NewsChannel 4 signed on the air as WNBT on July 1, 1941, at 1:29 p.m. This historic event was the beginning of commercial television in the United States.

At 2:30 p.m. the same day, WNBT again made history when 4,000 television sets were tuned to the station's first telecast, a game at Ebbets Field between Brooklyn and Philadelphia, followed by the P&G sponsored "Truth or Consequences" and "Uncle Jim's Questions Bee."

Signing-On
The telecast also brought the first sponsor to the air. The Bulova clock filled the lower right hand quadrant of the test pattern and an announcer read the time. Bulova paid $4 for the first commercial and $5 for the use of facilities. And, America saw its first pair of televised dishpan hands -- those of Irene Hubbard, the original star of the Ivory soap commercials. Operating out of Studio 3H, the first simulcast of a news program featured Lowell Thomas, in a Sunoco sponsored 15-minute report at 6:45 p.m. WNBT actually evolved from W2XBS, a pioneer RCA television lab and experimental station. W2XBS began in 1928, when RCA started operating from a transmitter in Van Cortlandt Park. On January 16, 1930, a television program originating from NBC's Fifth Avenue studios was transmitted onto a six-foot screen for an audience at the Proctor Theater on Third Avenue and 58th Streets. NBC assumed control of the operation of W2XBS from RCA on July 30, 1930.

Early Years

A year later, NBC began experimental telecasts from a transmitter located on the Empire State Building. W2XBS began the industry's first regular schedule of television service on April 30, 1939, when President Roosevelt opened the 1939 New York World's Fair.

In 1940, about one year prior to WNBT signing on the air, W2XBS offered television's first coverage of a political convention -- the Republican Convention, which was transmitted via coaxial cable to New York from Philadelphia. When the Democrats convened in Chicago, their meetings were filmed and shown on WNBT.

In its infancy, television programming consisted mainly of sporting events including the Eastern Clay Court Tennis Championship Matches from Jackson Heights. Feature films were also popular. The first week of programming was commercial free and offered such attractions as a team of jugglers called "The Three Swifts," a Walt Disney cartoon titled "Donald's Cousin Gus," and the whistling Novello Brothers.

For the first six months, WNBT remained the country's only commercial television station. Regularly featured personalities were Nick Kenny with his "Stars of Tomorrow" program. The station's mobile unit provided coverage of events ranging from water circuses at the Astoria Pool to air shows from the airport.

In '41, Botany Mills became the first sponsor of a weather show on television, with an animated "Botany Lamb" which cavorted on film to report the weather.

NBC4's long-tradition of special news coverage began the week of December 1-- just five months after WNBT-TV signed on the air. The program schedule called for feature films, amateur boxing, wrestling and a hockey game between the NY Rangers and Boston Bruins. At 8:30 p.m. the game was canceled for a special news bulletin -- on the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The station quickly adjusted to war as the regular 19 hour programming schedule was curtailed to four hours a week. NBC installed television sets in 80 New York City Police Department Precincts and conducted televised instruction programs for 148,000 air raid and fire wardens. On a jubilant V-E Day on May 8, 1945, the station presented an unprecedented 15 hours of programming to bring viewers live, filmed coverage of the end of the war in Europe. The effort was repeated on V-J Day, August 14 that same year when the programming was broadcast in Schenectady, NY, and Philadelphia on the country's first television network.

On December 10, 1945, WNBT began operating six days per week, programming everyday except Tuesday, over its frequency of Channel 1. Time signals were broadcast at various times of the day by Bulova, Waltham and Elgin. The station also introduced the first hour-long children's programming, hosted by puppeteer Frank Parris.

In 1946, WNBT was assigned to a new frequency -- changing from Channel 1 to Channel 4. NBC radio stars Bob Hope and Edgar Bergen made their debut on WNBT. And, on December 27, 1947, "Howdy Doody" was first introduced to television audiences.

