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Even before World War II ended, broadcasters nationwide were preparing ventures into commercial television.  With introduction of mass-manufactured television receivers still two years in the future, television broadcasting was considered a gamble of substantial capital required to put a station on the air.

By the summer of 1944, 65 applicants from 24 states filed requests with FCC to construct television stations.  According to Communications magazine, only one Florida city was represented in the batch of original filings--Jacksonville.

By 1945, long runs of coaxial cable began creeping across the United States in a  joint venture by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Southern Bell, and A. T. & T.'s Long Lines Department.

These cables would eventually carry programming feeds from several national television networks to affiliates. 

The Broadcast Engineering Journal predicted that by the end of 1950, network service would be available in over 40 cities, as far north as Minneapolis, Minn., as far south as Jacksonville, Fla., and as far west as Omaha, Neb. 

Per FCC Report 1561, Jacksonville Broadcasting Corporation received a permit to proceed with construction of a television station to broadcast on channel 1, then 56-62 mc.

In 1946, FCC revised its roster of television and FM broadcast channels.  It also shifted those frequency bands and limited channel 1 (44-50 mc.) usage to low power community TV stations and eventually re-allocated the spectrum space to fixed and mobile (two-way) radio services. Channel 1 disappeared and Jacksonville Broadcasting Corporation received a replacement Construction Permit in 1946 for channel 4.

 
EARLY JACKSONVILLE TV STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMITS

1944-1956

 CALL                            CHANNEL                 YEAR ISSUED
WMBR-TV                       1/4                            1944 (1), 1946 (4)

WPDQ-TV                        10*                           1946

WJAX-TV                           2*                           1946

WJHP-TV                         36                            1946

WOBS-TV                        30*                          1953

WFGA                               12                           1956

* = Didn't get on the air

After a national post-war television station licensing boom, FCC received many complaints of interference between stations due to spectrum overcrowding.

In October 1948,  FCC stopped issuing construction permits for new television stations.  Permits issued before 10/48 were not affected as long as permitees made progress toward putting their stations on the air. 

At first, this temporary "freeze" was slated to be brief, a matter of months, but other issues such as utilization of newly-created UHF TV channels and debate over a standardized color television format led to the freeze not being lifted until July 1952.

Jacksonville's first television station, WMBR-TV, began broadcasting in September 1949 on channel 4.

After the freeze, only WJHP-TV took to the local airwaves on UHF channel 36.  

It would not be until 1957 that Jacksonville got another television station.  For about a month during that year, Jacksonville had three commercial TV stations.  But WJHP-TV's UHF station went dark shortly after WFGA signed on.

Most television sets in the 1950s came equipped only for VHF (channels 2-13) reception.  UHF capability required a bulky set-top converter box or an internal tuner modification.

The inferior characteristics of UHF equipment and antennas in those days plus a dearth of potential advertisers and viewers led to WJHP-TV's demise.  

JACKSONVILLE TELEVISION STATION LOG 1949-1980

CALL      CHANNEL    DATE(S)             NETWORK AFFIL.

WMBR-TV    4           Sept. 1949                   CBS, (NBC, ABC)  

WJHP-TV    36         Dec. 1953-Oct. 1957   Dumont, ABC, NBC

WFGA        12            Sept. 1957                   NBC

WJCT          7            Sept. 1958                   PBS

WJKS-TV    17           Feb. 1966                    ABC

WXAO         47           Aug. 1980

WAWS        30            Dec. 1980

NOTES:

Before 1946, television experimenters built their own receivers.

RCA started selling the first mass-produced television receiver during September 1946.  Its screen measured 10 inches diagonally and the set had 30 vacuum tubes and seven front panel controls. 

By the end of 1947, there were fewer than 100 television sets in Jacksonville.

When WMBR-TV signed on in Fall 1949, its signal coverage area population was approximately 94,000 with an estimated 3,000 TV receivers in Jacksonville. The number of sets grew to 70,000 by 1953.

In the early 1950s, local television stations didn't start programming until mid to late afternoon.  Most programming was local and network feeds were primitive.

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THE CITY'S WJAX-TV VENTURE

By Billy Williams, N4UF

Jacksonville City Budget booklets provide insight into ill-fated plans to build WJAX-TV.

No, not the current channel 47...but the city's efforts led by Station Manager/Chief Engineer John T. Hopkins III to get a license to broadcast on channel 2. 

