THE COLOR PIONEERS
Local Television Stations with Early Live Color Capability

Copyright 2006

Ed Reitan

[V1.00 (Revision k) 2006-11-21]

Colorcasting a Ford Thunderbird Commercial at KMTV, Omaha

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Transitioning to Color

Early Color Pioneers (1954, 1955, 1956)

Later Color Stations (1957-1961)

Industrial Color Installations

Notes on RCA Color Equipments

Acknowledgement

Transitioning to Color

Even before the adoption of the NTSC Color Standards, a number of pioneering local television stations had begun the conversion to color.  By January 1, 1954, some 22 stations were ready to carry the network feed of the Tournament of Roses Parade.  This was the result of a Herculean effort by AT&T to modify network circuits and by RCA to modify the transmitters of local NBC affiliates.  In the weeks before the January 1, 1954 Rose Parade, RCA had dispatched field technicians to stations across the country to verify the performance of transmitters along the coast-to-coast network.

In a short time, a significant number of stations made the early transition to local live color.  Surprisingly, this was in spite of the large investment required.  By the end of 1956, at least thirty-three stations were doing local live colorcasting – just three years after the start of color.

This can be compared to the relatively slow deployment of HDTV at the local station level.  See the "Transitioning to HDTV" write-up.

The first commercial live color camera was the TK-40A, based on the prototype TK-40 cameras used at NBC's Colonial Theater.  The first TK-40A deliveries were in February 1954 to CBS for its New York Studio 71 and to NBC for its Brooklyn Color Studio.  Later 1954 deliveries were made to CBS for its Hollywood Television City Color Studio and to NBC.

WKY-TV (Oklahoma City) received the first two TK-40A’s delivered to a local station.  Its local color operation started on April 8, 1954.  Following shortly, WBAP-TV (Dallas-Ft. Worth) made its first colorcast on May 15, 1954.  WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee) used a single TK-40A for its July 18, 1954 color start.  Two TK-40A’s were also delivered to KTLA, Los Angeles.

During its publication RCA Broadcast News provided articles describing stations, their management, and equipment configuration.  An RCA advertisement in the December 1956 Issue of Broadcast News (# 92) simply lists the call sign and city for 33 stations having live color television capability before the December 1956 date. 

This table was expanded by Ed Reitan to include below the channel, state, network affiliation (primary - secondary), date of first live colorcast(if known), and color equipment configuration as known.

To greatly improve my effort came Lytle Hoover who was the RCA Broadcast Equipment Division’s domestic Marketing Research Administrator from 1968 through 1982.  Lytle brought his extensive knowledge of sales of RCA color equipment during those years and the information he created in his “RCA Marketing Research TV Station Equipment Inventory Record” and from his data in the RCA “Live Color TV History” covering Station file folders & field trips.  Lytle lists the specific configuration of equipments at each station with their dates of delivery.  All of his additions and comments to my original work are highlighted in yellow.  My hat is tipped to Lytle Hoover for this excellent effort.  Thanks, Lytle!

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Early Color Pioneers (1954, 1955, 1956)

Here are the pioneering stations who had live NTSC color television capability in 1954 -1956.  Stations are ordered by State, and then City. 