WNBC

In October of 1948, WNBT's operations were integrated with those of WNBC Radio. WNBC became the NBC flagship television station, responsible for programming its own local time. Early programs included "City at Midnight" (an hour-long drama originating from the story's actual location, somewhere in the City) and weather forecasts delivered by cartoonist Tex Antoine. In March of 1948, "The Voice of Firestone" was heard for the first time; in 1954, the "Tonight Show" with Steve Allen was born; and in the late '50s, George A. Heinmann created "Shari Lewis and Lambchop."

News Firsts

Over the next few decades, WNBC-TV also achieved many industry firsts in news. WNBC-TV was the first station to inaugurate the half-hour late-night news format on its "11th Hour News"; first to launch the one-hour early evening local news broadcast "Sixth Hour News;" first to broadcast local news in color and first to present a two-hour news program in New York titled "News Center 4." WNBC-TV was also the first local station to introduce local audiences to a live news interview program -- "Live at Five." The program was later named "News 4 New York at 5" August of '91 and again dubbed "Live at Five" in August of '93.

Early news programming also included "Searchlight," a weekly half-hour airing on Sunday's at 11 a.m. The program, hosted by Ben Grauer, made headlines as noted figures in the news responded to questions from NBC News reporter Gabe Pressman and members of the NY press. The program evolved into the long-running and current "News Forum," hosted by Pressman. WNBC-TV also pioneered the first telephone-to-telephone format with "Direct Line," a viewer call-in program featuring public officials and civic leaders.

In September, 1992, WNBC first introduced local weekend morning news to viewers titled "Saturday/Sunday Today In New York," making it the market leader in offering the most local news to Tri- State audiences. WNBC devoted an additional half-hour to the Saturday and Sunday editions in September '94 and was the first New York station to offer local morning news on the weekend. The news programs have achieved a successful track record, winning their respective time slots since their inception.

On January 30, 1995, an extra half-hour of "Today In New York" was added to the weekday schedule at 5:30 a.m., and on September 5, 1995, the station added a half-hour noon newscast. WNBC continues to lead the market with 26 hours per week of news programming.

WNBC debuted television news via Chopper 4, April 18, 1995, on "Live at Five." Chopper 4 is an American-made A-Star 350BA Eurocop equipped with a state-of-the-art, nose-mounted gyrostabilized camera system. With its directional microwave system, Chopper 4 is capable of providing extraordinary, live pictures from anywhere in the Tri-State coverage area. Chopper 4 reports can be seen weekdays during "Today In New York," with live traffic and news coverage. Chopper 4 also is used to respond to all breaking news stories, and was an integral part of the station's highly touted coverage of the '95 Hamptons brushfires. Chopper 4's live aerial shots gave up-to-the-minute coverage of the raging fires and were picked-up by other news outlets in the area.

On March 8, 1996, WNBC unveiled the first-of-its-kind Skycam Network consisting of high resolution, remote controlled cameras perched at key points of interest across the Tri-State area. The Skycam Network is in operation 24 hours a day and features 24 cameras. The state-of-the-art Skycam Network is an investment in WNBC's overall coverage of the Tri-State area and is used in all local newscasts. Since its debut, the station has used the Skycam Network to highlight traffic situations; check on Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports; present live pictures of developing weather situations; and, capture breaking news stories, like dangerous ice falling on the George Washington Bridge. The station has also incorporated Skycam scenic shots from around the Tri-State area into all newscasts.

On March 29, 1996, the station achieved another first when it named Paula Madison vice president and news director. With this appointment, Madison, who had been WNBC's assistant news director for seven years, became the first African-American female to hold a news director post in the New York market. During Madison's successful tenure as assistant news director, WNBC expanded its news coverage by nine and one-half hours and became the No. 1 rated affiliate for late news in America.

WNBC went on-line July 3, 1996, making it the first affiliate in the market to debut a web site. Designed entirely in-house, www.newschannel4.com includes many exciting features such as a link to local news on MSNBC. Browsers can also download popular WNBC promos; learn all about Chopper 4 and view photos of the station's Skycam locations. In addition, the web page offers information on WNBC's programming, as well as photos and bios on the station's reporters and anchors. WWW.Newschannel4.Com also welcomes comments and questions from Web visitors.

