WBUF-TV
Despite high UHF set conversion rates (as sets had to be converted to receive UHF in the days before the All-Channel Receiver Act) and a high-power installation, WBUF was generally a failure—NBC ratings were far lower in Buffalo than in most other cities, and the station lost money—and the approval of a third VHF station for the city signaled WBUF-TV's final demise in 1958.
WBUF left a legacy in Buffalo of notable broadcast personalities in and out of the market, including Rick Azar and Mac McGarry, as well as a substantial physical plant.
[8] The transmitter would be erected atop the Marine Trust Company building in downtown Buffalo, while a studio site had not been selected when the FCC granted the construction permit.
[11][12] A South Carolina firm was responsible for the latter; a Confederate flag was used to mark the high point reached, and it was left atop the finished mast for a time as a dare by one of the steeplejacks.
[22] In October, major cutbacks were made in the station's local program production, with WBUF-TV becoming dependent on network shows and movies and eight employees being laid off.
[23] In February 1955, ahead of an expected ruling, Grossman announced that the station would continue "as long as there is any concrete hope of bringing a fourth [VHF] TV service to Western New York".
[24] However, when the FCC failed to rule on the four-VHF proposal in its February 23, 1955, meeting, Grossman could no longer afford to keep WBUF-TV in service, and the station went off the air that night.
[27] The $312,500 deal would make NBC the first network to own the maximum complement of five VHF and two UHF television stations, after it had earlier agreed to purchase WKNB-TV in New Britain, Connecticut.
[35] Actions taken by original owner Grossman while running WBUF-TV would rebound on his efforts to be selected to build a new TV station in Miami in the early 1960s.
[37] While the FCC initially did not admit the evidence, the uncovering of new data led the commission to reopen the record in the first week of 1962, with new charges that letters from Buffalo civic leaders supporting the addition of VHF stations there had been forged.
[38] Despite the initial nod and after being cleared of allegations of wrongdoing, Grossman was allowed to withdraw from contention in November 1963, paving the way for the other applicant, Coral Television Company, to receive the construction permit.
[39] The same day as the sale was consummated, NBC announced its plans for WBUF, including a schedule of new local programs and the relocation of NBC network shows to channel 17 in August 1956; a new facility capable of eventual expansion to broadcast one million watts; and the construction of interim and permanent studios at 2077 Elmwood Avenue, with the move from Barton Street to take place immediately.
[35] The station was off the air from December 31 until January 9, when it returned to operation from the interim facilities on Elmwood;[40] the Barton Street site was then purchased outright by WGR-TV.
[42] The first phase of the permanent, $1.5 million studio center was completed in time for WBUF to become the NBC station in Buffalo on August 14,[43] while transmitter power was increased to 489,000 watts[1] in October,[44] and a formal dedication was held on October 11, with a national telecast on Today featuring Dave Garroway and J. Fred Muggs; president Robert Sarnoff had intended to visit but was ill.[45] The new studio was NBC's first to be automated; paper tape controlled nearly all station functions, and operators were only needed to handle the loading of film and slide projectors.
[46] Much was riding on the proposal for NBC; Sarnoff had earlier floated the idea that groups could own more than seven stations if the additional outlets were UHF, and Buffalo at the time was the nation's 14th-largest television market.
[54] Sturgis Hedrick of the Buffalo Evening News remarked on the occasion of WBUF's closure that the station was a "good friend" with quality network and local programming.
