WTVH-TV, Channel 19, Peoria, IL
also known as WIRL-TV, WRAU and WHOI
1953-Present

WWXL Group Applies for Channel 19-Peoria

 

In mid-July of 1952, Hilltop Broadcasting applied for Channel 19. Hilltop was the current WWXL Radio licensee, already in Peoria. The application details listed the station's power output at 90.8kw with a relatively short tower/antenna height of 275 feet. The construction cost was $155,000, with an operating cost of $155,000, and revenue during its first year of operation was $255,000. The studio and transmitter were listed at 235 S. Jefferson (Jefferson and Liberty Avenue) in downtown Peoria. The principals of Hilltop were listed as President Hugh R. Norman (president and majority stockholder of KSTT in Davenport, Iowa) and Walter F. Kean (consulting radio engineer in Riverside, Illinois). The owners, by their frugal investment in the facility compared to that of West Central Broadcasting, had inadvertently set the tone for the culture of Channel 19 for years to come as having less stature than that of Channel 25.

 

FCC Grants Construction Permits

 

The first group to be granted a license was West Central Broadcasting, the owners/operators of WEEK Radio in Peoria. The studio location was updated at 2907 Springfield Road in Groveland Township. The grant was issued in late August of 1952.

 

The FCC would take several months to issue the subsequent Peoria television station construction permit. Still, by December of 1952, Hilltop Broadcasting, operators of WWXL Radio, was granted a permit to proceed with construction. Hilltop Broadcasting chose the call letter of WTVH-TV for its proposed television station. The FCC approved the call letters in mid-February 1953.

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WTVH-TV Modifies the Application

 

With the construction of WTVH-TV well underway, Hilltop attempted to move the site of the transmitter/tower to a site in Creve Coeur, Illinois. In early May, the FCC refused the application, sighting the move would violate minimum channel separations.

 

The listed reason was the possible short distance and channel separation between channels 20 and 26 in Springfield and its location at channel 19. Later, in June of 1953, the FCC granted a special temporary permit to locate the transmitter and studio at Creve Coeur, the 1953 site of the radio station WWXL(AM).

 

There was also a report of a request to eliminate channel 26 from the Springfield allocation table and move it to channel 66. The channel was designated for educational purposes but was never applied for or granted. I'm not sure of the validity of this as it was reported in Broadcasting-Telecasting. Channel 19 would have seen more co-channel interference with WICS at channel 20 and themselves at channel 19. It may have been falsely reported in the record. Either way, it appeared the FCC never acted on the issue.

 

So viewers north of Springfield and south of Peoria would be dealing with co-channel tuning issues between Channel 19 and 20 for years once the power increases of both UHF stations would reach maximum outputs years later.

 

In August 1953, WTVH requested to extend its completion date to February 17, 1954, as many stations would do. Equipment rushes, and delays forced many stations to delay completion dates past their original projections. The FCC would only issue so many extensions to prevent the possible profiteering that was reported to take place in some markets, as groups not intending to put a station on the air would sell their permits to the highest bidder.

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WTVH Goes on the Air

 

It was reported that WTVH-TV was beginning to broadcast a test pattern on August 20, 1953, with plans to proceed with commercial broadcasting on Thursday, September 1. Hugh R. Norman, WTVH president, made the announcement. The only account of the sign-on was found in the Bloomington Pantagraph. The article also included more information about the owner of WTVH-AM/TV, Hugh Norman. Mr. Norman was the son of Mrs. G. H. Brinegar of 303 W. Willow Street in Normal. His mother was married to the late Mr. Norman Senior until he died in 1933. He was a former teacher at Illinois State Normal College for many years.

 

The station's production director, Don Roper, said the station was equipped with a 1-kilowatt RCA transmitter and antenna, giving the station an effective radiated power of 24,000 watts. It was reported that the reception of WTVH-TV in Bloomington-Normal was poor. The program schedule of Channel 19 would begin at 5:30 pm to around midnight on weekdays and Saturdays. The Sunday schedule began at 12:45 pm to around midnight. The newspaper article also included the fact that WTVH-TV was of a much lower power than the other Peoria station, WEEK-TV.

