WSUN-TV
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | May 5, 1953 in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States |
| Defunct | February 23, 1970 |
| Headquarters | St. Petersburg , United States |
| Products | Television broadcasting |
WSUN-TV (channel 38) was a television station based in St. Petersburg, Florida, operating from 1953 until 1970 as the pioneering broadcaster in the Tampa–St. Petersburg television market.
Early history
Test transmissions commenced on May 3, 1953, with regular broadcasting beginning two days later on May 5. Owned by the city of St. Petersburg alongside WSUN radio (620 AM, currently WTWD at 910 AM), it ranked among the earliest UHF stations in the United States. Its studios occupied a small space on the first floor of the St. Petersburg Pier, a facility originally used as a trolley turnaround, which constrained the station’s capacity for local content production.
Starting as an independent station, WSUN-TV maintained secondary affiliations with CBS, NBC, ABC, and DuMont because microwave network connections were only available to Tampa. Programming initially depended on films and kinescopes until Peninsular Telephone (later GTE) established a private microwave relay in autumn 1953 for the 1953 World Series, marking WSUN-TV as the first U.S. station to receive live broadcasts via microwave transmission. The station secured primary CBS affiliation while continuing to air selected shows from NBC, ABC, and DuMont; briefly in the late 1950s, it also held an affiliation with the NTA Film Network.
Extended conflicts over Tampa Bay’s VHF channels 8 and 13 left WSUN-TV as the sole broadcaster for two years. Its most popular local program was Captain Mac, hosted by Burl McCarty. WSUN-TV’s exclusive status ended on February 14, 1955, when WFLA-TV (channel 8) began operations with NBC affiliation; WTVT (channel 13) followed in April affiliating with CBS. Subsequently, WSUN-TV became solely affiliated with ABC after dropping DuMont. The launch of WTVT attracted numerous WSUN employees, including McCarty, sparking a legal dispute over the Captain Mac persona. McCarty was allowed to retain the character name but not the costume or show format; meanwhile, WSUN-TV kept rights to use the name. This compromise lasted six months before McCarty returned to WSUN-TV until his retirement in 1959.
Signal problems
For about ten years, channel 38 faced ratings challenges as ABC trailed behind CBS and NBC until the early 1970s. Its UHF position further hindered performance; prior to the 1964 All-Channel Receiver Act, television sets were not equipped with built-in UHF tuners, requiring viewers to purchase expensive converters that often delivered subpar picture quality. Moreover, UHF transmissions had a shorter reach, resulting in a smaller coverage footprint compared to rivals WFLA-TV and WTVT.
In an effort to enhance its signal quality, WSUN-TV proposed exchanging frequencies with Tampa Bay’s new educational broadcaster WEDU to obtain channel 3. However, WEDU declined this unequal proposal.
Battle for channel 10
During the late 1950s, the FCC introduced an additional VHF channel—channel 10—in Largo within Tampa Bay’s market. WSUN-TV pursued this license vigorously to maintain its ABC affiliation. After protracted legal proceedings, Rahall Communications secured the channel 10 license in 1961. ABC then transferred its affiliation to Rahall’s WLCY-TV (now WTSP) beginning in 1965, terminating WSUN-TV’s contract. Despite legal challenges from WSUN-TV, it was unable to prevent WLCY-TV’s launch on July 18, 1965.
Following further litigation, WLCY-TV obtained ABC affiliation through court order and officially became an ABC affiliate on September 1, leaving WSUN-TV operating as an independent station.
Closure
Due to an inability to fund extended broadcasting hours, the municipal authorities of St. Petersburg opted to sell WSUN (AM) and WSUN-TV to Hy Levinson of Detroit, who also owned WCAR radio.
In 1968, WSUN-TV encountered fresh competition with the arrival of WTOG (channel 44). The station's proprietor, Hubbard Broadcasting, utilized substantial financial backing to secure premier syndicated programming. WSUN-TV continued operating for an additional two years before halting broadcasts on February 23, 1970; the owners attributed the closure to a lack of sufficient audience and advertising revenue.
Despite local rumors suggesting the station displayed only a clock shortly before shutting down, published programming schedules confirm WSUN-TV maintained at least four hours of daily broadcasts up until its final day.
The channel 38 frequency remained dormant for over two decades until WTTA commenced operations in June 1991, operating under a separate license from that of WSUN-TV.
External links
- Big 13 – tribute site for WTVT, containing historical data on WSUN-TV