John Hollister, W4FWZ gave me a set of Jacksonville City Budget booklets dating back to 1913.  John served as City Auditor for many years before retiring and opening Jacksonville's first Amateur Radio store at 1747 Pearl St. circa 1970.

WJAX's Hopkins became concerned with AM radio's declining fortunes on the post WWII landscape.  FM broadcasting caught Hopkins interest when he attended a national conference in early 1944.

In 1949, WJAX-FM came on the air to become one of a trio of FM stations in Jacksonville during the early 1950s.

A bespectacled and towering 6' 6" engineer, Hopkins pushed to expand WJAX into television too.  FCC granted permission to construct WJAX-TV in 1946.

But getting on the air proved very difficult.  A delay in starting construction was caused by what was described as a "local financial mixup" in filings to convince FCC to extend the permit. Possibly these financial difficulties were related to a bond issue referenced in the 1950 budget.

Though WJAX promised to step up the pace, a skeptical FCC charged station officials with a "lack of diligence" in getting on the air.

WJAX-TV AND THE CITY BUDGET

WJAX-TV first appeared in the 1949 City Budget booklet which estimated revenues and expenditures for 1950. These figures apparently predicted a mid-1950 sign-on.  The budget includes the notation (1/2 Year 1950) and projected expenses as follows:

Director of Television----------$2600     Maintenance Supervisor--$2,400

Secratary & Program Asst.--$1200     Operators--------------------$1,855

Film & Slide Man--------------$1,800     Announcers, Part-Time----$1,200

Miscellaneous Supplies------$6,000      Misc.Maintenance---------$1,000

Electricity-------------------------$800     Program Costs-------------$31,795

News & Multiscope-------------$2,600    Transporation----------------$250

Solicitation & Promotion-------$1,500  Interest & Reserves---$13,750

TOTAL TV BUDGET--------$68,750    

TOTAL RADIO BUDGET--$300,000

These figures were included for WJAX-TV in the 1951 City of Jacksonville Budget:

SALARIES

Technical---------------------------------------------------$4,255

Programming----------------------------------------------$5,000

Sales--------------------------------------------------------$1,500

General (Admin)------------------------------------------$1,500

MATERIAL & SUPPLIES

Antenna, Speech Input, Cameras, Remote Pickup, Transmitter, Tubes, Miscellaneous, Buildings----------------------------------$6,120

CONTRACTUAL SERVICES

Program Material & Services-----------------------------$22,500

News & Multiscope------------------------------------------$2,600

Electricity-----------------------------------------------------$800

Sales Commissions----------------------------------------$4,500

Insurance-----------------------------------------------------$6,900

BOND ISSUE TO FINANCE WJAX-TV

Debt Service : Issue 1950 (Bonds) Reserve-----------$5,250

OUTLOOK TURNS GRIM

By the middle of 1950, no construction was underway.  Though exempt from the license freeze, FCC's dismay about lack of progress by WJAX led to deletion of its permit in July.  

WJAX appealed but got little sympathy in court though FCC promised to allow Hopkins and WJAX to file again later.

The FCC television license freeze continued while FCC studied which color television standard to adopt, how to allocate non-commercial, educational licenses, addition of more television channels and a better national allocation scheme. The Commission also withdrew its previous allocation of channel 2 to Jacksonville.

The City of Jacksonville statement of "Estimated Revenues and Expenditures for 1952" itemized:

Salaries, Program Expense, Technical Expense, Selling Expense, General Expense-----------------------$1

Supplies, Selling & General----------$1

Material & Supplies; Equipment Maintenance & Operation (To include antenna, speech input, remote pickup, tubes, miscellaneous and buildings)---------------------------------$1

Program Material & services, News & Multiscope, Electricity, Representatives Commissions------$1

Transportation--------------------------$1

Station Relations: Solicitation-------$1

TOTAL TV---------------------------------$6

In 1952, FCC lifted the freeze and WJAX-TV's lines in the City Budget were restored in the 1953 budget but included this disclaimer:

(CONTINGENT UPON  CONSTRUCTION)

Manager  (1/2)----------$6,000       Supervisor of Maintenance--$6,000

Program Director-------$5,000        Transmitter Operators----$14,000

Production Supervisor--$6,000         Announcers (3)-------------$9,000

Film Supervisor----------$4,000             Artist------------------------$2,500

Camera & Studio Crews-$30,000       Projectionists (2)----------$5,000

News & News Film------$12,000            Program Costs---------$80,000

Office Secretary & Billing Clerks (2)---------------------------------$6,000

Janitor Service-----------------------------------------------------------$2,500

Supplies, Tubes, Miscellaneous-------------------------------------$28,000

Maintenance-------------------------------------------------------------$10,000

Express, Film and Miscellaneous------------------------------------$5,000

Electricity----------------------------------------------------------------$15,000