 

The October issue of Broadcasting-Telecasting contained an ad for WTVH-TV listing the Peoria area market with a population of 650,000. It also listed the distances between Peoria and the closest VHF stations to the market. Peoria was 140 miles from Chicago, 85 miles from Rock Island, 160 miles from St. Louis, and 115 from Quincy. This placed the Peoria market as a current UHF island with no direct VHF competition as long as the channel 8 applications were not decided and one was not issued.

 

WTVH-TV, in the ad, was also claiming to be “interconnected and on the air!” ABC, CBS, and DuMont programming was being broadcast and represented by the national advertising rep firm Edward Petry Company.

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WTVH Becomes ABC Primary Affiliate Number 175

 

WTVH was already broadcasting programming via kinescope from CBS, ABC, and DuMont but, in November of 1953, became a primary affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company. This would put WTVH-TV in line for ABC's first choice of programming, placing its affiliation with CBS and DuMont into a secondary position.

 

It appears that CBS was holding out in its primary affiliation contract for the issuance of a permit for VHF channel 8. Over the next year, CBS shows would float in and out of the programming schedule of WTVH-TV until it would latch onto channel 8 or another UHF station later in the decade. Politics were probably the reason for the fact that CBS didn't immediately seek affiliation with WTVH-TV. One of the applicants was WMBD Radio, a heritage CBS Radio Network affiliate at that time. That allowed WMBD some leverage for the network if it was to receive the grant for channel 8 or even some future allocation on the UHF band. The ABC primary affiliation was only temporary, as CBS would soon become the primary network for WTVH.

 

Once it becomes evident that the issuance of a permit for Channel 8 would be, at the very least, delayed several years if it were to be granted at all, CBS would make an affiliation agreement offer to Channel 19. A year after going on the air, WTVH-TV would become a primary affiliate of CBS, placing ABC in a secondary position until January 1, 1958. More on that later.

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WTVH-TV Power Increase Grants

 

Channel 19, WTVH-TV was finally granted a modified construction permit to change the station's power output to an effective radiated power of 97.7kw from a tower at 280 feet. The studio, transmitter, and tower location was now approved to be at a permanent location at the corner of Stewart and Leonard Streets, Creve Coeur, Illinois. This would significantly limit the coverage area of WTVH-TV compared with its direct competition, WEEK-TV. Channel 25 would have a power output more than twice that of Channel 19 from a tower twice as tall.

 

Hilltop Broadcasting Sells

 

By April 1954, it became evident that WTVH-TV was a distant number two in a two-station race for Peoria area viewers and advertisers. Hilltop appeared to be faltering, with the radio and television properties losing ground to WEEK and WEEK-TV. As I mentioned, this situation established a culture between the Peoria television stations lasting 60 years.

 

It was just a short time earlier that the two Peoria newspapers were merging. The Morning Star and the Afternoon Journal would merge under one roof and purchase a majority share in Hilltop Broadcasting. Before the buy-out by the Peoria Journal-Star, Hilltop ownership had Hugh R. Norman and L.W. Hicks owning 55% interest, with the Peoria Journal holding 36% interest, with the rest of the shares being held by a few minority stockholders.

 

In May of 1954, the FCC approved the transaction of the newspaper buy-out. The newly formed Peoria Journal-Star would purchase 55% of the shares from Mr. Norman and Mr. Hicks. Both former stockholders would receive $55,000 each, and the newspaper would assume liabilities of $155,000. This would give the Peoria Journal-Star 91% of the stock of the radio and television properties. WWXL Radio (1590 kc) was an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System, while WTVH-TV was listed as an affiliate of ABC, CBS, and DuMont. After the sale, the company name Hilltop Broadcasting would continue.

