Television

Soon St. Louis Will Have a Second Television Station

When May 1953 rolls around, we’ll all have a new visitor to our homes, and a most welcome visitor, that’s certain. For next Spring our new television station will be on the air with a wealth of new programs we haven’t seen before in this area, bringing us top network stars and film stars and the best in sporting events.

The new TV station will be known as WTVI, the Signal Hill Broadcasting Corp. Its transmitter, one of the most powerful in the world, will be located high on the Illinois bluffs, just 6 ½ miles from downtown St. Louis. The station will be easily received by viewers located 50 and more miles around St. Louis in all directions.

Most of us didn’t think we’d have a new television station in St. Louis for at least a year, and best estimates were that it would be two years or even more. However, the Signal Hill Telecasting Corp. broke the bottleneck by the simple expedient of applying for a channel just across the Mississippi, on the highest ground around St. Louis. And since they were not tied up in a contest by other applicants for the same channel, they were able to bring us this early and most welcome grant of a new TV station.

WTVI will be on channel 54. This is in the ultra high frequency band that we’ve all been hearing so much about…That is why St. Louis and all the surrounding area for 50 and more miles in every direction is expectantly awaiting May, 1953, when one of the most powerful television stations in the world comes on the air [here]…

Besides having such tremendous power (220,000 watts) to bring us good television service, the new station is very advantageously located. The height of the television antenna is of utmost importance in bringing good pictures to the audience over a wide area. And WTVI’s antenna is located high on the Illinois bluffs, at the highest point of ground anywhere around St. Louis. Then the antenna itself will rise 600 feet above the tops of the bluff, completely dominating any structure in this great metropolitan area. By way of comparison, the tallest building in St. Louis, the Civil Courts Building, is 375 feet high. The Park Plaza Hotel is 310 feet high.

This is the biggest population center to be granted a TV station since the lifting of the freeze on TV stations by the Federal Communications Commission. The area of WTVI’s coverage encompasses over 2 ½ million people.

When the freeze was lifted there was a big rush by applicants to secure stations in the St. Louis area. Groups began contesting for the six channels which the FCC allocated to St. Louis. And best estimates as to when the contests would be resolved and another television station would get on the air here ran from a year to two years or more from this Spring. But one group of St. Louis radio and television men combining with a group of St. Louis businessmen, found a way to bring St. Louis another television station without the long wait.

In looking over the high ground at the western outskirts of Belleville as a possible transmitter site for their St. Louis television station, they became aware of the fact that there was a better way to go about getting their station on the air, and soon.

Instead of applying for one of the six stations allocated to St. Louis and then locating it on the East Side bluffs, as they first intended, they decided to apply for a channel which had been allocated to Belleville and located their station in the spot they had intended to from the beginning. By applying for the Belleville channel, which no one else seemed to be considering at the moment, they were uncontested and we granted their station right away.

The station will serve St. Louis and the entire surrounding area just as efficiently as if they had joined the long line in waiting for one of the six channels allocated to St. Louis. In fact, it will be more effective, not only because of getting on the air soon, but also because the terrain is perfect for the location of a TV station at that point on the Illinois bluffs.

WTVI, the Signal Hill Telecasting Corporation, was organized by Ben Wilson, John Hyatt and Ted Westcott, radio and television veterans, and by Paul Peltason and Harry Tennenbaum, St. Louis investment bankers. Ben Wilson and John Hyatt were KMOX account executives, and Ted Westcott is a producer-director for KSD-TV. Wilson has more than 22 years of radio and theater experience in many capacities. Hyatt has over 15 years experience in radio advertising sales and sales promotion. Ted Westcott has over 18 years in theater, radio and television, having been associated with WBKB, the pioneer television station in Chicago, with KMOX as producer of the popular “Land We Live In” series, with Gardner Advertising Agency, and with KSD-TV.

Westcott, who is vice-president in charge of programming of the new WTVI says that the station will carry a complete and well-rounded schedule of programs from network, supplemented by a fine list of sports programs and sporting events, a thorough news coverage, top film features and imaginative, entertaining local shows.

(Originally published in TV Review 12/20/1952). 

Wilma Sim has been stirring up audience approval as well as tasty recipes during her first month in the kitchen of the “Homemaking With KSD-TV” program. Miss Sim succeeded Esther Lee Bride on the daily, Monday through Friday television show April 3.

A graduate in home economics education from the University of Minnesota , Miss Sim formerly was associated with the home economics department of Swift & Co.

Miss Bride has returned to her full time duties with Union Electric Co.

(From the P-D Notebook May 1950).

Dial Position, Call Letters and Location All Changing

WTVI, Channel 54, has purchased the antenna and transmitter and leased the tower of Channel 36, formerly KSTM, St. Louis, owned by Broadcast House, Inc., subject to the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. WTVI will operate on Channel 36 from the studios and offices adjoining the antenna and tower on Berthold Ave., just east of Hampton Ave.

