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The History of WDAN-TV, Channel 24, Danville, IL
1953 - 1960
(WFBM images from Broadcasting-Telecasting)
Early TV in East Central Illinois and West Central Indiana
An ad placed by WFBM-TV in Indianapolis talked of the vast area served by Channel 6 and its influence on viewers throughout the region. Among those communities was Paris, Illinois. It was called “a WFBM-TV town.” Don Morris, who represented a local appliance dealer, testified that the people of Paris were “no different than those of Paris, France in one respect....they like good entertainment, too! And they get it on WFBM-TV!”
Channel 6 from Indianapolis was just one of several long-haul VHF stations that, if one struggled to receive in the Danville, Illinois area, one could watch on those early VHF-only television sets before 1953. Depending on the location of your home, it may have required a tall tower/mast on which a large antenna would be mounted at the top. A series of guy wires would have been necessary from the mast itself to stabilize the mast and antenna vertically against wind and other elements. A two-story house would be a definite advantage, as most of these masts and antennas were atop the tallest peak of the roof.
Other possible alternatives included a faint signal from Chicago, St. Louis, or even Louisville. The distances, weather conditions, and the positions of a viewer's antenna and television set would determine the likelihood of a watchable signal from those distant signals. So, the prospect of local television stations was probably quite exciting for those potential viewers in east central Illinois and west central Indiana.
In March of 1952, the FCC released a list of possible channel assignments for local towns and cities across the United States. Those were called allocations, as the channels were assigned as possible broadcast frequencies for early TV pioneers and investors, and represented hope for those early TV fans.
For those in east central Illinois, the allocations for Champaign-Urbana and Danville would be of great interest. Champaign-Urbana would be granted channels 3, 12, 21, 27, and 33. Danville would be assigned channel 24. Eventually, the Danville area would gain television service from WCIA, and occasionally, a viewer might see a few distant stations from those major cities. Those UHF channels in central Illinois would be unattainable unless TV owners took extraordinary measures to receive them. Danville was outside the normal viewing area for all the central Illinois UHF stations and even one in nearby Lafayette, Indiana. The VHF channels (2-13) were already included on the tuners of those early sets, but the UHF channels (14-83) were not. That would be WDAN-TV's primary challenge.
An Application for Local TV in Danville
Technically speaking, Lee Broadcasting Company filed the first application for a television station after the “Freeze” in May of 1952, for channel 10 in Quincy, Illinois. The applicant was already a broadcaster, as it owned Quincy's WTAD AM/FM. That group would later be issued channel 7 and would become KHQA-TV licensed for nearby Hannibal, Missouri.
Later in the same month, on the opposite side of the state in Danville, Illinois, Northwest Publishing applied for channel 24. The proposed television station would broadcast at a power of 19kw with an antenna 416 feet high. The construction cost was $215,000, with a first-year operating cost of $300,000, and was projected to produce revenue of $350,000 the first year. The transmitter and antenna were both listed as being manufactured by RCA. Northwest Publishing was owned by the Gannett Company, with Frank E. Gannett as the principal owner at 33%. The company already owned radio broadcast properties, including Danville's WDAN, as well as major-market stations in Rochester, New York (WHEC); Hartford, Connecticut (WTHT); and Elmira, New York (WENY). This application for a television station would make it the second television application filed by Gannett. The first television application was filed for an Elmira, New York station.
The Danville station was located at 1500 North Washington Street in Danville, home to the transmitter and studios of WDAN Radio. The address of Northwest Publishing was 19 West North Street in Danville, at the office of the Commercial News newspaper.
This filing by Northwest Publishing would make it mid-Illinois second application for a television station. Applications by those in Champaign-Urbana, Decatur, Bloomington, and Springfield would follow. Many would follow in the upcoming few months.
In December 1952, the FCC granted a construction permit for the Danville television station to operate on channel 24. Unfortunately, it would be another year before the station would go on the air. This also means that even though it was the first to apply in the central and eastern Illinois market, it would be the last to go on the air!
(WDAN-TV application announcement images from Broadcasting-Telecasting)
Rising 397 Feet in the air, the WDAN-TV Tower is under construction. The former WDAN Radio tower is in the background and will be razed when the new tower goes into service.
Installation of the copper coaxial transmission line at the bridge is being undertaken by John Kerkes of Westville, and John Grunden of Danville.
December 1953, Ad from the Danville Commercial News
Rising 397 Feet in the air, the WDAN-TV Tower is under construction. The former WDAN Radio tower is in the background and will be razed when the new tower goes into service.
Channel 24 becomes WDAN-TV and Work Begins
In February of 1953, the call letters of WDAN would be applied to the new Danville TV station. Channel 24 now had a name: WDAN-TV.
It took an extraordinary amount of time to bring the station to life, as many other central Illinois stations were built from the ground up and went on the air within six months of receiving the permit. With WDAN-TV, there were many issues to be settled. Not the least of these were the objections of neighborhood residents questioning the building of a new tower at the rear of the existing radio station. Many were concerned about “radiation” from the TV transmitter/antenna there. Their concerns were addressed as efforts to build the TV station continued.
The TV station would have to be located at the radio station's site. Still, the radio station was undoubtedly not a facility designed for the high ceilings required for a TV studio. It would require constructing an addition to the radio studios containing rooms for a control room, film chain, film editing, storage, and even office and administrative offices.
Engineering studies also revealed that the existing self-supporting four-legged tower would not support the addition of a 2-ton, 50-60-foot-high antenna mast to the vintage 1938 tower. A decision would be made to replace the tower, which also served as the AM radio antenna, with a single tower to support the television antenna. In contrast, a tower segment below a series of insulators would serve as the antenna for WDAN (AM) Radio broadcasting at 1490 kHz. Many years later, I would find documents at WDAN radio that listed the tower cost at $20,000.
In addition to the WDAN Radio studio/transmitter site, the TV facility would add a control room, engineering space, one administration office, a film storage editing room, an announcer booth, a “drive-through” studio, and an adjacent prop storage room. It's assumed WDAN-TV would share much of its operations with WDAN radio, including sales, administration, the employee lounge, and restrooms.
The original transmitter building at the site was constructed in 1938 to house the transmitter of WDAN Radio (then operating on 1500 kHz). The brick structure was small but included the transmitter and a remote studio. In the late 1940s, when WDAN's operations were moved from the magnificent facilities at the Wolford Hotel in downtown Danville, the station moved into equally magnificent studios at 1500 North Washington on Danville's near north side. Those newly constructed studios were built around that original brick structure, leaving the rear of the original structure as part of the rear exterior wall.