Call Sign	Channel	City	State	Affiliation	Date	Facilities
KJEO	47	Fresno	CA	ABC	Sept 1956	TK-41 (1) [ref 6]
KRCA (now KNBC)	4	Los Angeles	CA	NBC O&O	1956-1960	Eventually TK-26 Film (5) TK40A/TK41C (10) [ref 5]
KTLA	5	Los Angeles	CA	Ind.	mid-1954 1963 - 1966	TK-40A (2) in a Remote Van [KTLA colorcast the 1955 Rose Parade] (3) in the Red Skelton Mobile unit TK-41 (2) [ref 5]
KRON	4	San Francisco	CA	NBC	< Dec. 1956 1957	TK-41C (1) TK-26 Film(2)
WTVJ	4	Miami	FL	NBC (later CBS)	1956	TK-41 (1) [ref 6]
WNBQ (now WMAQ)	5	Chicago	IL	NBC O&O	April 1956	TK-41 (5) [ref 6] 2 more added later & operational until 1970
WGN	9	Chicago	IL	Ind.-DuM	1956 1959 1960 1960	TK-41 (1) TK-26 (1) TK-41 (1) [ref 5] TK-41 (4) Comiski Pk TK-41 (4)Wrigley Fld
WFBM (now WRTV)	6	Indianapolis	IN	NBC	1956	TK-41 (1) [ref 6]
KARD (now KSNW)	3	Wichita	KS	NBC	< Dec. 1956	TK-41 (1) see Kris Trexler's Site [ref 3]
WDSU	6	New Orleans	LA	NBC	1956	TK-41 (1) [ref 6]
WBAL	11	Baltimore	MD	NBC	1956 1959	TK-41 (2), TK-26(1) TRT-1B(1) [Ref. 5]
WJBK	2	Detroit	MI	CBS	1956	TK-41 (1), TK-26(1) [Ref. 6]
WCCO	4	Minneapolis	MN	CBS	June 1955	TK-41 (1) [Ref. 6]
KCMO (now KCTV)	5	Kansas City	MO	CBS-ABC	< Dec. 1956	TK-41 (1)
WBTV	3	Charlotte	NC	CBS	May 1956	TK-41 (1) TK-26 (2) "Chromascan" Color Opaque Camera [Modified TK-4A (2)]
KMTV	3	Omaha	NE	NBC	Sept. 1955 Jan. 1956	TK-41 (originally 2 then 3), TK-26(1) First All-Day Color by any station  April 1960
WBEN (Now WIVB)	4	Buffalo	NY	CBS-ABC	Dec. 1954	TK-41 (1) [ref.6]
WRCA (now WNBC)	4	New York	NY	NBC WNBC shared Network Studios	1955-1960	TK-41 (25) [ref. 5]
WCBS	2	New York	NY	CBS (includes Network Studio 71)	1956 1962	TK-40A (1) obtained from Philco Ref. [6] TK-41C (6) [Ref. 5]
WCMH	4	Columbus	OH	NBC	1956	TK-41 (3) [ref.5]
WKY	4	Oklahoma City	OK	NBC	April 8, 1954	[First Live local Station] TK-40A (2), TK-4A slide, TK-26 film (fall, 1954)
KGW	8	Portland	OR	NBC	< Dec. 1956	TK-41 (2)
WJAC	6	Johnstown	PA	NBC	1956 1955 1964	TK-41C (2) TK-26 film (1) TK-41C (2 more) [Ref. 5]
WGAL	8	Lancaster	PA	NBC-ABC-DuM	1957 1958	TK-41(2) [ref. 6] (First shows: Romper Room & News) RCA TRT-1B
WRCV (Later WPTZ NOW KYW)	3	Philadelphia	PA	NBC O&O (Now CBS O&O)	1954	TK-41 (1)
WFIL (now WPVI)	6	Philadelphia	PA	ABC-DuM	1956	TK-41 (1)[ref.6] "American Bandstand" was initially in Color using a single TK-41.
WCAU	10	Philadelphia	PA	CBS	1956	TK41 (2) (Taken out of service in 1958 when CBS bought TV station & went back to B/W) [Ref. 6] Modified TK-26 for Opaques
WBRE	28	Wilkes-Barre	PA	NBC	1956	TK-41 (1)
WBAP	5	Fort Worth	TX	NBC-ABC	May 15, 1954	[Second Live Station] TK-40A (2), TK-4A slide, TK-26 film (Dec., 1954)
WOAI	4	San Antonio	TX	NBC	< Dec. 1956	TK-41 [Ref. 6]
KOMO	4	Seattle	WA	NBC	1956	TK-41C (2) TK-26 film (1) [Ref. 6]
KHQ	6	Spokane	WA	NBC-ABC	Sept 54 Jan. 1955 April 1956	Slide & Bars  TK-26 (1)  TK-41 (2) in Mobile Truck May 56 Lilac Festival
WTMJ	4	Milwaukee	WI	NBC	July 18, 1954 1965	[Third Live Station] TK-40A (1), TK-4A slide, TK-26 film (November, 1954) TK-41C(2) [Ref. 5]
WSAZ	3	Huntington	WVA	NBC	1957	TK-41 (1), WSAZ Claimed to be the 12th station in the U.S (excluding the 5 RCA-owned stations) to install live color [ref. 4].

References:

[ref. 1]  #81, December 1954 “RCA Broadcast News”, WKY, WBAP, & WTMJ.

[ref. 2]  #92, December 1956 “RCA Broadcast News”, List of Live Color Stations (all above)

[ref. 3]  Kris Trexler’s KARD Site at http://www.kingoftheroad.net/kard.html.