Transportation-Remote Truck and other cars--------------------$1,000

Carrying charges on Revenue Certificates-----------------------$13,000

Selling Expense & Other Promotion--------------------------------$5,000

Fixed & Miscellaneous-----------------------------------------$121,562.50

TOTAL RADIO and FM------------------------------------------$263,013.74

TOTAL RADIO TV------------------------------------------------$366,562.54

 

FCC replaced Jacksonville's channel 2 VHF allocation, which moved south to Daytona, with channel 12 and invited applicants to file.

WPDQ and WJAX both submitted paperwork for channel 12 in 1954 along with Florida-Georgia Television (WFGA).  Three applicants with only one VHF channel available.  

While an initial decision by commissioners favored WPDQ, FCC's final decision in 1956 awarded Jacksonville's channel 12 permit to WFGA, denying WPDQ & WJAX. 

In 1955, Hopkins retired after 30 years.  Leaving WJAX at age 52 or so, he became Vice President of a Jacksonville advertising agency as director of radio and television. 

A local group led by Jacksonville radio broadcaster Carmen Macri received a Construction Permit for UHF channel 30 in 1953 using WOBS-TV as their projected callsign.

Macri's group decided against pursuing a license for UHF channel 30 shortly after WFGA signed on and WJHP-TV channel 36 discontinued broadcasts.  UHF television as a profitable medium, like FM broadcast radio, was still far in the future.

Meanwhile,  WJAX and the city got out of the television license chase but WPDQ's owners were not happy.  After losing out on their attempt to win the channel 12 construction permit,  WPDQ accused one of WFGA's organizers of being associated with Al Capone based on his previous part-time employment as a chart writer at local dog tracks...............a real reach!

FCC did not buy WPDQ's argument.

(From Television Digest, January 1957)

ATTACK ON GRANT of Ch. 12, Jacksonville, to WFGA-TV was launched this week by WPDQ-which with WJAX had lost out in final decision last year.

Filing request to reopen record and asking Commission to stay construction of station, WPDQ charged that Harold Cohn, 19% stockholder and proposed news & sports director of WFGA-TV, had concealed past underworld associations from FCC.

WPDQ charges that Cohn had been a chart writer at Jacksonville and Orange Park kennel clubs; that the clubs were controlled by W. H. Johnston "who was exposed by the Kefauver Crime Committee as a former associate and member of the Al Capone organization"; that Cohn's wife had held stock in the Jacksonville club; and that none of this had been disclosed to Commission.

WPDQ also states that grantee has done scarcely anything toward building station; that no one would suffer if construction were halted pending reopening of hearing.

WFGA fired back as reported the following month:

In Jacksonville Ch. 12 case, won by WFGA-TV, grantee came back hard at allegations filed by WPDQ.

WPDQ had charged that WFGA-TV had sought to conceal connections of principal Harold Cohn with dubious characters.

WFGA-TV stated that Cohn had been employed part time by Jacksonville Kennel Club; that FCC didn't require reporting of part time employment; that Club was legitimate business licensed by Florida; that Cohn's employment was very widely known; that WPDQ itself was "closely associated" with Club by accepting its advertising; that WPDQ's conduct was "scandalous" in seeking to align him with criminals. 
 
Later, more concrete allegations arose on a different front.  These did cause big problems for WFGA.

(From August 1960 Television Digest)

JACKSONVILLE CASE REOPENED: The record of another TV-grant "influence" case exposed by House investigators has been reopened by FCC to see whether the license should be voided. This one involves the award of Jacksonville Ch. 12 to Florida -Georgia TV Co Inc. (WFGA-TV) in 1956.  

Subsequently, WFGA's grant was revoked after evidence indicated that one of WFGA's owners had unduly contacted an FCC commissioner while the grant was being considered.

A report stated that at first, the Commission favored WPDQ's application but then chose the WFGA group instead.

Several years later after a long investigation, FCC revoked Florida-Georgia Television's permission to operate.

In the early 1970s, a new ownership group took over channel 12 which became WTLV.
 

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