The radio studios included a huge showcase studio surrounded by a windowed hallway, a general manager's office, sales offices, administrative offices, restrooms, an engineering room, a newsroom, and studios visible from the central control room in the original transmitter room. Since the studios were located in a residential area, the facility was designed to blend with the area's aesthetic. It was, though, located along the sidewalk at the curb of Washington Street at the T intersection with Woodlawn Avenue.
With the granting of channel 24 to WDAN, it became necessary to add the television facility to the rear of the WDAN studios. Since the terrain was much lower at the rear of the building, the studio's high ceiling was achieved by constructing a ground-level studio floor, which lowered the studio's elevation several feet below that of the main control room and the audio booth. That also allowed for two garage doors to be installed, allowing automobiles to be driven into the studios to produce live commercials. The roof line of the newly constructed rear of the building would match that of the existing front radio studios.
Despite the additional structure, the television facility was clearly not built to the standards of the original 1948 construction of WDAN Radio. Walls were not plastered but instead covered with a fiberboard paneling above a wood horizontal tongue-and-groove paneling rising about 3 to 4 feet above the floor.
The television control room included the transmitter and room for a rack panel of additional equipment. The film chain was in the center of the room, with the main control boards facing the window overlooking the studio at the rear of the building. The floor under the control room included a series of troughs for channeling cables. The floors of the control room, film editing and storage, and administration were elevated over the floors of the original radio studios by 8-10 inches. A step-up door separated the master control of the radio station from that of WDAN-TV. The floors were covered in dark brown tile.
In June 1953, it seemed that construction would not be completed in time to install the television equipment, so an extension of the applicable date was filed with the FCC. Northwestern applied for an extension date of February 10, 1954. Many stations were delaying construction at that time for various reasons, including equipment delays. Still, some held their construction permit to await the highest bidder. They would then sell their permit for a considerable profit, but this was not the case with WDAN-TV.
The FCC was under tremendous pressure from Congress, which was becoming aware of such activity and cracking down on grantees by limiting the time applicants could request. The FCC would cancel the grant if no activity were being made on the construction.
WDAN-TV wasn't making much progress as equipment wasn't being ordered in the manner that would be considered a realistic attempt to put a television station on the air. An appeal was made to the FCC, which agreed to extend the construction permit only from August 10 through December 10, 1953.
The Motivation Behind WDAN-TV
Northwest Publishing's decision to build and operate a television station was met with far less enthusiasm than at most other television stations. The company seemed to have applied for the Channel 24 construction permit only to keep other broadcast competition from obtaining it. At the time, the media monopoly of Northwest Publishing (the Commercial-News newspaper) and WDAN Radio was eroding with the addition of WITY Radio. The additional radio station, WITY, in Danville, was under construction in 1953 and went on air on November 24, 1953, before the local television station, eating into the Danville media monopoly held by Northwest Publishing. Having another media company move into Danville and build a television station to compete for local advertising dollars would certainly be unacceptable to Northwest.
Northwest would operate WDAN-TV merely as a "prime time" extension to its radio property, WDAN. There didn't seem to be a plan to improve or expand its operation. The goal was apparently to do just enough to keep it on the air and perhaps enhance WDAN Radio's viability.
The operation would share a general manager and key personnel from administration, sales, programming, and engineering. The station would not compete with daytime radio and would operate only during the evening hours, when the potential audience appeared to be greatest. News, sports, and weather TV broadcasts would utilize the resources of the newspaper and radio station. Any other local programming would be hosted and produced by radio station talent and others from the sales department.
(from Danville Commercial News)
The goal was to keep construction costs low and operating costs to a minimum. Such a directive would not benefit the new television station's future or the viewers in the Danville area. While other stations during the first few years saw the benefits of increased power investments, improved facilities, and innovative local programming, WDAN-TV remained stagnant. For Danville residents, having a local television station should have been a source of pride for their community. Instead, it became a target for local ridicule.
Pre-Sign-on Planning
As stated earlier, the FCC would extend the construction permit to December 10, 1953. It was not known whether the FCC would extend it further. The target date of WDAN-TV was not known. Still, by mid-summer of 1953, progress was finally being made with ordering the necessary equipment to bring a television signal to viewers in the Danville area. Why did it take so long to order the much-in-demand equipment to put Channel 24 on the air before the sign-on date for WCIA? The next question was, would the station be on the air before the last date of their construction permit extension?
Robert J. Burow was designated as the station manager, a role he held at WDAN Radio. He came from the ranks of the Commercial News, where he was a sales manager. Robert J. Burow became an active broadcaster after being elected president of the Illinois Broadcasters Association in October 1953. At that time, other board members were notable broadcasters, such as Harold L. Dewing of WCVS Radio. Mr. Burow was also one of the major speakers before the group, alongside Merrill Lindsay of WSOY Radio and WCIA-TV, Oliver Keller of WTAX Radio in Springfield, and Sangamon Valley Television, an applicant for channel 2 in Springfield (see WICS, KTVI).
During my time at WDAN/WDNL Radio, housed in the former WDAN Radio and Television station, staff members occasionally came across a memento from those early television days. One such document contained an estimate of WDAN-TV's operating costs. Items included the expense of 5 engineers at $85 a week, one traffic “girl” at $45 a week, a film “man” at $100 a week, and a production “man” at $125 a week. Other expenses included film costs at $3,000 a month. I assume that was for purchasing film programming, TV series, filler travel films, documentaries, and such, and shipping the film to its next station once WDAN-TV aired the films. Sponsors would furnish much of the film programming listed in the latter group. The BMI/ASCAP charges would fall to around $1,000 a month, the AT&T network line charges were $4,000 monthly, and other network charges were listed at $1,000 monthly. Sales costs (commissions to salespeople) were set at $2,000 per month, and insurance at $300 per month. Two of the most expensive constant line items were those of BMI/ASCAP (which, in my opinion, was akin to extortion) and the AT&T charges—more on those later.
Ad rates were $150/hour, $90/per half-hour, and $50/for a 15-minute show. I assume these were full sponsorships of WDAN-TV programming, such as syndicated half-hours or movies. Spot rates were $25 for a commercial “spot” and $15 for a short announcement between shows.
