This is a list of pre-World War II television stations of the 1920s and 1930s. Most of these experimental stations were located in Europe (notably in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, and Russia), Australia, Canada, and the United States. Some present-day broadcasters trace their origins to these early stations.
All television licenses in the United States were officially "experimental" before July 1941, as the NTSC television standard had yet to be developed, and some American television broadcasters continued operating under experimental licenses as late as 1947, although by then they were using the same technical standards as their commercial brethren.
| Call sign (original) | Call sign (current) | Frequency* | Channel (current) | Location (city) | On air | Owner (original) | Original broadcast system | Current broadcast system | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baird Television Development Company Ltd via BBC transmitter 2LO | 361 meters 831 kHz [1] | London, England, United Kingdom | 1926–1935 | British Broadcasting Company | Mechanical television 30 lines 25 frame/s | ||||
| W2XB (also branded as WGY-TV from its sister radio station) | WRGB | 2.15 MHz | 6 | Schenectady Albany, New York, United States | May 10, 1928 – present | General Electric Co. | Mechanical television 24 (later 48) lines/21 frame/s | NTSC-M from 1942–2009; now ATSC digital. | |
| W1XAY (also branded as WLEX from its sister radio station) | 3.5 MHz | Lexington, Massachusetts, United States | June 14, 1928– March 1930 | The Boston Post | Mechanical television 48 lines/18 frame/s | ||||
| W3XK | 1.605 MHz & 6.42 MHz, later 2.00–2.10 MHz | Wheaton Washington, D.C., United States | July 2, 1928– 1932 | Charles Jenkins Laboratories | Mechanical television 48 lines | ||||
| W2XAL (also branded as WRNY from its sister radio station) | New York City, New York, United States | August 13, 1928– 1929 | Experimenter Publishing Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company | Mechanical television 48 lines | |||||
| W1WX (later became W1XAV) | 2.12 MHz | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Spring 1929–1931 | Shortwave and Television Laboratory | Mechanical television 48 & 60 lines/15 frame/s | ||||
| W2XBS | WNBC | 2.75–2.85 MHz | Formerly Channel 1; moved to VHF Channel 4 from 1946–2009 (remains PSIP virtual channel); allocated to digital channel 28 from 1999–2018; moved to channel share with WNJU on channel 36 from 2018–present | New York City, New York, United States | 1929–1932, 1936–present | National Broadcasting Company | Mechanical television 60 lines/20 frame/s | 1941–2009, NTSC-M; now ATSC digital | |
| 3UZ. Experiments carried out on the radio station after it had officially closed down for the night.[2] | 930 kHz | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 1929 | Oliver John Nilsen | Mechanical television | ||||
| 3DB. Experiments carried out on the radio station after it had officially closed down for the night. | 1180 kHz | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 1929 | The Herald and Weekly Times | Mechanical television | ||||
| W9XAP | WNBQ-TV (1948–1964)[3] now WMAQ-TV | VHF Channel 5 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | August 27, 1930– August 1933. 1948-present. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | National Broadcasting Company | Mechanical television | 1948–2009 NTSC-M; now ATSC digital | ||
| VE9EC | 41 MHz | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | 1931–1935 | La Presse and CKAC radio | Mechanical television 60–150 lines | ||||
| W6XAO | KCBS-TV | Formerly on Channel 1, now VHF Channel 2 | Los Angeles, California, United States | June 1931– 1933, 1937–1948 as experimental Don Lee station; May 6, 1948– present | Don Lee | Mechanical television, film only, 80 lines/20 frame/s | 1948–2009, NTSC-M; now ATSC digital | ||
| Amateur radio station 4CM[9] | 136 metres | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 1934 | Dr Val McDowall | Early experiments with electronic television | ||||
