I’ll Tell You A Secret If You Promise Not To Tell

On December 8, 2014 - TV History

Picture Parade 4…I’ll Tell You A Secret If You Promise Not To Tell

This is a shot from the Control Room of CBS Studio 72 in New York…the only color facility the network had in the east. On stage, we see four RCA TK41 color cameras, but can you spot the fifth one?

Yes, that’s it at the side of the stage with a dust cover. Here’s the secret. That camera is the TK40 that CBS asked Philco to buy for them on the sly. After RCA won the color war, CBS was mad as hell, but knew that color was coming and like it or not, they had to see what was under the hood, but didn’t want to give RCA the satisfaction of becoming one of their first color customers so they paid Philco to buy it and a few color monitors. Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee

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4 Comments

  1. Bill Shrode December 9, 2014

    This same shot I believe was in color on the cover of the old “radio Electronics magazine. It was like a 1954 or so issue. I still have it somewhere I think. My dad was taking a subscription while he was schooling @ “DeForest” (later DeVry, before Bell and Howell got involved) Institute, in Chicago.

  2. John Schipp December 9, 2014

    I should add that NBC was working a deal to swap WRCV for WNAC in Boston, thus sticking Group W with Cleveland, and pulling WBZ’s affiliation. NBC was not out to win any friends back then.

  3. John Schipp December 9, 2014

    There was no love lost between Philco and NBC, after the company went after NBC’S Philadelphia TV station. The network was about to have their licenses pulled for coercing Group W to swap it stations for NBC’S in Cleveland. Philco then filed for the soon to become vacant channel 3. In the end NBC and Group W swapped their stations, and Philco felt they had been overpowered at the FCC by RCA.

  4. Dennis Degan December 8, 2014

    And Mr Hooper’s Store is at the lower left, just out of view . . . . . 😉 (No, really; that’s where it would be, many years later).