The broadcast day was planned to run from 6 pm to 10 pm, with an extension from 3 pm to midnight later. The income goal was $11,200 a month, well below the projected income of $350,000 a year. If there was any special programming from ABC, it was assumed the station would air it beyond its regular hours of operation. One example was the Army-McCarthy Hearings, which took place from April to June of 1954. It's not known whether WDAN-TV broadcasts those hearings, as no staff members I spoke with had any recollection of them. It's also unknown if WDAN-TV broadcast the “Don McNeill's Breakfast Show,” which aired from 8 to 9 am from February 22, 1954, to February 25, 1955. "The Breakfast Show" did air on other ABC affiliates in central Illinois, WTVP in Decatur, and WBLN in Bloomington. It was found, though, that the transmitter for WDAN-TV would go on around 9 am, and the station would broadcast a test pattern and 100-cycle tone until programming began during the late afternoon.
During construction in September of 1953, WDAN-TV purchased equipment from the Dage TV Equipment Company for nearly $12,000. The package would include “lightweight gear” for about a third of the cost of competitive equipment from other major manufacturers such as RCA, DuMont, and General Electric. The package included two cameras, two camera controls, a switcher, and a sync generator. The cameras used RCA vidicon tubes, costing about $345 each, compared to image orthicon tubes costing $1250. The cameras offered a resolution of 400-500 lines, compared to the 600 lines of the others. Dage was also located close by in Beech Grove, Indiana.
RCA shipped the RCA 1k transmitter to WDAN-TV in mid-September 1953. There were other construction details to be worked out, including obtaining FCC permission to relocate the WDAN tower/antenna a few feet and to mount the TV antenna atop the WDAN Radio tower. The FCC didn't grant that permission in late September of 1953. This could have been another factor in the station's late sign-on.
In November 1953, it was announced that WDAN-TV would become ABC's 169th affiliate. That would at least bring competitive programming to viewers. Affiliating with NBC or CBS would have gotten the station a much stronger programming schedule, but both networks were already under contract with the local VHF station, WCIA. NBC would choose to be a “part-time” secondary affiliate of a VHF station rather than a full-time affiliate with UHF Channel 24. It's possible that WDAN-TV could have made an earlier effort to court NBC before it was snatched up at the last minute by WCIA. Channel 24 may have become affiliated with NBC. Affiliation with NBC would have significantly increased the Danville television station's chances of success and would have given it a full schedule of programs from 7 in the morning to midnight each day. That would also allow for more local commercial inserts during the day.
WDAN-TV would settle for ABC and join other central Illinois stations with part and full-time affiliation agreements. Other ABC affiliates in mid-Illinois included WTVP, Channel 17, Decatur; WBLN, Channel 15, Bloomington; WICS, Channel 20, Springfield (secondary affiliation); and WTVH, Channel 19, Peoria.
The availability of receiving network signals from New York by central Illinois television stations was a significant concern for stations in mid-Illinois. For WDAN-TV, it was easy! A main AT&T trunk coax ran just a few blocks away under North Vermilion Street to a terminal in Danville from Chicago. It seems simple, but it was a little more complex than that. The network coax with video-only would be tapped into the local phone company building downtown, in the unit block of Walnut Street. From there, it would have to be relayed via coax to the WDAN studios, which are less than 2 miles away. The addition of WDAN-TV to AT&T television cable facilities made it the 239th station nationwide and Danville the 147th city to receive live network programming. The audio signal was relayed using standard broadcast audio lines.
By late November, it seemed apparent that the December 10, 1953, sign-on deadline would be impossible to meet. Northwestern applied for another extension to the construction permit past the already granted extension of December 10, 1953. In this appeal for another extension, Northwestern cited progress in constructing the television station and asked for more time to put WDAN-TV on the air. This time, the FCC would only grant an extension through December 28, 1953. That meant that WDAN-TV must be operational by that date, or Northwestern would lose the permit and all of the money invested in the station to that point!
(from Broadcasting-Telecasting)
On December 19, 1953, WDAN-TV signed on the air.
The sign-on was nearly perfect, except when the station broadcast a test pattern instead of local commercials. When the test pattern was shown between network programs and during station breaks, the video would "roll" or lose synchronization. It is possible that either the test pattern was generated by focusing a camera on a printed test pattern mounted on a "TV board" or the camera was "hot-wired" into a "patch panel." It's also possible it was a slide projected into the station's film chain, which was "hot-wired" into the "patch panel." Either way, the main switcher in the control room was either inoperable or not installed yet.
The rush to get the station on the air meant sacrificing the traditional sign-on pomp and circumstance that many stations would stage to call attention to their new local television station. WDAN-TV failed to broadcast a respectable first presentation show, even to the few Danville area viewers there were.
For the initial sign-on, WDAN-TV could only broadcast the ABC signal. Northwest Publishing's construction delay in early 1953 would come back to bite them in December of that year. The station signed on before it was fully operational due to the added pressure from a looming FCC deadline to complete the station.
When WDAN-TV signed on December 19, 1953, the first ABC show featured was "Super Circus." Even though this was not the first actual installment shown, it looked a lot like this episode from 1954.
( YouTube)
Sign-On Day: The Newspaper Account
The Commercial News would report about the first day of programming by saying, "Television made its first locally-flashed appearance Sunday afternoon as Danville and area viewers flicked their dials to Channel 24 at 4 pm for the initial network show to be telecast on WDAN-TV."
The story would include accounts of favorable reports from Danville and even telegrams from viewers reporting reception in Paris and Champaign. The story also admitted that modifications and adjustments "are continuously made."
Orville Neely, one of the WDAN-TV staff engineers, explained that all of the equipment is new, and whenever that is the case, "bugs" show up. He also admitted that some equipment hasn't arrived at the station yet and that construction is continuing. According to the engineer, vacuum tube failures occur in about 10 percent of the tubes during the first 90 days. It was considered a period of equipment "break-in," and most of the problems would disappear afterward.
The story explained that, despite positive reports from area viewers, the trouble with the local test pattern “is still plaguing the engineers.” The sync generator was unstable, causing the picture to roll whenever the test pattern was broadcast. Mr. Neely also added that electrical problems with line-voltage variation within the building were probably also causing a “picture....jump” during the broadcast of the test pattern.
Several days earlier, the “rolling” video problem with the test pattern would have been corrected. If there were any local skeptics about the future of local television broadcasting in Danville (and I assume there were plenty), they were undoubtedly enjoying this flub. The Commercial News would report within a couple of weeks that the equipment had arrived, allowing for local origination.
Most days in the early years of WDAN included a sign-on at 6:15 pm for ABC News with anchor John Daly. One exception would be the weekend college basketball broadcast on Saturday afternoons at 1:30.
1957-1960(87)
Don Goddard
1955-1960(61)
1957-1960(87)
A Selection of ABC
Shows from 1953-60
New Year's Day, 1954
WDAN-TV general manager Robert Burow announced at sign-on that Channel 24 would broadcast the Sugar Bowl football game with Georgia Tech and West Virginia beginning at 12:45 pm on New Year's Day. He also explained that no local programs would be broadcast until after the first of the year since work on the studio and some other offices was not yet completed. Mr. Burow described the facility as having four rooms: a studio, a control room, a film room, and an office. I guess he forgot about the announcer's booth.
