KETX (TV) explained

Callsign:KETX
Analog:19 (UHF)
Affiliations:NBC, CBS, DuMont
Owner:Jacob A. Newborn, Jr.
Location:Tyler, Texas
Country:United States
Last Airdate:
Erp:270 kW[1]
Haat:9000NaN0

KETX was a television station on channel 19 at Tyler, Texas, that operated between September 1953 and October 1954. It was the first television station in East Texas[2] and the first UHF station in the entire state; however, its operation was fraught with technical and financial difficulties, and the coming of a VHF station, KLTV, was an existential threat to the smaller UHF outlet, causing its closure.

History

Jacob A. Newborn applied for a television station on channel 19 in Tyler in November 1952.[3] Newborn also owned KBMT at Beaumont and held a permit to build a station in Gadsden, Alabama.[4] Plans for the station included studios in Tyler and Longview as well as a larger studio at the transmitter near Gladewater.[5] Facility construction began in July with the deliveries of the transmitter[6] and the antenna.[7] A month before, the two-story transmitter and studio building at Gladewater were completed in just three days.

Limited programs began to air on September 19, 1953,[8] though at low power for more than a month upon signing on.[9] As the first station in Tyler, it immediately was reported to have picked up affiliations with all networks,[10] though it was a non-interconnected affiliate. Even though Tyler was on the network coaxial cable that ran from Dallas to Shreveport, the networks did not want to connect a station there until it could reach 20,000 TV homes. It would not be until January 3, 1954 that KETX joined CBS by airing network shows on film, along with NBC and DuMont leading to expanded operating hours.[11]

Even though KETX-TV was on the air at full power and airing network shows, problems were emerging. On March 24, 1954, the station did not sign on and it was reported that Newborn had offered to either let the employees buy KETX-TV or to find another buyer for the operation.[12] In wiring the FCC, Newborn explained the silence as arising from a failure in a heat exchanger unit, but the station returned to the air on March 26.[13] Signs of financial problems came to light the next week when a $1,700 civil action was filed against KETX and Newborn for failure to pay a promissory note.[14] Two larger filings followed in early April: one from transmitter manufacturer General Electric which filed a $344,000 suit and sought foreclosure on the equipment it had sold KETX, while three contractors presented an $11,000 petition to force KETX into involuntary bankruptcy.[15]

KETX's financial problems were soon compounded by the imminent arrival of a licensee for the only VHF allocation at Tyler, KLTV. Recognizing that a VHF competitor presented an existential threat to his station, Newborn closed KETX-TV on October 23,[16] less than two weeks after KLTV launched on October 14,[17] while he pursued a bid to move the channel 9 allocation at Lufkin to Tyler.[18] (KLTV's arrival also prompted legal action from the other operating UHF, Longview's KTVE.[19]) The FCC denied the Newborn proposal for channel 9 in November and reaffirmed its grant of a construction permit to Forest Capital Broadcasting Company for KTRE.[20]

While KETX never returned to air, Newborn faced continued financial proceedings stemming from the former television station's liabilities. In February 1955, two film distributors sued Newborn for nearly $6,000 in unreturned film rentals.[21] Newborn ultimately filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in March, by which time he had $23,000 in assets and $164,000 in liabilities.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: KETX. 1954. Telecasting Yearbook 1954-55. February 22, 2020. 298 (303).
  2. News: KETX To Observe First Anniversary. Tyler Morning Telegraph. September 17, 1954. 13. February 22, 2020.
  3. News: TV Grants, Applications. February 22, 2020. Broadcasting. November 24, 1952. 105.
  4. News: Stations. March 2, 1953. 66. February 22, 2020. Broadcasting.
  5. News: Powerful Tyler Station To Make June TV Debut. February 22, 2020. 1, 5. Tyler Morning Telegraph. March 27, 1953.
  6. News: Television Transmitter Arrives At Studios Of Station KETX-TV. February 22, 2020. 5. Tyler Courier-Times. July 19, 1953.
  7. News: Towering TV Antenna For KETX-TV Arrives. February 22, 2020. 2. Tyler Morning Telegraph. July 29, 1953.
  8. News: KETX-TV Program Start On Saturday. February 22, 2020. September 19, 1953. Tyler Morning Telegraph. 5.
  9. News: Questions Answered About Tyler's KETX-TV. October 25, 1953. 4, 12 (Sec. 4). Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. February 22, 2020.
  10. News: UHFs On Air Forge Ahead of VHFs in Post-Thaw TV Station Starts. February 22, 2020. August 31, 1953. Broadcasting. 56.
  11. News: Tyler TV Station Returns To Air. December 28, 1953. Kilgore News Herald. 4. February 22, 2020.
  12. News: TV Station Goes Off Air. February 22, 2020. Tyler Morning Telegraph. 1.
  13. News: KETX-TV Says Equipment Out. 1, 9. Tyler Morning Telegraph. March 27, 1954. February 22, 2020.
  14. News: KETX-TV Sued In Tyler Court. Tyler Morning Telegraph. 1. March 30, 1954. February 22, 2020.
  15. News: KETX Faces $344,687 Suit. 1, 5. Tyler Morning Telegraph. April 9, 1954. February 22, 2020.
  16. News: Upstate N.Y. Station On Air, Texas UHF Off. Television Digest. October 23, 1954. 3 (41). February 22, 2020.
  17. News: 2 New Stations On Air, Another UHF Off. Television Digest. October 16, 1954. 4 (30). February 22, 2020.
  18. News: TV Station KETX Goes Off The air. February 22, 2020. October 25, 1954. 6. Tyler Morning Telegraph.
  19. News: Longview Station Seeks To Alter Tyler TV Channel. 9. Tyler Courier-Times. July 25, 1954. February 20, 2020.
  20. News: Tylerite Loses Bid For Lufkin TV Station. November 19, 1954. February 24, 2020. Associated Press. 5.
  21. News: Jacob A. Newborn Named In TV Suit. February 22, 2020. 14. Tyler Morning Telegraph. February 11, 1955.
  22. News: Creditors Meet On TV Bankruptcy. 7. March 30, 1955. February 22, 2020. Tyler Morning Telegraph.