Also subject to Commission approval, the station proposes to change its call letters from WTVI to KTVI. This is in accordance with FCC regulations which allocate “W” call letters to stations east of the Mississippi and “K” call letters to stations west of the Mississippi.

Before the 1955 baseball season begins, WTVI intends to increase its power at the St. Louis site to one-half million watts, double its present power and twice the power of any UHF station in the entire midwest. An application for the power increase will be filed with the Federal Communications Commission in due course.

The move to the St. Louis site can be accomplished within one week of Commission approval, according to John D. Scheuer, executive vice-president and general manager.

(Originally published in the Ad Club Weekly 2/21/1955).

Changes Are Being Made on St. Louis’ First TV Show For Women

​John Roedel, announcer on the KSD staff for six years, became host of KSD-TV’s “To the Ladies” show March 16 [1953], and Betty Barnett of the directing staff took over as its producer-director. The change was made with the departure of Harry Honig, former host and producer, who moved to the West Coast to become associated with a business firm.

The show, to which Betty is now devoting full time, has taken on a new format, and includes interviews with members of women’s organizations as well as vacation tips, fashion ideas, household hints and a variety of other information of particular interest to women in the viewing audience.

The quiz portions of the show have been brightened by the addition of Stanley Kann, popular organist, to the regular complement, which enables inclusion of musical questions. He also provides accompaniment for singers appearing on the show for the first time.

Charlie Sherwood, who worked with Honig for some time, spearheads the special features department of the hour-long program heard at 12:15 p.m. Monday through Friday.

(Originally published in P-D Notebook 4/1953)

First Local Color Telecast Originated By KSD-TV On June 11, 1956

​The first live color telecast originated by a St. Louis station was presented by KSD-TV on June 11 [1956]. The show originated in a special studio on the ninth floor of the downtown store of Famous-Barr Company and marked the opening of an eight-day color television exhibit and demonstration staged by the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp. It was seen in color on approximately 400 sets in the area.

While the Post-Dispatch station has for several years been telecasting films and network programs in color, this was KSD-TV’s first live color show. It was produced by Frank Eschen, director of special events for the station, who also served as master of ceremonies.

Singer Vaughn Monroe headlined the half-hour program. He sang a medley of old favorite tunes, his newest record hit, “There She Goes,” and joined Charlotte Peters, star of KSD-TV’s weekday Charlotte Peters Show in “Share the Luck,” a tune which he recorded. Charlotte sang the song first in the Red Cross musical “Banners High,” which marked the Red Cross anniversary June 4. She learned the tune from Vaughn’s record, since she does not read music.

Appearing on the program were Mayor Raymond R. Tucker; Morton D. May of the Famous-Barr Company; George M. Burbach, general manager of the Post-Dispatch station; Howard Niepp, Midwestern regional sales manager for the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp., and Marge Moody, fashion coordinator for the department store, who presented a fashion show.

Others from the Post-Dispatch station appearing on the color telecast were Wilma Sim, home economist on the weekday Homemaking with KSD-TV program, and Harry Gibbs, who is known as Wrangler Texas Bruce to youthful televiewers.

Wilma exhibited a special fruit bowl in front of the television camera, made from a hollowed out watermelon half, and containing colorful cantaloupe balls, cherries, pineapple and other fruit.

Gibbs, who has accepted Hugh O’Brien’s challenge to all television cowboys who think they are faster on the draw than Wyatt Earp, was joined by Vaughn Monroe in a contest before the camera.

Also appearing on the initial color telecast were Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial. They participated in a baseball skit featuring Charlotte Peters on the mound. Charlotte sang a chorus of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” as a finale.

A Dumont color camera was used for the telecast in a special light-protected studio four by six feet in size. The camera was used after the telecast for in-store color telecasts on a closed circuit to 16 receivers.

The special program was directed by Keith Gunther, chief producer-director for KSD-TV. Technicians from the station working on the telecast included Elmer Peters, Eugene Burnett, Paul DeWitt and Monte Walpole. Also assisting were Charles Leroi and Bud Noerterman, stagehands.

(Originally published in the P-D Notebook, 7/1956).

Construction plans for a $200,000 plant for KSTM-TV were announced by William Ware, president of Broadcast House, Inc.

The 50 by 100 foot building for the Channel 36 UHF station will be built one block south of the Forest Park section. Construction bids are now being accepted.

KSTM-TV, an affiliate of Radio Station KSTL, will be a basic ABC network station and will also carry many CBS shows as well as local programs. Bill Ware says the station , with 275,000 watts of power, will be on the air no later than Sept. 1 [1953].

(Originally published in Ad Club Weekly 2/20/1953).