(from allstatessugarbowl.com)
"Recently, I discovered an episode of a television show called "You Asked for It" on YouTube. The show was originally broadcast on DuMont from 1950 to 1951, and later moved to ABC in 1951, hosted by Art Baker until 1958. Additionally, I found an installment from 1953."
The show aired on NBC until November 1952, and on ABC beginning in December. The last telecast was seen on May 7, 1954. The original 16mm film series was restored at Indiana University in nearby Bloomington, Indiana. See more at TVDays on YouTube.
"Rin Tin Tin" was one of the more popular family shows broadcast by ABC beginning in October 1954 and continuing through August 1959. This is the original first episode of the show as broadcast on WDAN-TV and ABC.
(YouTube)
Here's an episode of "The Walter Winchell Show" from 1953. You might recognize his voice as the narrator of ABC's "Untouchables" in 1959.
(YouTube)
"Cheyenne" was one of the rotating "Warner Brothers Presents" series and starred Clint Walker from 1955 to 1963, although it was only seen on WDAN-TV through early 1960. This video is an edited version of the 1955 pilot show.
(YouTube)
The ABC Television Network logo from 1953, which was certainly seen on WDAN-TV during its early days.
(YouTube)
Ray Bolger played Ray Wallace in "Where's Raymond," most certainly seen on WDAN-TV in 1954. You might remember Mr. Bolger as "The Scarecrow" on "The Wizard of Oz."
(YouTube)
The "Disneyland" Story originally aired on October 27th, 1954. In this, the opening show of the Disneyland television series, Walt Disney presents a preview of the upcoming television series as it relates to each of Disneyland's four realms: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. The second part of the show looks at Mickey Mouse's career.
Parts of the show had to be edited due to copyright issues.
(YouTube)
Here is an original "Disneyland" episode from the mid-1950s with sponsor billboards. Walt Disney hosted this popular ABC series himself.
From 1957 to 1959, also from Walt Disney Studios, "Zorro." This action-adventure series was a massive hit for Disney and ABC and starred "Guy Williams." Many episodes were filmed in color but never seen until much later on "The Disney Channel" in the 1980s.
(YouTube)
WDAN-TV, Channel 24, Danville, Illinois
Northwestern Publishing Company
1500 N. Washington
Danville, Illinois
Phone: 1700
Facilities: Channel 24, Authorized Effective Radiated Power, Visual 19.1 kW, Aural 9.55 kW
Transmitter: RCA MOdel TTU-1-B; Antenna RCA Model Type TFU-24BL
Operation: Began December 20,
Height above average terrain, 410 ft, Above ground 445 ft.1953 Hours of operation 5:00 pm to 11 pm (correction date is December 19, 1953)
Affiliations: Network ABC, Station WDAN
Representatives: Sales, Everett-McKinney Inc. Washington Attorney: Dow, Lohnesand Albertson
Services: One RCA and two Dage Cameras, Two Homes projectors, one 2x2 slide projectors, News Service, AP Library, Thesaurus
Executives: Robert J. Burow, general manager Honore Ronan, program director
John Eckert, commercial manager Orville Neely, chief engineer
Max Shaffer, station manager Bill Dorn, production manager
Market Information: Total information(including fringe area) 300,000 , families 87,4000, number of sets 45,000
(from Television Yearbook, 1954-55)
Employees of WDAN and WDAN-TV
The three men in charge of WDAN-TV's operations were Robert Burow, general manager; Max Shafer, station manager; and John Eckert, sales manager. Interestingly, Max Shafer would remain with WDAN Radio as station general manager, retiring upon its sale to Sangamon Broadcasting in 1977. John Eckert would remain with WDAN Radio into the early 1980s as general sales manager of WDAN/WDNL Radio. Mr. Eckert and my experiences at the Danville radio stations would overlap from 1977 until his retirement in the early 1980s.
Others at WDAN-TV included Ted Magin as the chief engineer. At the same time, John Vance, Bill Hunt, Elwood Begley, William Shoup, Norlyn Dossey, and Orville Neely were staff engineers, and Al Stelk was a projectionist. Honore Ronan was the traffic director, Mildred Engel was the continuity writer, Kay Shake was the film editor, Mary Kay Dean was the receptionist, Mary Sumila was the office manager, and Bob Erickson and Gene Robinson were on the radio and television announcing staff.
One of the more notable employees of WDAN-TV would come later. Gene Hackman, the Academy Award-winning actor and writer, was a staff member during the late 1950s as an artist and studio technician. The legend is that he was told to stay with the WDAN and WDAN-TV because he was beginning a great career with the stations. Instead, he moved on to start a real show business career. I think we can all agree that he made the right decision.
Another notable former WDAN-TV employee was Wayne Cody. Even though he was a native of New Jersey, he traveled to Danville, Illinois, where he worked at WDAN and WDAN-TV. It's assumed his interest is in sports, but remembrances of him include his role as a weathercaster. One story has him delivering a weathercast while getting his hair cut. He was also known for his broadcast stunts and his great broadcast voice. During his tenure at WDAN, he met his future wife, Judy Carter. They were married in 1963, and within a couple of years, he pursued a career in Hollywood. He would become a play-by-play broadcaster, a sportscaster, an actor, and a restaurant owner/investor.
AT&T Costs and WDAN-TV Finances
In November of 1954, many local TV stations across the country realized that the charges they paid for their AT&T network feeds were extraordinary. Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine included a story with testimony from several television stations across the county. Among those were WDAN-TV. The Danville station was charged $4,018.75 per month to connect to the Chicago to Terre Haute trunk line. WDAN-TV also admitted losing between $6,000 and $10,000 a month since it began operating in December 1953. To date, during its first year, it has lost $70,000.
Danville's Local TV News
One year and one month after the initial sign-on of WDAN-TV, Channel 24 would finally broadcast a local newscast. It was described in the Danville Commercial-News pages as a “triple threat” of local news, sports, and weather, and would air from 5:30 to 6 pm beginning on Monday, January 17, 1955.
The local news would precede ABC's “Kukla, Fran and Ollie Show” at 6 pm and The ABC News with John Daley at 6:15 pm. Each local newscast would include sports headlines and stories with Max Shaffer, followed by local news anchored by Bill Houpt or Frank M. Williams, both of the Commercial News staff of reporters, at 5:40 pm. The weather chores would be taken up by what the newspaper would describe as “veteran weather forecaster” Ralph Webber at 5:50 pm.
