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WOOK-TV
WOOK-TV was a television station that broadcast on channel 14 to Washington, D.C., United States. Operating from 1963 to 1972 (using the WFAN-TV call sign from 1968 to 1972), it was the first television station in the United States to orient its entire programming to an African-American audience, along the lines of co-owned WOOK radio. Mounting license troubles for the United Broadcasting station group, economic difficulties faced by independent and UHF stations, and an inability to upgrade channel 14's facilities to be competitive in the market led to the closure of WFAN-TV on February 12, 1972.
In 1953, Richard Eaton's United Broadcasting Company, owners of WOOK (1340 AM), WFAN (100.3 FM) and Rockville–based WINX, among other outlets in the mid-Atlantic states, filed for television channels 18 in Baltimore and 50 in Washington. With no applications pending for channel 14 at Annapolis, Maryland, Eaton petitioned the FCC to move the channel 14 allotment to Washington, which it did in 1955; Eaton also acquired channel 14 equipment at auction from the bankrupt KACY of Festus, Missouri.
In February, Eaton announced that WOOK-TV would debut with programming in the evenings only and would not feature a network affiliation or a schedule of films; in addition, Eaton, planned to build out the Baltimore construction permit as a semi-satellite of WOOK-TV. The station signed jazz musician Lionel Hampton as its musical director. WOOK-TV would launch from WOOK radio's studio facility in the Chillum Castle Manor subdivision, on 1st Place, NE.
Initially planned to debut in September 1962, WOOK-TV's start was delayed due to technical challenges. It missed another launch date, in February, in part due to equipment issues and also because it had a problem to sort out in the Black community. Leaders in the Urban League and the NAACP worried that the station would not represent the community well, that WOOK-TV would depict African Americans "in the tap-dancing, shouting type of program", much as in radio; Eaton pledged not to program "distasteful" shows on the new station. The station finally debuted on March 6, 1963. It was the District's second UHF television station, after public WETA-TV (channel 26), which had gone on the air in 1961. Some 90,000 to 100,000 UHF converters were in place when channel 14 signed on.
At the outset, channel 14's programming included a number of Black-hosted series. The station aired two daily newscasts, as well as the interview show Washington Speaks and several syndicated shows aimed at an African American audience. However, going against Eaton's promise of a year earlier, WOOK-TV filled its remaining hours with films, primarily pre-1945 fare. It also produced some general-audience entertainment programs, including a high school quiz show, children's program Aunt Mary's Birthday Party, and a talent show. Musical director Hampton produced at WOOK a music show that was syndicated to other stations. The Precola DeVore Show, covering fashion and beauty topics, was hosted by Precola DeVore, who became one of the first black women business owners in Washington when she founded a charm school in 1953; she was nationally recognized for helping to break the color barrier in modeling.
Channel 14's connection with WOOK radio also had its advantages. Six days a week, WOOK disc jockey Bob King hosted Teenarama Dance Party, an in-studio dance show with a black teenage audience. Over a seven-year run on the air (though King left in a dispute with management in 1968), Teenarama hosted rising stars and famous musicians including Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp and Brook Benton, as well as musical talent in town to play the Howard Theatre. Teenarama Dance Party would later be considered the most important program in WOOK-TV/WFAN-TV's broadcast history.
WOOK-TV also produced for local and national advertisers commercials for its target market. The station's production department counted among its clients Budweiser, Safeway, Sinclair Oil, Newport cigarettes and Speed Queen washers and dryers.
On March 1, 1967, the Baltimore station, with the call letters WMET-TV and having been moved to channel 24 in a 1961 allocation revision, began telecasting, with plans to carry 80 percent of WOOK-TV's programming. An attempted 1971 sale of WMET-TV to the Christian Broadcasting Network never closed, and channel 24 folded on January 14, 1972.
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WOOK-TV
WOOK-TV was a television station that broadcast on channel 14 to Washington, D.C., United States. Operating from 1963 to 1972 (using the WFAN-TV call sign from 1968 to 1972), it was the first television station in the United States to orient its entire programming to an African-American audience, along the lines of co-owned WOOK radio. Mounting license troubles for the United Broadcasting station group, economic difficulties faced by independent and UHF stations, and an inability to upgrade channel 14's facilities to be competitive in the market led to the closure of WFAN-TV on February 12, 1972.
In 1953, Richard Eaton's United Broadcasting Company, owners of WOOK (1340 AM), WFAN (100.3 FM) and Rockville–based WINX, among other outlets in the mid-Atlantic states, filed for television channels 18 in Baltimore and 50 in Washington. With no applications pending for channel 14 at Annapolis, Maryland, Eaton petitioned the FCC to move the channel 14 allotment to Washington, which it did in 1955; Eaton also acquired channel 14 equipment at auction from the bankrupt KACY of Festus, Missouri.
In February, Eaton announced that WOOK-TV would debut with programming in the evenings only and would not feature a network affiliation or a schedule of films; in addition, Eaton, planned to build out the Baltimore construction permit as a semi-satellite of WOOK-TV. The station signed jazz musician Lionel Hampton as its musical director. WOOK-TV would launch from WOOK radio's studio facility in the Chillum Castle Manor subdivision, on 1st Place, NE.
Initially planned to debut in September 1962, WOOK-TV's start was delayed due to technical challenges. It missed another launch date, in February, in part due to equipment issues and also because it had a problem to sort out in the Black community. Leaders in the Urban League and the NAACP worried that the station would not represent the community well, that WOOK-TV would depict African Americans "in the tap-dancing, shouting type of program", much as in radio; Eaton pledged not to program "distasteful" shows on the new station. The station finally debuted on March 6, 1963. It was the District's second UHF television station, after public WETA-TV (channel 26), which had gone on the air in 1961. Some 90,000 to 100,000 UHF converters were in place when channel 14 signed on.
At the outset, channel 14's programming included a number of Black-hosted series. The station aired two daily newscasts, as well as the interview show Washington Speaks and several syndicated shows aimed at an African American audience. However, going against Eaton's promise of a year earlier, WOOK-TV filled its remaining hours with films, primarily pre-1945 fare. It also produced some general-audience entertainment programs, including a high school quiz show, children's program Aunt Mary's Birthday Party, and a talent show. Musical director Hampton produced at WOOK a music show that was syndicated to other stations. The Precola DeVore Show, covering fashion and beauty topics, was hosted by Precola DeVore, who became one of the first black women business owners in Washington when she founded a charm school in 1953; she was nationally recognized for helping to break the color barrier in modeling.
Channel 14's connection with WOOK radio also had its advantages. Six days a week, WOOK disc jockey Bob King hosted Teenarama Dance Party, an in-studio dance show with a black teenage audience. Over a seven-year run on the air (though King left in a dispute with management in 1968), Teenarama hosted rising stars and famous musicians including Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp and Brook Benton, as well as musical talent in town to play the Howard Theatre. Teenarama Dance Party would later be considered the most important program in WOOK-TV/WFAN-TV's broadcast history.
WOOK-TV also produced for local and national advertisers commercials for its target market. The station's production department counted among its clients Budweiser, Safeway, Sinclair Oil, Newport cigarettes and Speed Queen washers and dryers.
On March 1, 1967, the Baltimore station, with the call letters WMET-TV and having been moved to channel 24 in a 1961 allocation revision, began telecasting, with plans to carry 80 percent of WOOK-TV's programming. An attempted 1971 sale of WMET-TV to the Christian Broadcasting Network never closed, and channel 24 folded on January 14, 1972.