 

The list of the principals of the Peoria-Journal Star is as follows: President Carl P. Slane, Executive Vice-President Henry P. Slane, Treasurer L.A. Welch; Secretary W. L. Rutherford; Commercial-National Bank, Carl P. Slane, and Elizabeth P. Talbott, co-trustees under the will of Henry M. Pindell, First National Bank, trustee under the will of Fannie G. Baldwin.

 

WTVH and the Army-McCarthy Hearings

 

Like many early ABC affiliates, Channel 19 would expand its daytime schedule by broadcasting the Army-McCarthy Hearings. ABC offered local commercial time to its affiliates, and many took advantage by selling commercials for the real-life soap opera unfolding on national television. Plus, at the time, ABC offered no regular daytime programming.

 

WTVH sold commercial time to the Famous Appliance Store of Peoria, more than likely ads featuring television sets and UHF converters, along with the washers, dryers, and maybe even dishwashers to viewers in Peoria.

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WTVH-TV Increases Power and Becomes a CBS Affiliate

 

WTVH-TV would apply for and receive a permit to increase power in August 1954 to 214kw, bringing a more robust signal within its coverage area. Still, it would continue broadcasting from a relatively short tower/antenna at only 290 feet. The station announced plans for a new building, tower, RCA 12.5kw transmitter, and equipment that would give it a 225kw ERP by October 1, 1954. Channel 19 also had plans for an expansion into local programming.

 

The following month, on the heels of WEEK-TV announcing its capability to broadcast CBS network color programs locally in color, WTVH-TV would pull the rug out from under Channel 43. In mid-September of 1954, WTVH-TV signed on with the CBS Television Network as a primary interconnected affiliate effective immediately. This change in primary affiliation would place programming from ABC in a secondary level of prominence when it came to the schedules. This move would more than likely increase network compensation to the station while locking in its leading television network and reducing its syndicated programming costs. CBS offered a full slate of programs from morning to night, whereas ABC had a limited, mostly late afternoon to prime schedule.

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WTVH Increases Power with a Celebration

 

With installing a new RCA 12.5kw transmitter, WTVH-TV would go from 24kw to 214kw of effective radiated power. The power increase took place on November 6, 1954, with Henry P. Slane, president of Hilltop Broadcasting, throwing the switch. At the same time, WTVH-TV celebrated its first year of broadcasting and added CBS as the primary television network. Mr. Slane also announced the plans for an ultra-modern studio and the renovation of its present facility to include the installation of a Vidicon film chain and color TV equipment. The station was also adding AP Photofax and CBS Newsfilm to its ability to broadcast news programming.

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WTVH-TV Gets New Tower with a Power Increase

 

In August of 1955, WTVH-TV made another significant investment in its future by purchasing a 1000-foot tower to which a new antenna would be mounted. According to Hilltop Broadcasting’s Edward G. Smith, general manager, the tower and antenna would be “the highest man-made structure above ground in Illinois.” The tower would be constructed in sections by Dresser-Ideco Company of Columbus, Ohio, and located at the current 240-foot tower site at Creve Coeur, Illinois.

 

The station will also install a new RCA transmitter, increasing the effective radiated power to 500kw. This improvement of facilities and being the primary CBS affiliate in the market would certainly help make the station a major player in central Illinois broadcasting.

 

The following month, WTVH-TV was seeking modification of its construction permit to change the effective radiated power to 171kw from a new 1055-foot tower. The installation of its transmitter to allow it to to a half-million watts was still pending.

 

In October of 1955, there seemed to be a change in the expansion of the WTVH-TV regarding its new 1000-foot tower and power output. Without explanation, WTVH-TV amended its application to change the effective radiated power to 18kw with an antenna height of 608 feet. The October 24, 1955 edition of Broadcasting-Telecasting reported that the FCC granted the last request for lesser power output and tower height improvements. Once again, the public image of WTVH-TV would suffer, but the expansion would resume later.      

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