A Little Local Color…WSB TV, Atlanta December 16, 1965
A Little Local Color…WSB TV, Atlanta
On Thursday, December 16, 1965, WSB broadcast it’s first local color show with one RCA TK42. The show was ‘Today In Georgia’ hosted by television and radio veteran Ruth Kent. TIG aired at 9AM weekdays and was on for many years…I remember it well. By the way, I think WSB could transmit network color as early as 1957, but did not have local color origination ability till ’65.
WSB was Georgia’s first broadcaster of radio and television and an NBC affiliate until 1980, so they were on board with NBC’s decision to go all color in ’65. I think RCA may have helped this along. Because ‘The Popeye Club With Officer Don’ (Kennedy) was the top afternoon kids show outside NYC, RCA wanted to use the TK42 on it and the video tape of segments as a sales tool and demonstration.
I think this was the first field test of the new TK42 so WSB got a couple of the first ones off the line. The color of the kid’s clothes and the new set would be a perfect, hour long daily test of the camera but the camera was not the only thing tested. So were many nerves. It took months to get the color right and a couple of RCA techs stayed in Atlanta till they got the bugs worked out. Thanks to Bob Foreman for the picture and clipping.
Ah yes, “Today in Georgia,” which lasted all the way until 1976 if my memory serves correctly (with Nancy Scott hosting the later shows). I do believe the original ran at 9 am, however, as WSB would pick up the 10 am NBC offerings back in the 60’s.
My family got a color TV in ’67. It was in the shop (across from Northeast Plaza on Buford Hwy) about as much as being used at home. I got it to work for it’s longest period (about a year and a half in the late ’70s) by resoldering a tube socket.
I would have thought WSB went color sooner than this. WBTV in Charlotte NC went with local programming color in 1955 or so. Maybe not… There were color sets sold in Atlanta in the mid 1950’s for sure. I”ve seen several examples, and owned a CTC-5 that came from the ex-GM of WAGA in Atlanta.
It seemed like forever until we had a color tv. My Grandparents (all) had color before we did. The 4 of us kids were relentless in our persuit of color tv!
From what I’ve heard, it’s more like they got the color “close enough”.
Been able to read some engineering correspondence from the late 60’s regarding the 42’s, mostly regretting the purchase (which was also in the late 60’s). Blues were too noisy, and thus screwed up chroma keys. The station actually seems to have gone back to using their old 41’s up until they got 44’s in, they hated the 42’s so much!
and you can be sure the accents were so thick you could cut em with a knife