[ref. 4]  WSAZ Correspondence with Bill Sutherland, Tucson, AZ, Sept. 19, 2001.

[ref. 5]..Lytle Hoover’s RCA Marketing Research TV Station Equipment Inventory Record

[ref. 6]..Lytle Hoover’s data in “Live Color TV History” Station file folders & field trips

[ref. 7]..RCA Inventories – Other Military that would use TK-41s were: Griffis AFB,

Lowry AFB, Wright-Patterson AFB, Hill AFB, Ft. Richie, NASA-MD, Aberdeen Proving Ground-MD.

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Later Color Stations (1957-1961)

Five years later the April 1961 Broadcast News (No. 92) “Color ‘61” Issue identified additional stations with local live color.  The slow-down of color television during the late ‘50s is evident with only five new stations added to the “color pioneer” list.

Call Sign	Channel	City	State	Affiliation	Date	Facilities
WFGA-TV (Now WTLV)	12	Jacksonville	FL	NBC	Sept. 1, 1957 1962	TK-41 (2) TK-26 (2) TRT-1AC VTRs (2) [Ref. 5]
WHDH-TV	5	Boston	MA	CBS	Nov. 1957	TK-41 (4) TK-26 (2) TRT-1AC (2) [Ref. 5]
WWLP	22	Springfield	MA	NBC	Sept. 1957	TK-26 (1956) TK-41 (2) http://www.wwlp.com/tv22/past/1950.html
KSTP	5	St. Paul	MN	NBC	1958(5) 1961(3) 1966(1) 1956 (1) 1959 (2) ref.[6]	TK-41C (5), IN 35’Mobile Vans  TK-41C (1), TK-26(1)  Film, TRT1B/TR-2 VTR
WLWT	5	Cincinnati	OH	NBC	Aug. 1957 (Aug. 9, 1957 Ruth Lyon Show) 1964	"Mobile Control Room to Serve Four Crosley  Stations" TK-41C (3), TK-41C (2 more) [Ref. 5]

The Image Orthicon pick-up tubes used in live color cameras were expensive and had limited life.  The periodic cost of re-tubing the three tubes in each camera strained the budget of local stations.  Lighting and air conditioning costs were greatly increased.

Eventually, many stations dropped regular live color productions, or (as KMTV-Omaha practice) only did live color for the noon news and adjoining local/women’s programs.  The color cameras would be shut down, and the 6:00 and 10:00 PM news done in black and white.  Eventually by the late 1950’s, the live TK-41 color cameras were left dark, and stations didn’t even keep their TK-26 hot to allow for color slide/film inserts.

In 1958, General Electric introduced its three orthicon live camera and film scanner.  Little is known of stations that used this competing General Electric live color camera.  Ed Ellers has reported that KVOO in Tulsa had a single GE 3-IO camera.   Lytle Hoover’s inventories indicated KRLD-TV, Dallas had 8 of these units, as well as 1 at KJTV Bakersfield, CA and 2 at WRGB-TV, General Electric Broadcasting’s TV Station in Schenectady, NY.  Readers are requested to identify other stations that used the early image orthicon G.E. color camera. 

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Industrial Color Installations

A number of installations supported color production, post-production and special industrial use.  Additional military installations are listed in Reference 7 above.

Call Sign	Channel	City	State	Affiliation	Date	Facilities
Skelton Studios	Color Pgm. Productn’ ”RED-EO-Tape”	Holywood ”Chaplin Studios” Renamed “Skelton Studios”	CA	NA Red Skelton Show	Sept. 1960	Mobile 40' Color Vans (3) TK-41C (3)TK-26 (2) AMPEX Color VTRs ($1M investment)
Glenn-Armistead	Color Pgm Productn’	Hollywood Glen-Glenn Post	CA	NA	1960	Tractor Trailers (2) 25 kW Generators TK-41C (4) TK-26 RCA Color VTRs (2)
Radio Corp. of America	Mobile Color Unit	New York	NY	NBC	January 1, 1954 (Many NBC 1954 and 1955 Remotes)	TK-41 (2) New Unit First Used for 1954 Rose Parade; Ak-Sar-Ben Coronation (KMTV); Mummers Parade (WCAU):  Indianapolis 500 (WFBM)
Reeves	Color Pgm Post Productn’	New York