TV History Profile: WCOV

History:

Most of the following information was gathered from WCOV-TV's engineering department's history pages on the WCOV website. Check it out!

This station went on the air on April 23, 1953. A feat considering practically no one had UHF sets back then. In 1955, the control room and co-located transmitter were destroyed in a fire, which brough the station off the air. The station was back on the air shortly thereafter with much new equipment.

In early 1965 the station was sold to Gay-Bell Manufacturing Company of Lexington, Kentucky. The new owners wanted more coverage and by the summer of '65, the station had a new 793 foot tower.

The station was knocked off the air (again) in March of 1996, this time by a tornado. The tower was felled by the tornado and took out to satellite dishes in the area (sparing many residents' homes nearby).

The station was back on the air in a few weeks with low power. In September of 1996 the station relocated it's antenna. It is now co-located with WSFA's on their tall tower.