Before the local news broadcast, WDAN-TV would originate “Almanac,” hosted by Mr. Shaffer and Honore Ronan at 5:15 pm. Max Shaffer would briefly report top world news, and Ms. Ronan would have the “latest word from the women's world plus interviews with local people.”
By September of 1955, the half-hour format would be reduced to 15 minutes and moved from 5:30 pm to 6 pm ahead of the ABC News with John Daley. It was also when the “Almanac” was dropped in favor of the “Birthday Parade.” Honore Ronan hosted announcements of viewers' birthdays and featured other local general-interest stories and interviews at 5 pm. “Western Theater” would follow from 5:10 to 6 pm.
WDAN-TV Reduces Power
In very late 1955, it appears that an effort to save money would bring Northwest Publishing to file for a reduction in power for WDAN-TV. The former 19kw power output during the station's first year would be reduced to 13.26 kW. This reduction in output wattage would save several thousand dollars a year in operating costs without significantly reducing the signal in Danville.
Meanwhile, several local UHF TV stations were seeking power increases and beginning to consider tower upgrades and equipment to broadcast their networks in color. As a full-time ABC affiliate, there was no immediate need for WDAN-TV to consider an upgrade to broadcast color. That would require installing a new transmitter and exciter.
By March of 1955, WDAN-TV would apply for a license to replace the construction permit it had been operating under since sign-on. It would be granted a few months later.
WDAN-TV's harrowing financial plight was not unique. By May of 1955, Broadcasting-Telecasting ran an article that stated that 80% of all UHF stations would face bankruptcy....” unless they find a financial angel or develop a cohesive, cooperative means to instill life into the total UHF picture.” Overall, not more than 12 or 15 UHF stations were profitable in markets without immediate VHF competition. WDAN-TV had a VHF competition from WCIA in Champaign, WTHI in Terre Haute, and WFBM in Indianapolis. Other UHF stations were out of reach because their signals didn't reach the Danville market then. This made WDAN-TV the ONLY UHF station in the area, putting it at an incredible disadvantage.
1958 Financial Statement
WDAN-TV had to disclose its financial situation publicly as part of its license renewal filing. It appeared in the October 27, 1958, edition of Broadcasting-Telecasting. It showed an earned surplus of $933,930 for the Northwestern Publishing Company. That included not only WDAN-TV but also WDAN Radio and the Commercial-News newspaper.
Assets were listed as $431,673 in fixed assets, $ 360,581 in intangible assets, and $ 1,274,277 in total assets. Liabilities were listed as being $251,347. Even though the TV station was losing money, the other Northwestern properties were doing quite well.
WDAN-TV
On the Farm
with the Vermilion
County Farm Bureau
The pictures include several unidentified people. If you know the names of anyone pictured here please comment from my e-mail form on the Home page.
Run cursor over picture for details, or click on each photo for larger view
(courtesy of Kerry Wienke, Tom Fricke, and the Vermilion County Farm Bureau)
Either 1955-1956, WDAN-TV salutes 4-H Winners, Courtesy Vermilion County Farm Bureau
Either 1955-1956, WDAN-TV salutes 4-H Winners, Courtesy Vermilion County Farm Bureau
Either 1955-1956, WDAN-TV salutes 4-H Winners, Courtesy Vermilion County Farm Bureau
WDAN-TV featured in Illinois Farm Bureau Magazine
Click on pictures above to see larger versions
(October 1958 Illinois Farm Bureau magazine "IAA Record" courtesy of Kerry Wienke, Tom Fricke and the Vermilion County Farm Bureau)
ABC Grows up
As you'll read within the other histories of the mid-Illinois TV stations, the networks in those early days sold time on their schedules to advertising agencies. Those advertising agencies either produced their own programming or contracted with other producers to develop programs on which they placed their clients' commercials. It was more of an infomercial arrangement and much different than today.
ABC had many affiliates, but most were second or third-rate television stations. Most of which were UHF stations, even in many major markets. In central Illinois, ABC would be associated with all UHF channels.
Even though most stations would not air ABC programming or any other network when a purchase agreement was not in place to receive network compensation, WDAN-TV appeared to be different. Most other stations would replace those network shows with sponsored syndicated programs or, in some cases, other secondary network programs. WDAN-TV appeared to air network programming anyway, probably because it was unable to purchase many syndicated shows to replace those network shows. It seemed that WDAN-TV was under a special contract with ABC in which it would receive programming through a total “barter” arrangement, receiving no network compensation.
As ABC expanded its schedule, WDAN-TV expanded its broadcast day by airing “American Bandstand” and “Whom Do You Trust?” In fact, by the late 1950s, WDAN-TV would host its version of “American Bandstand” called “Danville Bandstand,” hosted by WDAN announcer Jack Singleton. It is of the “Danville Bandstand” that the only known “recording” of an actual program produced by WDAN exists. It is a snapshot of the television screen showing Jack Singleton and a young Danville teen who sang on the “Danville Bandstand” program. It is included on this website.
WDAN-TV also began airing several of the more popular ABC shows of the era and would undoubtedly benefit from their airing. “Disneyland,” “The Danny Thomas Show(aka “Make Room for Daddy'),” “Twenty Questions,” “Warner Brothers Presents,” “Wyatt Erp,” “Cheyenne,” “Maverick,” “Lawman,” “The Rifleman,” “The Donna Reed Show,” “Leave it to Beaver,” “The Real McCoys,” “The Rebel,” “Bourbon Street Beat,” “Adventures in Paradise,” “Hawaiian Eye,” “The Untouchables,” “77 Sunset Strip” and “The Detectives.”
By 1959, ABC's daytime schedule would expand into the early afternoon, and WDAN-TV's broadcast day would grow with it, at least by 1960. The schedule would include “Love That Bob” at 1:30 pm to be followed by “Day in Court,” “The Gale Storm Show,” and “Beat the Clock” at 3 pm.
WDAN Locally Produced Programming
BANKO
One of the first non-news/sports-oriented programs produced by WDAN-TV was BANKO. William-Stanley Productions of Rockford, Illinois, developed it. It had already been successful in six markets and had prospects for 20 more. The show would include a local sponsor distributing BANKO cards to customers or to people who visited the business and requested one, with no purchase required. Like Bingo, it involved a studio audience and viewers at home. The first ten people at home and a studio contestant would receive prizes from the participating sponsor. There's more about BANKO in the History of WICS.
