WSGN-TV
WSGN-TV (for the South's Greatest Newspaper) was a planned television station owned by the Birmingham News and Birmingham Age-Herald as a sister station to WSGN-AM and WSGN-FM.
The station partnered with WAFM-TV to construct a broadcast tower on Red Mountain adjoining Vulcan Park alongside its new studio building. The WSGN building in "Radio Park" was designed to accommodate the transmitters for the FM and UHF TV stations while the AM broadcast remained at the Alabama State Fairgrounds.
The station's application for an FCC permit to use UHF Channel 42 was delayed and never approved. The original application was held up in a moratorium implemented by the FCC in the summer of 1949. Later WSGN's president and general manager Bascom Hopson requested an extension.
That extension was still active in 1954 as rival WJLN-AM endeavored to take to the air on UHF Channel 48. By that time, ABC television network programming was shown piecemeal on WABT 13 and WBRC 6. WSGN, an ABC radio affiliate, renewed its efforts at certification, hiring Ben McKinnon, a veteran television broadcaster, as general manager in November 1955.
Ultimately WSGN's application was never given final approval. Southern Broadcasting, which took over ownership of WSGN-AM, eventually became a partner in the construction of WBMG-TV in 1965.
References
- Caldwell, Lily May (June 18, 1949) "Birmingham Joins Television World" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
- "Chance of new TV stations here cloudy." (March 1954) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
- "WSGN seeks TV channel." (March 1956) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
