was the first to bring radio to Youngstown on WKBN in 1926. He began broadcasting from the basement of his Youngstown home and by the following year, WKBN made its home in a studio at the Y.M.C.A in downtown Youngstown. By the early 1930s, Williamson began planning to bring television to Youngstown. Williamson submitted a request for a television license, but due to the increasing amount of reques
ts throughout the country, the Federal Communications Commission put all requests on hold until they could decide how to allocate channels. Construction for the present WKBN building began in 1948. The state-of-the-art broadcasting facility, which opened in 1952, was built to accommodate television. On May 2, 1952, Williamson filed another application with the FCC for a television station in Youngstown. WKBN received channel 27 for television broadcasting. By January 6, 1953, WKBN was on the air with a picture, but no sound. On January 11, 1953, WKBN became Youngstown’s first TV station. WKBN was also the first UHF television station in the state of Ohio and the sixth in the nation. WKBN was affiliated with ABC, DuMont and CBS. WKBN joined CBS with President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 1953. In 1959, WKBN became the first station in Youngstown to use videotape. This videotape was used for a Hostess Cake commercial during the Three Stooges program. By 1963, WKBN became one of nine stations in the country to operate with one million watts of power or more for better picture service. Power was increased from 19,000 watts to one million watts. Over the years, viewers have enjoyed WKBN’s original programs including Romper Room, Clancy’s Tip Top Clubhouse, Space Rangers and the Money Movie. For over sixty years WKBN has served the Mahoning Valley. In 1998 we brought you the Valley’s first Fox station. WKBN and Fox Youngstown offer the most local news and sports in the area. WKBN was the first to bring you local news programming in the morning, as well as local news at Noon, 5pm, 6pm, and 11pm. Fox Youngstown offers the Valley’s only local news at 10pm.
