallery on this page.
(YouTube)
This rare video is of "Peter Potter Show," originally titled "Jukebox Jury," from sometime in 1956, long after KSTM left the air. This is the only example of the show's format available. This is only a segment of the show.
(YouTube)
"Kraft Television Theater" was promoted as being on the KSTM-TV schedule, even though it was an NBC show. It was presented live on NBC, but it's unknown if the show was broadcast live on KSTM. It may have been a kinescope, as shown in this video. It was broadcast live on November 11, 1953, but it would have been delayed by as much as a week if it had been shown from the kinescope. This is "A Long Time Until Dawn," written by Rod Serling, starring James Dean.
(YouTube)
At left are two articles about KSTM-Broadcast House, Inc.'s actions in grabbing one of the VHF allocations that were made available after they had already received the allocation of UHF channel 36. It was a gamble, to say the least, but one they had to take to stay viable in the VHF St. Louis market.
(from Billboard Magazine, Jan 4, 1954 and March 13, 1954)
One Set Back After Another
For those early television broadcasters, sports could have been a major insurance policy against going out of business. For St. Louis television properties, the St. Louis Cardinals could have been a major boost to their success. KSTM made a bid for the Cardinals' broadcast rights for the 1954 season. The radio rights were granted to KXOK over the bids of KMOX and WIL. WIL had already hosted the Cardinals for the 1953 season.
KSD-TV, WTVI, and KSTM sought the TV rights. By late 1953, Belleville's WTVI, Channel 54, the DuMont affiliate, was the winner. This would be the first of many nails in the coffin of KSTM, but it would help assure that WTVI would experience a longer future as a St. Louis TV station.
The Competition is Fierce
The St. Louis market was being addressed by WTVI, licensed to Belleville, Illinois, and also by KACY, Channel 14, which was broadcasting from a distance of 20 miles southwest of St. Louis from Festus, Missouri. The station used an unusual General Electric directional antenna, which projected its signal northward into St. Louis. That would maximize the coverage over the large population center needed to direct its attention to the St. Louis market. KACY employed a very costly strategy, but perhaps was successful in putting a dent in KSTM's sales efforts.
KACY sponsored a trip by several media buyers for advertising agencies nationwide to visit their studios. This expensive promotional event probably resulted in at least some success, all to the detriment of the other stations in the market. More on this event is coming soon within the KACY section.
Programming KSTM
As the planning occurred within KSTM, attracting network programming and its network compensation income was substantial. NBC was connected to KSD-TV, while WTVI was set for ABC and DuMont. The natural choice was to attract CBS (holding out for a permanent VHF outlet) and even ABC, as WTVI was going after the baseball exclusive for the St. Louis Cardinals, which would require several network preemptions. That would allow KSTM to stand in line to accept those programs and be compensated for airing them by the network. KACY-TV was thinking the same thing, going after CBS, and planning on scooping up the network for complete exclusivity. If CBS were to go with a St. Louis VHF station, it would doom KACY-TV.
KSTM and other television stations across the country broadcast only a limited schedule at that time. Most stations were on the air from mid or late afternoon through midnight each day. The lack of programming material, the cost of purchasing programming, and the lack of consistent advertising to support additional programming limited each station's chance of success. Being a UHF station reduced chances of survival even further.
The schedule of a broadcast day was an entire production in itself, with many live commercials along with at least some live programs. Airing filmed programs and meeting a network broadcast on time were significant challenges for the staff and equipment. Productions that coordinated these many sources of video material were often very sloppy.
Live commercials would be longer or shorter than the 60 seconds allotted. Live programs with outside talent had to be on time and perform their bits within the scheduled time. If a film broke and did so quite often, the operator would have to splice, re-thread the projector, and continue within the schedule. Many times, a slide would be aired reading, "We're experiencing technical difficulties....please stand by!"
KSTM Rolls the Dice
KSTM, in its continuing effort to acquire the allocation for channel 11 and have it assigned to East St. Louis, amended its application for the VHF channel and responded to an FCC request concerning its financial standings. The significant change was the addition of the new investor shareholder of Broadcast House. The East St Louis Journal (the same newspaper owner which includes F. M. Lindsay and F. W. Schaub, already were owners of WSOY AM/FM in Decatur, Illinois and owned 20% of WCIA, Channel 3 in Champaign, as well as the Urbana, Illinois Courier newspaper) would be added as a principal owner of KSTM. That tie with the Lindsay-Schaub newspaper would be yet another connection to the central Illinois television and media market.
Other financial information showed a very dismal financial picture of Broadcast House. The balance sheet indicated assets of $94,948, liabilities of $174,766, and long-term liabilities of $667,266. During the last three months of actual broadcasting, KSTM lost $193,690. It was also indicated that Broadcast House would dispose of its current channel 36 equipment worth about $172,400, which would not be usable if the station won the grant for channel 11. The value of the transmitter was set at $137,483.
Market Changes
It became apparent that St. Louis was soon to become a three-VHF television station market. Channel 5 (KSD-TV) was already NBC, Channel 4 (KWK-TV) was soon to go on the air as a CBS affiliate, and that left ABC and DuMont for what was to be Channel 11. Remember that neither ABC nor DuMont was a "full-time" television network in 1954. It would be a safe assumption that whatever owner that would be granted channel 11 would probably be courted by those two remaining networks. ABC was at that time the young upstart network battling for VHF affiliates in other markets across the country.
