A decade later, in August 1967, Lamb reorganized his business interests, selling off all non-broadcast holdings as well as WICU radio. The two stations, then separately owned, shared ABC programs until WJET-TV (channel 24) signed-on in 1966.Įdward Lamb nearly lost WIKK (renamed WICU in 1957) and WICU-TV in 1954 due to allegations that he associated with Communists, but was exonerated in 1957. Channel 12 held a monopoly on Erie television until WSEE-TV signed-on in 1954 as a CBS affiliate. WICU-TV was fortunate to gain that license, and as a result was the market leader in Erie for most of its history. This created a large "doughnut" in Northwestern Pennsylvania where there could only be one VHF license. However, Erie was sandwiched between Pittsburgh (channels 2, 4, 11 and 13) to the south, Wheeling/ Steubenville (channels 7 and 9) to the southwest, Cleveland (channels 3, 5 and 8) to the west, State College (channels 3, 6, and 10, later 8) to the southeast, Buffalo (channels 2, 4 and 7) to the northeast, and London, Ontario ( channel 10) to the north. The "2" networks became CBS and NBC, "+1" represented non-commercial educational stations, and "1/2" became ABC (which was the weakest network usually winding up with the UHF allocation where no VHF was available). Other areas would be designated as "UHF islands" since they were too close to larger cities for VHF service.
Most of the rest of the country ("1/2") would be able to receive a third VHF channel.
#Erie news now plus
Under this plan, almost all of the country would be able to receive two commercial VHF channels plus one non-commercial channel.
#Erie news now license
Since there were only twelve VHF channels available, there were limitations as to how closely the stations could be spaced.Īfter the FCC's Sixth Report and Order ended the license freeze and opened the UHF band in 1952, it devised a plan for allocating VHF licenses. The VHF bands were more desirable because they carried longer distances and, because most televisions did not carry UHF tuners until being forced to by the All-Channel Receiver Act in the 1960s, VHF receivers were more accessible. In the early days of broadcast television, there were twelve VHF channels available and 69 UHF channels (later reduced to 55 in 1983).
The station was a major beneficiary of a quirk in the FCC's plan for allocating stations. In 1952, Lamb purchased WIKK radio (1330 AM, later WICU and now WFNN), giving channel 12 a sister station on radio. Channel 12 was founded by Edward Lamb, an attorney from Toledo, Ohio who also owned the now-defunct Erie Dispatch-Herald, and other broadcast properties including WTVN-TV (now WSYX) in Columbus, Ohio, which went on the air six months later. It was one of the last stations to be granted a construction permit before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) froze new applications. WICU-TV began broadcasting in Erie on Ma as an affiliate of all four networks of the time (NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont). As recently as the 1990s, it was available on cable as far east as Olean, New York (well out of WICU's broadcast range and in competition with Buffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ). It is available on all cable systems in Erie, Warren and Crawford counties in Pennsylvania, and select providers in Venango County, Pennsylvania, southwestern New York State, and northeastern Ohio which are part of the Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Youngstown markets respectively. WICU-TV's broadcast signal reaches the city of Erie, surrounding communities, and across Lake Erie in parts of Ontario, Canada. Both stations share studios on State Street in downtown Erie, while WICU-TV's transmitter is located on Peach Street in Summit Township, Pennsylvania. It is owned by SJL Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Lilly Broadcasting, owner of CBS/ CW+ affiliate and company flagship WSEE-TV (channel 35), for the provision of certain services. WICU-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC.
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