On January 6, 1997, WNBC debuted "News Channel 4 Midday," airing at 11:30 a.m. Anchored by Michele Marsh and Dean Shepherd, the half-hour "News Channel 4 Midday" marked the first time WNBC broadcast a late morning news program.

Through the years, many veteran news personalities who are native New Yorkers have hosted WNBC's various newscasts, including news anchor Sue Simmons, weathercaster Al Roker (also weathercaster for the "Today Show" and host of "Remember This?" on MSNBC), sportscaster Len Berman (who also appears monthly on the "Today Show"), meteorologist Joe Witte (weathercaster on "Sunrise", "Today" and weekend "Today") and reporter Gabe Pressman.

In addition, many WNBC personalities have celebrated notable anniversaries with Channel 4. Weathercaster Al Roker has been with NBC4 for over 12 years. Chuck Scarborough, anchor of "News Channel 4 at 6 and 11 p.m." weeknights, has been with Channel 4 for 22 years, while Gabe Pressman, reporter and host of "News Forum," has been contributing reports to Channel 4 News for more than 30 years!

Studio 6B

WNBC's current news studio, Studio 6B, was also the home of many famous television shows including "Juvenile Jury," "The Ernie Kovacs Show," "The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour," "The Paul Winchell Show," "Tic Tac Dough," "Broadway Open House," "The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson" and "Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle."

Studio 6B underwent a major renovation in August of '93, when new sets were installed. Two sets, a weather center and interview set added a fresh look to each news program. In January of '94, state of the art equipment was installed in the renovated 6B control room.

Transforming WNBC/Installation of Master Control/New Newsroom

Phase I of WNBC's transformation involved a major renovation of the station's office space. On December 14, 1992, the station moved from four separate floors spread throughout 30 Rock to the 6th and 7th floors. The renovated space is joined by a stairwell that allows for easy access to the news room and all other departments that make up the station.

After months of planning, installation, training and practice, WNBC began operating with its own master control on April 18, 1994. What makes this an historic event is that this is WNBC's first master control. Prior to this, WNBC operated out of NBC Broadcast and Network Operations, which limited the station's ability to control and do cut-ins. In addition, the master control enhanced the station's on-air look and helped increase technical efficiency.

In July 1996, WNBC debuted a brand new state-of-the-art newsroom designed to take the station's newsgathering abilities to a higher level. WNBC's sleek revamped newsroom features a high-speed computer system that interconnects with the NBC network; improved editing facilities; and, a high-tech in-house distribution center that allows all outside video footage to feed directly into any desk in the newsroom. In addition, the newsroom is equipped and wired to handle all new technology upgrades, ensuring that WNBC remains in-step with future newsgathering equipment.

Image

WNBC-TV became WNBC with the network's sale of NBC Radio. On July 25, 1992, WNBC took the wraps off of a new logo and original image campaign designed to pay tribute to the Tri-State area. "4 New York" was an enormously popular musical celebration of the Tri-State's various communities and images, featuring commercials filmed in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

On September 5, 1995, WNBC launched the current image campaign. Along with the new name of NBC4, the station renamed its news operation "News Channel 4." NBC4 also adopted a new look featuring a background of three-dimensional floating peacocks in muted hues of blue. "News Channel 4's" new theme music was recorded by a full orchestra and is a variation of the previous "4 New York" score, incorporating the NBC chimes for a very rich and full sound.

Looking Ahead

In September 1995, 47 years after becoming WNBC, the station evolved once again into NBC4 and renamed its news operation, "NewsChannel 4." At 10 a.m. on October 30, 1995, NewsChannel 4 became the exclusive NBC television network component of the PrimeTime 24 PT East package. PrimeTime 24 offers packages of network affiliates to home satellite dishes and cable television systems via satellite. Now, the hundreds of thousands of people across the country that are unable to view network television without a dish, can watch the high caliber news and entertainment programming synonymous with NewsChannel 4.