"WDAN-TV sales manager and WDAN radio personality John Eckert hosted Banko" on WDAN-TV. Mr. Eckert described the show as operating similarly to "Bingo" in that a board of rows of numbers under the heading of each letter in B-A-N-K-O. Numbers were drawn and posted on the board while a studio audience played along. When an audience member filled out his/her card, they would shout "BANKO" to win prizes from local sponsors. People at home would play along with cards obtained by the local sponsor. Darcy Frank was hosting the show with John, the daughter of local businessman Ed Frank. Mr. Eckert remembered the show's sponsor as Ed Fonner's Dry Cleaners.
Meanwhile, a legal challenge to the BANKO concept was filed in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin attorney general believed the William-Stanley product of BANKO violated the state's lottery laws. That opinion was based on how WKBT in LaCrosse conducted the show. That same opinion was also shared with the Sangamon County state's attorney in Springfield. This brought about the dropping of BANKO from WICS there. Although it's not known if WDAN-TV dropped BANKO, notes in Broadcasting-Telecasting a couple of weeks later stated that WDAN-TV had picked up “Shadow Stumpers” from Brent Gunts Productions. The silhouette guessing game may have replaced BANKO.
Tots and Teen Time
Hosted by Catherine Cromwell, “Tots and Teen Time,” also called “Teen Time,” featured the talents of local teenagers in the Danville area. It was seen on alternate Thursdays at 9 pm. The show also included record pantomiming by the local group “Teen Tuners” and a dance production by the Cromwellettes.
Local Sports Coverage
For years, the name Max Shaffer was connected to local sports coverage in the Danville area. He spearheaded local coverage of high school football and basketball for years on WDAN Radio. During the days of WDAN-TV, he would also be the face of local high school sports on local television. He would anchor the weekday sportscasts and do radio play-by-play for WDAN Radio. He would also host the post-game sports scores on WDAN Radio and WDAN-TV on late-night Fridays and Tuesdays after high school basketball.
What's in the Box?
Game shows were all over the TV schedules during the 1950s and early 1960s. “What's in the Box?” was locally produced and was a local advertising vehicle for Fonners Dry Cleaners in Danville after the BANKO controversy and its cancellation. According to my findings, the show was hosted by the business owner, Ed Fonner, although more than a few people recall John Eckert as the host of the local game show.
“What's in the Box” would challenge residents to bring in something from home to go into the box, and would be unknown to a panel of station employees. They would ask questions, and after a negative response, the contestant would rack up a few dollars in cash or some merchandise. The concept was similar to “Twenty Questions” with a local twist
Danville Bandstand
In 1959, WDAN-TV would enter the world of rock and roll with the broadcast of “Danville Bandstand.” Like many other local television stations around the country, and like WICS, WTVP, WCIA, and WDAN-TV, WICS would begin broadcasting its local dance program, based on ABC's “American Bandstand.” “Danville Bandstand” would be hosted by WDAN Radio announcer Jack Singleton. Invitations would go to local high school organizations and other groups. The broadcasts would include representatives from the Danville Youth Center, Oakwood High School, Schlarman High School, and the Teen Center at the Elks Lodge Number 147.
The local TV dance program was sponsored each week by the local 7-Up Bottling Company and Thomas Music Shop, a local music store. “Danville Bandstand” aired on Thursdays, 5-5:30 pm, and would follow the broadcast of ABC's “American Bandstand” on Channel 24.
The pictures to the right are of a local young man preparing to sing on "Danville Bandstand." His name is Olav Christensen. It was taken in 1960, before WDAN-TV was sold to Plains Television. The host of Danville Bandstand, Jack Singleton, is pictured with Olav. As far as I can determine, these are the only two pictures of any locally produced TV show on WDAN-TV.
(Picture provided by Olav Christensen)
Gene Hackman was a former employee of WDAN-TV. He reportedly began his career as a camera operator and artist at Channel 24. Legend has it that he was told to stay with WDAN and not "move on" because he could really work his way up the television ladder.
According to longtime WDAN sales manager John Eckert, Mr. Hackman was a studio crew member who set up and arranged chairs, sets, and other studio equipment for local programming and commercials. His tenure at WDAN-TV is unknown, but it is generally agreed that it was sometime from 1955 to 1957.
(picture from the Danville High School Wall of Fame)
Hope for a Change from UHF Channel 24 to VHF Channel 10
The changing allocation situation was sending shock waves throughout the region. The possibility of adding channel 2 to Terre Haute, Indiana, and a possible reassignment of channel 10 prompted WFAM-TV to submit a flurry of applications for areas like Lafayette, Indiana, for allocation.
WDAN-TV applied to shift the channel to Danville, Illinois, with an application filed in late March 1958. I'm not sure of the reasons for denying the channel 10 allocation move to Danville, but the move to Danville made at least some sense. The location of Danville prevented the reception of any UHF stations other than WDAN-TV. The move of the Danville station to VHF would have certainly placed the station on equal par with WCIA, at least as far as accessibility for the region's viewers. Unfortunately, the FCC shot down the WDAN-TV, Danville, application and Lafayette's WFAM-TV request in early 1959.
WFAM-TV was in a similar situation to WDAN-TV. It was also the only UHF station receivable in the Lafayette, Indiana market, located on the fringe of the Indianapolis market, home to VHF television stations.
Livesay Broadcasting Company of Mattoon would also apply for channel 10 in June 1958. The FCC's rejection of all petitions from Danville, Lafayette, and Mattoon allowed the channel 10 allocations to remain in Terre Haute. In contrast, the FCC rejected the application to move WTHI-TV to channel 2. The channel 2 allocation was left open for other applicants after it was assigned to St. Louis. Channel 2 would eventually be the home of WTWO, the NBC affiliate in Terre Haute.
ABC's "77 Sunset Strip" featured a cast of youthful, attractive actors, many of whom were previously unknown and cost-effective. Produced by Warner Bros., the detective show was a smashing hit, ranking in the top 20 during its inaugural year. Those interested in catching a glimpse of the show's stars can watch a YouTube video.
"The Rifleman" was one of many westerns seen on ABC with quite a few on the networks as well. This particular episode aired on September 30, 1958, on WDAN-TV.
(YouTube)
I found this compilation video of "Sugarfoot" scenes rather interesting as they explained the character of "Sugarfoot" as played by Will Hutchins. The musical background was current on the day of the production of the first episodes. Enjoy...
(YouTube)
"The Donna Reed Show" worked its way into the top 30 the first year it premiered on ABC. It continued well into the 1960s, and aired in syndication, although WDAN-TV aired very few syndicated shows because it didn't have the budget to purchase shows.
