WKBW-TV produced iconic children's programing such as Rocketship 7 and The Commander Tom Show from the 1960s to the 1980s. Eyewitness News had been the most-watched newscast in the Buffalo market for many years and was at times even more popular in the Toronto market than the local news programs in that area. Churchill sold the WKBW stations to Capital Cities Broadcasting (which later became Capital Cities Communications) in 1961, earning a handsome return on his original investment into WKBW radio in 1926. [81], In May 2018, WLS-FM confirmed that Biondi is no longer employed by the station. [12][13], Since 1984, Biondi has been a mainstay on oldies stations in the city where he first earned his reputation, Chicago. This made WKBW the first and only television station in the Buffalo market that owns and operates their own storm chaser vehicle. [43] It initially outrated WIVB's 6:30p.m. newscast on WNLO, the only comparable competition, but ratings quickly collapsed after several months. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! "Biondi." He did an ongoing feature show called, Where Are They Now? Parker, who is in his early 50s, has often done weather from his suburban backyard during the Covid-19 pandemic. After their first big day as the representatives of the new WLS, they returned to the station that evening to begin asking for and taking collect phone calls from any point in the US. [3] A year-and-a-half later, in June 1995, Granite bought the remaining 55% interest in the station.[4]. The Channel 7 frequency was hotly contested during the 1950s; the Buffalo Courier-Express and former WBUF-TV owner Sherwin Grossman tried several times to gain rights to the channel allocation (to compete with The Buffalo News's WBEN-TV), but was unable to secure a license. Click image to learn more. Citing budget issues, WKBW released Paul after his two-year contract expired in December, 2018;[41] he eventually returned to WIVB. [35] WKBW-TV's studio cameras are true HD; however, the bulk of the station's news video is produced in 4:3 standard definition, which is then upconverted to a 16:9 aspect ratio. When you ask yourself which station might be in the position to make the largest gains, I think you are looking at Channel 7..