| W6XYZ | KTLA-TV | Formerly on Channel 4, now VHF Channel 5 | Los Angeles, California, United States | June 1942– 1946 experimental, Jan. 22, 1947– present | Paramount | 1947–2009, NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | |||
| W2XAB | WCBS-TV | 2.1–2.2 MHz | Now VHF Channel 2 | New York City, New York, United States | July 31, 1931– February 1933, 1939–present | Columbia Broadcasting System | Mechanical television 60 lines/20 frame/s | 1941–2009, NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | |
| W2XWV | WNYW | Channel 4 (1938–1944), Channel 5 (1944 – present) | New York City, New York, United States | 1938– present | Allen B. DuMont | Unknown | 1944–2009 NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | ||
| W3XE | WPTZ (now KYW-TV) | – | VHF Channel 3 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | 1932–present | Philco Corporation | Mechanical television | 1941–2009, NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | |
| W9XBK | WBKB (now WBBM-TV) | Formerly on Channel 4, then on VHF Channel 2, Now on VHF Channel 12 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | 1940–present | Balaban & Katz | 1944–2009, NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | |||
| W9XZV | Later KS2XBS (Phonevision experimental on Channel 2) | VHF Channel 1 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | 1939–1953 | |||||
| 2LO (BBC Television Service) | BBC One | 361 meters 831 kHz | UHF (Channels 21–68, throughout UK) | London, England, United Kingdom | August 22, 1932– September 11, 1935 | British Broadcasting Corporation | Mechanical television 30 lines/12.5 frame/s | Now DVB | |
| BBC Television Service (Alexandra Palace) | BBC One | 45 MHz [10] | UHF (Channels 21–68, throughout UK and on Astra 2D satellite) | London, England, United Kingdom | November 1936– September 3, 1939, June 7, 1946 – present | British Broadcasting Corporation | Mechanical television 240 lines (Baird system) and electronic television 405 line (Marconi-EMI system)/25 frame/s | Now DVB | |
| EIAR – Stazione sperimentale radiovisione di Monte Mario | RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana | 40.54 MHz (audio), 44.12 MHz (video) | VHF (channel 9) and UHF (channels 25, 26, 30 and 40) | Rome, Italy | July 22, 1939– May 10, 1940 | Electronic television 441 lines / 21 to 42 frame/s. | Now DVB | ||
| EIAR – Stazione sperimentale radiovisione Torre Littoria (now Torre Branca) | 40.50 MHz (audio), 44.00 MHz (video) | Milan, Italy | April 12–28, 1940 | Electronic television 441 lines / 21 to 42 frame/s. | |||||
| Radiovision PTT (1935) later Paris Television (1943) then RTF (1946) (Eiffel Tower) | TF1 | 37 MHz (180 & 455 lines) later 42–46 MHz (441 lines) | UHF Channels 21–69 (System L + DVB throughout France and FTA on AB3 satellite) | Paris, France | November 1935 – 1937 (60 lines, then 180 lines) later 1938–1939 (455 lines) then 1943–1956 (441 lines) | Ministry of Information | Mechanical television 60 then 180 line later electronic television 455 then 441 line/25 frame/s | Now DVB | |
| Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow | Berlin Potsdam, Germany | 1935–1944 (tests started in 1929) | Deutscher Fernseh-Rundfunk | Electronic television 180 lines/25 frame/s/50 fields/sec (started broadcasting in 441 lines in mid-1937) | |||||
| Moscow test broadcasting station МТЦ (from Shukhov tower) | LW band | Moscow, Soviet Union, now | 1931–1941 | Mechanical television | |||||
| USSR TV (ТВ СССР) | Первый канал | 49.75 MHz (video) 56.25 MHz (audio) | TV channels:R1 (441 lines 25 fps) | Moscow, USSR, now | 1938–1941, 1945-1949 | Ministry of Culture | Electronic television | Now SECAM, PAL also DVB | |
| Doświadczalna Stacja Telewizyjna | Telewizja Polska | TVP channels: TVP1, TVP2, etc. | Warszawa, Poland | 1935–1939 (test broadcasting: 1937–38) | Mechanical television | Now PAL and DVB | |||
| Call sign (original) | Call sign (current) | Frequency* | Channel (current) | Location (city) | On air | Owner (original) | Original broadcast system | Current broadcast system |