Channels Analog: 21 (UHF) Owner WKLO radio First air date October 18, 1953 | Affiliations silent Founded October 18, 1953 Last air date April 20, 1954 | |
WKLO-TV was a UHF television station in Louisville, Kentucky that operated from October 18, 1953 to April 20, 1954.
History
WKLO-TV originally broadcast on channel 21 as an ABC and DuMont affiliate, using the personnel and facilities of WKLO radio. Since very few television sets at that time could receive a UHF signal, WKLO-TV was at a disadvantage against the two existing VHF stations, WAVE-TV and WHAS-TV. The Louisville market has always been fairly large geographically, and UHF stations have never carried very far across large areas. This made advertisers reluctant to purchase commercial time on the station. Due to channel 21's signal issues, ABC allowed WAVE-TV and WHAS-TV to cherry-pick its stronger programming. Under the circumstances, channel 21 never had a profitable audience and suspended operations in 1954 after just six months on air.
On July 13, 1956 WKLO-TV asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow it to use VHF Channel 7, which at the time was reserved for WTVW in Evansville, Indiana—a VHF/UHF intermixed market with channels 7, 14 and (then) 50 assigned—now Channel 25. WKLO-TV's request would have made Louisville's assignments channels 3, 7, and 11-all VHF, while Evansville would have channels 14, 21 and either 25, 32 or 50 as the third-all UHF. However, the FCC turned this request down, despite the FCC's "de-intermixture" market policies on VHF/UHF assignments. The transmitter site and tower were eventually used for WKLO-FM in 1962. Although Louisville was big enough to support three full network affiliates, ABC would not get a full-time affiliate in Louisville until WLKY-TV signed on in September, 1961. WKLO-TV changed calls to WEZI and did not surrender its CP until 1972. Channel 21 was not used again in Louisville until 1985 when WBNA signed on.