With that eventuality and the apparent losses at KACY, the Festus, Missouri television station ceased operation on April 2nd, 1954. The page dedicated to KACY's history will provide more information later about the situation that prompted that action.
Then, on April 26th, 1954, a second VHF television station was approved for St. Louis on channel 4. In May, KSTM was still struggling for its life as a new president and general manager of the East St. Louis Journal was elected president of Broadcast House, Inc.. The new president stated, "We are excited and gratified at the tremendous strides Channel 36 is making in the television picture in our area and with our greatly increased listener-ship (viewership) and the resultant increase in sales, we are more and more in a position to improve our programming in accordance with the original plans" of the station.
A Bombshell Announcement from KSTM
KSTM was still very active in the lobbying efforts of the UHFTA and sent Broadcast House counsel and stockholder Franklin C. Salisbury to testify in mid-June of 1954 before Senate subcommittee hearings on the problems being faced by UHF broadcasters around the country. He testified with Harry Tenenbaum of St. Louis competitor WTVI. He brought up a couple of suggestions to help make UHF more viable in many markets throughout the country. At this hearing and appeal to Congress, he announced the bombshell. He testified that KSTM had received a telegram from the American Broadcasting Company saying the network would cancel its affiliation agreement with KSTM in six months.
ABC was betting that the eventual FCC assignment of channel 11 would favor the network's acquisition of a VHF affiliate in the St. Louis market.
More Changes in the Market and at KSTM
On July 8th, 1954, KWK-TV, Channel 4, went on the air 11 weeks after receiving its grant for the St. Louis VHF channel. At about the same time, KSTM would lose another general manager, Marshall H. Pengra, and pick up a replacement. Dick J. Kasten was announced as general manager and elected to the board of directors of Broadcast House, Inc.. Another change in management was made simultaneously with the announcement of a new chief engineer, Edward B. Bench Jr.. In a matter of a few weeks, both new appointees would no longer be a part of a television operation.
The Hail Mary of KSTM
A letter from KSTM and Broadcast House, Inc., was sent to the FCC in late July. The letter stated that the company "plans to surrender its construction permit for UHF channel 36 and to concentrate its energies and resources on its application for VHF channel 11, which is being allocated to East St. Louis, Illinois." It went on to say, "Broadcast House, Inc. has been reluctant to give up the opportunity of serving the people of St. Louis with UHF service, but has been forced to do so by the fact that a UHF station cannot operate in the public interest in competition with established VHF service in the same area."
The final sign-off of KSTM left St. Louis with one UHF station out of three. WTVI, Channel 54, was the last remaining UHF fighter among what would be two VHF stations soon, and eventually a third VHF station. The executive vice-president and general manager of WTVI at that time, John D. Scheuer, reacted to the news of KSTM, "WTVI regrets that KSTM-TV found it necessary to suspend operations." He, in trying to put up an argument for the sustainability of its own UHF position continued, "At the same time we want the public to know that WTVI looks to the future with confidence....We believe that St. Louis can and will continue to support UHF."
On September 15th, 1954, Broadcast House saw the great challenge it was facing in being granted the channel 11 allocation and ended its expensive quest. The FCC quickly granted Broadcast House, Inc.'s request for the cancellation of the construction permit it had for channel 36 and filed for the deletion of its call letters, thus ending the nine-month history of KSTM.
The big, beautiful facility with its tile mosaic of the USS Missouri battleship in the lobby at 5915 Berthold Avenue would not go vacant for long. In February of 1955, WTVI, Channel 54, would apply to move into the former KSTM studio and utilize the channel 36 transmitter/antenna. Upon approval, WTVI would be on the air one week later, increasing its power output to 500 kW and changing its call letters to KTVI. More on that move in the History of WTVI.
What went wrong?
Remember that, from the description of the facility, much capital was needed to build what seems to have been quite a showplace for early television broadcasting. Perhaps the massive capital expense used to construct the studio brought about a reduction of needed operating capital. Knowing now what we do know about early TV, the advertisers weren't exactly clambering to buy advertising time on early TV. Less than a third of the households probably had a TV, and even fewer had UHF capabilities. Even though the market was large, potential audiences were small, plus it took a significant expense for viewers to convert those VHF TV receivers to receive the upstart UHF stations, which were coming on the air then. After all, who needs more than one TV station? KSD-TV was a fine station with a history of many locally originated programs, along with the programming of NBC and CBS.
Perhaps it was the added cost of battling other applicants for the license for channel 11, which helped to sink “The Big Mo” KSTM, perhaps it was cost overruns on the building, or perhaps it was the cost overruns on equipment, which owners felt was needed to operate a first-class facility. Maybe it was just bad ownership and management. The exact reasons for the short life of KSTM may never be known, but it was probably a combination of all of the above.
This newspaper story from the August 4, 1954, edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported KSTM-Broadcast House's announcement of its intentions.
The former KSTM-TV studios at 5915 Berthold Avenue in St. Louis later became the home of KTVI, UHF Channel 36, before moving frequency to VHF Channel 2. After several ownership changes, the station, now owned by Nexstar (along with KPLR, Channel 11), moved to its present location off of Page Avenue, St. Louis. This property was sold and demolished beginning in February 2013. It's unknown if the mosaic picture of the USS Missouri was still in the lobby floor.
(Photos from KTVI)
Sources:
Broadcasting/Telecasting Magazine
Broadcasting Yearbook
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
KTVI, FOX-2
Newspapers.com
Billboard Magazine
St. Louis Media History Foundation
YouTube Contributors
Pinterest Contributors
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