WHCT 1950S CBS Logo WHCT-TV, Channel 18 (ABC, DuMont, CBS, Independent) WHCT 1960s Subscription TV Logo Logo

Hartford, Connecticut (1954-1991)
The Colorful History Of Hartford's Most Unstable TV Station


Chapter One : Network Affiliation



Channel 18 first went on the air on August 4, 1954 as WGTH-TV, a DuMont/ABC affiliate owned by The Hartford Times newspaper. The station was sold to the CBS Television Network, in 1955. Channel 18 (now named WHCT originally for "Hartford CBS Television", contrary to some local folklore that it signified "Hartford, CT" or "Hartford Christian Television") swapped network affiliations with Channel 8, WNHC-TV (Now WTNH) in New Haven, CT to become the exclusive CBS owned and operated affiliate for the Hartford market in 1956.

A 1955 Ad for WGTH Programming
(Click picture for larger version) 		A 1958 Ad for CBS Game Show "Top Dollar" On 18
(Click picture for larger version) 		A 1958 Ad for a CBS showing of "Our Miss Brooks" reruns (Thanks to Stuart Cook for this ad!)
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The CBS affiliation did not last long, for 2 reasons. One reason was the lack of signal parity with early UHF transmitters and converters. The other reason was a new VHF station had taken up residence in Hartford. Channel 3 WTIC-TV (now WFSB), owned by the Travelers Insurance Corporation, went on the air in 1957 as an independent station. It did not take long for William Paley, shrewd network head that he was, to realize that it made good business sense to have his product on a powerful VHF station (albeit one that CBS did not own) than a weak powered, money-bleeding UHF station. By 1959, Channel 3 was the CBS outlet in Connecticut, and Channel 18 was sold to the General Tire Corporation, owners of WNAC-TV (now WHDH-TV) in Boston and WOR-TV (now WWOR) in New York, where it became a money-bleeding independent.
The Post CBS era begins
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On to Chapter 2: RKO's Pay TV Experiment
Back to the Intro Page