Notable Achievements

In January 1996, the Tri-State area was overtaken by one of the worst snowstorms to hit the area in the last century. Throughout the three days of "Blizzard '96," NewsChannel 4's team of anchors, reporters and weather experts were on-air, providing viewers with over 24 hours of up-to-the-minute snow information. After the storm, the station was also the source for much needed follow-up reports. As a result, more viewers turned to NBC4 to get their weather information than any other New York City station, and "NewsChannel 4" won high critical praise for its in-depth, wall-to-wall coverage.

In 1996, NewsChannel 4 celebrated the centennial Olympic games and originated its "News Channel 4/Live at Five" broadcasts from Atlanta, July 19 through August 5. Beginning with the actual lighting of the Olympic flame, the "Live at Five" anchors delivered the 5 p.m. news from Atlanta's Olympic Centennial Park for 12 broadcasts. The station also had a team of reporters on hand in Atlanta, providing special coverage of the games for all of NBC4's newscasts.

Fire

At approximately 4 a.m. on Thursday, October 10, 1996, a five alarm fire broke out at the headquarters of NBC4 and NBC at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The landmark building was completely evacuated, dramatically affecting NewsChannel 4's program schedule. In place of the regularly-scheduled 5:30 a.m. - 7 a.m. "Today in New York," NewsChannel 4 broadcast the overnight news feed from Charlotte (known as News Channel "Nightside"). Local programming finally aired at 6:45 a.m., when Jane Hanson and Mary Civiello anchored a 13-minute report from 49th street in front of the "Today" show studio.

NBC4's commercials were not inserted into the programming schedule because the station's master control was unmanned. "Nightside" continued to air until the start of "Today" at 7 a.m., and all local commercials resumed airing at 7:27 a.m.

NBC's "Today" was broadcast from 49th street in front of Studio 1A, as were local news inserts anchored by Hanson and Civiello at 7:18 a.m., 7:25 a.m., 7:55 a.m., 8:25 a.m., and 8:55 a.m. From 9 a.m. to noon, NBC4 resumed normal programming with the exception of "Sally Jessy Raphael" airing in place of "Leeza."

Because no available computers or typewriters were to be found, the scripts for "NewsChannel 4 at Noon" were written by hand. The noon producer and production team worked on the floor of the "Today" show's Studio 1A offices, as the building was still under evacuation. "News Channel 4 at Noon" was broadcast from the street in front of Studio 1A, using "Today's" control room. Hanson and Civiello anchored, with Joe Witte as meteorologist. NBC President and CEO Bob Wright was interviewed on the program.

NewsChannel 4 set up temporary headquarters at CNBC in Fort Lee, NJ, broadcasting "Live at Five," and the 6 and 11 p.m. news from the cable station. This marked the first time a local news program was produced out of CNBC, which was technically difficult to accomplish. However, the newscasts aired virtually flawless, and NBC4 even broadcast a live remote with sportscaster Len Berman from Yankee stadium.

NewsChannel 4's sales department was also facing major problems because of the fire. With the Yankees in the playoffs and a holiday on Monday (Columbus Day observation), the sales operation was hampered by the loss of its main computer, and was unable to input commercials and generate the actual logs for weekend broadcast.

The following morning, although the building was deemed safe for employees to return to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, all workers not essential to the on-air product were asked to stay home by management, as electricity and power were not fully restored. For that reason, the decision was made to continue broadcasting local news from CNBC. By late afternoon, everyone relocated back to NewsChannel 4, and "Live at Five" was produced from Studio 6B.

While power was still an issue, it was nearly business as usual. The Sales Department set up offices on the 25th floor where there was sufficient power to use NewsChannel 4's computer system in order to produce logs. Back up power was being used, but to the viewer at home, there was no visible evidence that a fire had even occurred.

Station Call Letters

While NewsChannel 4 has had the same address of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the station's call letters have changed. Following is a chronology of the Channel 4 call letters:

April 4, 1928 RCA received a license to operate station W2XBS

July 1, 1941 The call letters were changed to WNBT

October 18, 1954 WNBT changed to WRCA-TV

May 22, 1960 WRCA-TV became WNBC-TV

June 1, 1992 WNBC-TV became WNBC

September 5, 1995 WNBC became NBC4/NewsChannel 4