(YouTube)
The original series aired for the first time on ABC and WDAN-TV on October 3, 1957. If you tuned into WDAN-TV on that night, this is what you would have seen.
(YouTube)
This is the opening credits of the pilot show for "Lawman." It was another product of Warner Brothers and first aired on October 8, 1958.
(YouTube)
This video contains the various opening themes of "Sugarfoot." The series premiered September 17, 1957, and aired through June 3, 1961, ending its run after WDAN-TV changed to an NBC affiliate
(YouTube)
Yet another western, one that went into the top 30 ratings when it premiered on September 24, 1958.
(YouTube)
ABC Makes a Leap Toward Better Programming
ABC seemed to have reached another significant step in respectable programming by 1958, thanks to the addition of the Warner Brothers program catalog of westerns and contemporary detective shows set in Los Angeles, Honolulu, Miami, and New Orleans. Sitcoms were added to the schedule that, looking back, became classics. What is shown above is just a sampling.
ABC's daytime schedule began to expand earlier, from 1959 into the early 1960s. This is something that probably worried WDAN-TV management because of the added cost of broadcasting a longer schedule and the increased transmitter power consumption.
Meanwhile in Champaign-Urbana
It was inevitable that Plains Television would have to expand its footprint in central Illinois. The Springfield signal expansion would involve the installation of a new tower/transmitter in 1958. That wasn't enough, as a vast area of east central Illinois became the new battlefield. It wasn't sufficient that WCIA infringed on the Springfield market, even with grade B coverage; WICS didn't even touch Champaign-Urbana. It hardly touched Decatur. Plains Television and WICS would need to add the households in Champaign-Urbana, Mattoon, Charleston, and Danville to their fold. That would require a second TV station, a fully powered station located in WCIA's backyard.
As stated in the WICS History, on September 25, 1956, Plains Television applied for a fully powered TV station to operate on channel 21, with a 200 kW power output from a tower/antenna 650 feet tall. It would be located near White Heath, Illinois. This proposed station would have enough signal to blanket both Decatur and Champaign with a city-grade and grade B signals for Danville, Mattoon, Charleston, and perhaps even Bloomington-Normal.
This proposed station would never be. It was never acted on for unknown reasons, but it did begin an idea that would later become Champaign-Urbana's first UHF station. Having a television station on channel 21 would have been a problem for Channel 20, as it increased its power and improved its signal over the years. Plus, the FCC allocation table did not list channel 21 at any location in central Illinois, which is obviously an embarrassing oversight on Plain's part. Most stations in the same market were six channels apart. Later, the application would be revised to apply for channel 33.
As described in more detail in the History of WICS, channel 33 would not become a fully powered TV station. Plains Television, along with the Balaban brothers, was also busy purchasing other broadcast properties. (see WIL Radio-St. Louis under RADIO HISTORY and Legendary Midwest Radio Stations) The “downgrading” of the proposed channel 33 may have been to save cash. For whatever reason, building a television station to serve Champaign-Urbana with “lesser facilities” would finally take place in 1958-1959. More on the WCHU story is under the History of WCHU.
The Move to Add More Territory to the Footprint of WICS
Nearby, Danville had another UHF television station. From a competitive standpoint, it appeared that Northwest Publishing (Gannett) could not turn a profit from Channel 24. Costs were already reduced by a power decrease, even as other stations sought power increases. Despite that, an attempt was made to maintain the station's status quo into the late 1950s and early 1960s. Local programming was still being produced, and ABC's daytime schedule was expanding. Syndicated programming choices were few, as purchasing alternative programming sources added to the operation's expenses.
It's unknown why Northwestern Publishing (Gannett) didn't just turn it off and let it go dark. Instead, a buyer was found for WDAN-TV in Plains Television's purchase. The station would be sold to Plains for a minimum price. Then, a lease arrangement would allow Channel 24 to stay at the original location.
Owning another television station in the market was a logical goal to expand WICS's reach. This would allow WICS to meet or exceed WCIA's coverage area in securing ad dollars from regional and national advertisers. The change in the license holder name for WCHU would allow all three stations to operate under the Plains Television name. Remember now that Champaign's WCHU was a WICS translator and an NBC affiliate. WDAN-TV was operating as an ABC affiliate in Danville.
Late in 1960 —exact date unclear. Still, Gannett Publishing, owner of WDAN-TV, sold the station to Plains Television Partners, which proposed renaming it WICD-TV and making it a satellite of WCHU, which was, in turn, already a satellite of WICS in Springfield.
WDAN-TV was sold by Gannett to Plains Television for a mere $75,000, and the facility was leased from Northwest Publishing(Gannett Publishing) for $1,500 a month.
On July 28, 1960, the FCC approved the transfer of Channel 24's license from Gannett to Plains Television. Along with the transfer, WDAN-TV's call letters were changed to WICD(TV). In late August of 1960, John Begue, who had previously held various programming and sales positions at WICS in Springfield, was appointed WICD(TV) station manager. The national representative of Young Television Corporation was chosen to represent WICD to regional and national advertisers.
The idea of owning more than one station, with separate network affiliations in the same market, was unheard of at the time and illegal. Remember, though, that the central Illinois television market was not considered a single market at that time. At least until the mid-1960s, the major Illinois markets included Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, and Danville as four separate markets. That would allow Plains Television to own three stations in central Illinois. Plains Television would own two stations in the Champaign-Danville market because the signals did not overlap, and WCHU was not considered a "full-powered" television station.
An early Plains Television press release even stated that the company would operate two separate stations. The release said that Plains' ownership of the two stations, WCHU and WDAN, "would not affect the operation of the TV stations in Champaign or Danville." That statement was untrue and was released with the company knowing it was false. It should have been evident that both stations would be used as translators for WICS.
During the first few months after the sale, it appeared that WDAN-TV, now WICD, would continue with ABC programming. The Commercial-News schedules of the period listed ABC programming and the same local programming from before the sale. I can only assume that Plains Television was in talks with both ABC and NBC to allow for the cancellation of the ABC contract and the addition of WICD to the current NBC contract for WCHU.
Trying to explain the rather unusual central Illinois television market, even to those who deal with the legal aspects of network affiliation agreements, is difficult. Having held the position of promotions director at WICD in the 1990s and having dealt with NBC (it was an NBC affiliate until Labor Day, 2005) in coop advertising, it was sometimes very confusing for the network advertising agency to understand why they had two separate full-service affiliates in the same market!
