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WFMZ-TV, UHF analog channel 67, was an independent television station licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States, which broadcast from December 4, 1954, to April 15, 1955. Owned by the Penn-Allen Broadcasting Company, it was sister to radio station WFMZ (100.7 FM). WFMZ-TV failed due to economic issues inherent in early UHF broadcasting and the availability of network-affiliated stations from Philadelphia.
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| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Independent |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Penn-Allen Broadcasting Company, Inc. |
| WFMZ (FM) | |
| History | |
First air date | December 4, 1954 |
Last air date | April 15, 1955 (132 days) |
| Technical information | |
| ERP | 79.4 kW |
| HAAT | 970 ft (300 m)[1] |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°33′59″N 75°26′03″W |
Two decades after WFMZ-TV's short existence, WFMZ radio's new owners started another television station using the same call letters in 1976, which still operates.
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The owners of FM radio outlet WFMZ received a construction permit for a new channel 67 television station in Allentown on July 16, 1953; the grant came after radio station WHOL withdrew its competing application for the channel.[2] The station's studios, located along North 7th Street Pike at Grape Street,[3] were the third-largest in Pennsylvania.[4] When the 500-foot (150 m) tower was completed, officials climbed it and smashed a bottle of champagne against the top of the mast, christening it "Miss Ultra High".[5]
The station began broadcasting December 4, 1954; it relied on live and local programming as its primary attraction, though it also aired some syndicated shows. The station's local productions included a version of the franchised Romper Room children's program, teenage dance program Bandstand 67, and a live Saturday Nite Hoedown.[4] However, few watched. Its inability to secure network affiliation was costly at a time when viewers felt they were already well served by network affiliates from Philadelphia.[6] Additionally, Penn-Allen was in a dispute over unpaid money from some of its stockholders, who had not invested promised amounts in the firm. As a result, Penn-Allen announced the "temporary" suspension of operations of WFMZ-TV, to take place on April 15, 1955; it hoped to return the station to the air when the disputes were settled.[7]
After the station failed, Penn-Allen Broadcasting Company made a push at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow the station to serve as a trial outlet for one of several competing subscription television systems, an idea that met opposition from fellow Lehigh Valley UHF outlet WLEV-TV, the National Association of Broadcasters and CBS.[8] As a result, the FCC rejected the idea in March 1956, stating that it wanted to study the "whole question" of subscription television.[9] The FCC's denial did not deter Kohn, who testified in front of a United States Senate committee in April 1956, advocating for a subscription television authorization in order to allow WFMZ-TV as a whole to return to service.[10] As late as 1958, Kohn was still advocating for such demonstrations and called their opponents the "same interests who choked off FM and UHF".[11] The construction permit was not canceled until November 1964.[12]
The channel 67 building was sold in 1958 and converted to other commercial uses.[3][13] However, it almost was returned to its original purpose nearly a decade later. Mack Trucks, which was headquartered in Allentown, filed in March 1967 for a construction permit for a station on channel 69[14]—the FCC UHF table of allotments having been overhauled two years prior—and was granted the permit in mid-July.[15] Mack then expressed interest in the former WFMZ-TV studios.[13] The station, which Mack claimed would have been affiliated with a major network,[12] was eventually tabled in 1968, after Mack determined it could not secure an affiliation.[16][17]
Kohn would buy full ownership of WFMZ radio in 1958;[18] the station was sold two more times in the next decade.[19] More than a decade after Maranatha Broadcasting Company had acquired WFMZ in 1964—and more than 20 years after the first WFMZ-TV closed down—the company filed to build a new WFMZ-TV, pointing out that Allentown had not had a TV station since channel 67's demise.[20] The new station signed on November 25, 1976.[21]
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