WECT
Channels
Programming
AffiliationsNBC
Ownership
OwnerEl-Cor Television, Inc.
History
First air date
September 30, 1953 (1953-09-30)
Last air date
May 27, 1954 (1954-05-27)
Call sign meaning
Name of the owner, referencing Elmira and Corning
Technical information
ERP5 kW[lower-alpha 1][1]
HAAT780 ft (240 m)
Transmitter coordinates42°6′22″N 76°52′16″W / 42.10611°N 76.87111°W / 42.10611; -76.87111

WECT was a television station on channel 18 in Elmira, New York, United States. Owned by El-Cor Television, Inc., it was Elmira's second station (after WTVE (channel 24)), broadcasting from September 1953 to May 1954, but shut down for financial reasons after seven months of telecasting.

History

El-Cor Television, Inc., a company whose shareholders were the Corning Leader and Elmira Star-Gazette, was formed in September 1952 and applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a construction permit for channel 18; both newspapers abandoned their own applications for channels 18 and 24, respectively.[2] El-Cor was granted the permit on February 26, 1953, but told it could not start construction until Elmira-Corning Broadcasting Corporation divested its stake in WELM, as WELM and WENY—the stations owned by stockholders in the two newspapers—had overlapping coverage.[3] The FCC permitted construction activities to begin on March 25 once WELM was sold to Radio Elmira, Inc.[4] At a site on Hawley Hill, work began on the integrated studio and transmitter site,[5] and an affiliation agreement with NBC was signed in July.[6] In addition to network shows, the station would have two cameras for the production of local programming.[7]

By early September, the telecast of the World Series was the primary goal for start-up of the new channel 18.[8] This was successfully achieved on September 30, when WECT made its first telecast, rebroadcasting the NBC feed of the first game of the series from WSYR-TV (channel 3) in Syracuse, New York.[9] After the Series, the station temporarily went off the air; beginning October 7, it broadcast only a test pattern and select NBC network shows[10] until October 19, when the first Elmira-based local program went out; on October 22, a formal dedication program marked the start of regular broadcasting activities.[11]

On May 27, 1954, WECT suspended broadcast operations.[12] The station cited "consistent losses" in its request to leave the air.[13] El-Cor then announced in September that it had returned the permit to the FCC and would not resume;[14] the company sold the site in 1955 to a man who planned to use the transmitter building for residential purposes and lease the tower to a cable television company which would use it as a receiving station.[15] Two proposals were then received to run the station as a repeater of another, one from WSYR-TV and another from WNBF-TV in Binghamton, New York;[16] the Binghamton station dropped its bid, leaving the path open for WSYR-TV to be granted a new construction permit for the channel.[17] WSYE-TV, a near-full-time repeater of the Syracuse station, began broadcasting on September 15, 1956.[18] The station, which eventually became an independent unit as WETM-TV, continued to maintain studios on Hawley Hill until 1988 and retains its transmitter on the high-elevation site.[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Authorized for 58 kW

References

  1. ↑ WECT (TV) (PDF). 1954–1955. p. 202. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via World Radio History. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ "New Television Corporation Applies for License In Elmira-Corning Area". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. September 19, 1952. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Group of Elmira Businessmen Purchases Radio Station WELM". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. February 2, 1953. p. 16. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "El-Cor TV Station To Go on Air in Fall". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. March 26, 1953. p. 25. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Road Construction Slated: Initial Building Plans Finished for El-Cor TV". Elmira Advertiser. Elmira, New York. April 15, 1953. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "El-Cor Television Signs NBC Affiliation Pact". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. July 15, 1953. p. 5. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Name Key Personnel For 2nd TV Station; Goes on Air in Fall". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. August 28, 1953. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "WECT-TV May Be on Air Soon". Elmira Advertiser. Elmira, New York. September 4, 1953. p. 9. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "WECT Begins Telecasts With Series Games". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. September 30, 1953. p. 17. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Test Pattern Telecast by New Station". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. October 7, 1953. p. 13. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Mayors of 2 Cities To Take Part in WECT-TV 'Welcome'". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. October 20, 1953. p. 9. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Elmira TV Goes Off the Air". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. Associated Press. May 28, 1954. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "11th Station Asks to 'Suspend': Deletions Now Total 84" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 31, 1954. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  14. ↑ "WECT Quits Business". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. September 20, 1954. p. 13. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "TV Site Sold; Cable Concern to Use tower". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. May 22, 1955. p. 13. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "FCC May Set Early Hearing On Channel 18, TV Exec Says". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. October 8, 1955. p. 7. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "TV Channel 9 Award to City May Deter WSYR Satellite". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. November 30, 1955. p. 33. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Channel 18 Resumes Telecasts Sept. 15". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. July 10, 1956. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Hartley, Tom (July 17, 1988). "WETM struts downtown soon: New site boasts better space and equipment". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. p. 1C. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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