John Begue was named WICD station manager. His term appeared to be short as his replacement was announced
(Broadcasting-Telecasting)
(from Urbana Courier)
WDAN-TV and ABC to WICD(TV) and NBC
Channel 24 was slightly below full-power but had nearly three times the power output of WCHU. It also included an antenna atop a tower almost 400 feet high, compared to the 50-foot mast on a six-story hotel. The new WICD signal would provide at least a watchable signal of NBC programming to nearby communities in Hoopeston, Paris, Georgetown, Catlin, Covington, and Veedersburg.
WICD would continue to originate at least some local programming, including local news and local commercials. The big difference was the rebroadcast of WCHU's locally produced programming and syndicated programming from WICS. All in all, it was a logistical nightmare and would be even with today's technology. For example, during broadcasts of St. Louis Cardinals baseball on the Cardinals network, viewers often saw station IDs run back-to-back because of the slowness of local control room operators. Since the baseball game was originated by KSD-TV in St. Louis and picked up off the air at WICS in Springfield, the station IDs would air as, “You're watching KSD-TV, St. Louis...WICS, Channel 20 Springfield...WCHU, Channel 33, Champaign...WICD, Channel 24, Danville.” Plus, after the many rebroadcasts of each signal from each station, you can only imagine the poor quality of the video at the end of the chain, observed by viewers of Channel 24.
The Plains Television Merger
Going back to the WCHU story, construction on WCHU began in November of 1958, and the station originally went on the air in September of 1959 as a low-power UHF station and a translator of WICS. The original coverage area of WCHU was estimated to be no more than 15 miles from the transmitter site at the Inman Hotel in downtown Champaign. The power output on the new WCHU was 5.5 kilowatts visual and 2.96 kilowatts aural from a short antenna mounted on top of the Inman Hotel in downtown Champaign, the corner of Neil and University. WCHU was to receive an off-air signal of WICS for rebroadcasting from a receiver also located on the roof of the Inman Hotel. It didn't take long to see that the assumption that an airable signal from WICS would be available all the time was a mistake. Weather conditions, the time of day, and other bouts of interference from the downtown area contributed to a less-than-reliable signal from WICS.
WICS, beginning in 1958, was on its 900-foot tower at Mechanicsburg, broadcasting at 500 kilowatts. To expect a good broadcast-quality signal all the time from 90 miles was a stretch, even in the best of circumstances. The receiving antenna on top of the Inman Hotel was a large parabolic-style antenna with signal amplifiers, but it didn't work. Later in the year, an application was filed, and the FCC granted permission to construct a receiver on the northwest side of Champaign along U.S. 150. This receiving antenna would be on a 150-foot tower, receiving WICS and then microwaveing the signal to the studios at the Inman Hotel.
On September 13th, 1959, WCHU was ready to expand its broadcast day with the construction completed on the microwave link from its new receiving antenna northwest of Champaign.
It was reported that the station began broadcasting "in earnest." A special insert in the Champaign-Urbana Courier the following month featured the programming and details on the station's plans to include local origination with a newly constructed studio on the second floor of the Inman Hotel.
The original staff at WCHU included Vice President Milton Friedland, who had been with WICS since 1953 and would oversee the operation. Jerry Merrit was the Chief Engineer, and Jack Hoskins was the Program Director. All of the personnel would be located at WICS. At WCHU, the staff consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Eskew. Mr. Eskew was from WICS's technical services and would oversee the new station in Champaign. His wife was a former Traffic Manager and would serve as the station's Office Manager. Meanwhile, Jerry Dodds served as Account Executive, and Bob Daniels served as Announcer. Other Engineers on staff included Roger Thorp and Glen Horton.
By August of 1960, it was announced that WCHU would be able to broadcast in color, perhaps by the time of the 1960 World Series telecast. Milton D. Friedland stated that "color is here to stay...RCA and NBC have invested tremendously in developing color TV and will transmit every color show they have." The investment in color casting at WCHU was in the $15-20,000 range. Friedland announced some of the shows that would be broadcast in color by WCHU, including "Jack Paar, Perry Como, and Dinah Shore will all be in color." By then, though, WICS had been broadcasting in color for three years. Unfortunately, WICD, the Danville sister station, would not broadcast in color. The vintage 1953 transmitter for WICD could not be retrofitted to accommodate the equipment needed for color casting. I would assume that the investment in color-casting for the Danville station was not financially feasible, as a completely new transmitter would have been required. WICD would not broadcast an NBC signal in color until 1967.
At right is a photo of the WDAN Radio and Television Studios, probably taken sometime in 1953-54. The address is 1500 North Washington in Danville. It was built to fit into the residential neighborhood, sprouting all around the original transmitter site of WDAN Radio, built in 1938. See the original transmitter building at the History of WDAN.
(Photo courtesy of Neuhoff Broadcasting, where it hangs in the lobby area)
Here is the original home of WDAN-TV as it looked in 2007. It's now the home of WDAN(AM), WDNL(FM), and WRHK(FM). For a time, WICD (TV) used it as a news bureau located in the original TV station business office. In 2007, I was on the first live television broadcast from that facility since the early 1960s.
(photo by Doug Quick)
See more on the history of this facility in the history of WDAN and WDNL on this website.
This is the first of a series of anniversary segments for the 50th anniversary of the first UHF station in Champaign, Illinois. WICD was originally WCHU, channel 33 in Champaign. WCHU purchased WDAN-TV in 1960 and changed its call letters to WICD. WDAN-TV went on the air in late December of 1953. So, how old is WICD? Is it 50 or 55? Check out this report as broadcast on WICD on April 24, 2009. Of course, both lower-powered stations on channels 33 and 24 were combined in 1967 into a full-powered station on channel 15.
(YouTube)
Part 3 of a series of segments celebrating the history of WICD, Champaign, IL. This time Doug Quick talks with Bill Burow, the son of the first General Manager of WDAN-TV in Danville.
(YouTube)
Visit Part 2 of this series at The History of WCHU/WICD 1959-1967
Sources:
"Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Television" by Doug Quick
Broadcasting-Telecasting Magazine
The Urbana Courier
The Champaign News-Gazette
TV Guide© (1954-1959) from the Doug Quick Collection
Danville Public Library
Urbana Free Library
Various Contributors to YouTube
"The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Shows" by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh
"Total Television" by Alex McNeil
Contributors:
Bob Lee (Screen Grabs)
WICS, Channel 20, Springfield
Cindy Larson and others at WICS
John Eckert
Olav Christenson
J.R. Evans and his TV Guide© Collection
Mike Hulvey
Neuhoff Broadcasting-Danville
Don Russell
Sangamon Broadcasting-Danville
Kerry Wienke, Tom Fricke and the Vermilion County Farm Bureau
To continue to the WCHU-WICD Page
click on the image at left.