WBAP-TV - Channel 5, First Television Station in Texas
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded by Amon G. Carter, noted publisher of the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram", the first progam--a public appearance, Sept. 27, 1948, by President Harry Truman--made Texas the sixteenth state in the nation to open a commercial station. Among other "Firsts" of WBAP-TV are the first live entertainment in Texas ("Flying X Ranchboys"), and first Texas colorcast via NBC-TV, 1954. Today Channel 5 serves aproximately 60 counties in Texas and Oklahoma. Since its birth, television has made many advances. In Washington, D.C., 1927, Herbert Hoover (at that time Secretary of Commerce) appeared on the first major telecast in the nation. In 1931, H. & W. Corset Company in New York conducted the first experimental use of closed-circuit television to display its models to a buyer and sold $5,000 worth of merchandise. Modern commercial telecasting did not begin, however, until 10 years later, when New York opened the first station in the country. After a slow start, major strides were made in 1947 and 1948. As of July 1, 1967, the U.S. had 628 commercial and 128 educational stations, with 224 under construction. Of these, Texas had 49 commercial and 5 educational.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On September 27, 1948, publisher Amon G. Carter of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram put Texas on the television map when WBAP-TV Channel 5 signed on with an appearance by President Harry Truman, making Texas the sixteenth state with a commercial station. In the years that followed the station chalked up regional firsts, including the state's first live entertainment broadcast and, in 1954, its first color telecast carried over NBC. It arrived at the dawn of an industry that had grown from 1920s experiments into a national medium almost overnight.
Why it matters
The station marks the moment a new mass medium reached Texas, reshaping how millions of Americans got their news and entertainment in the postwar era.
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Related people
- · Amon G. Carter
- · Harry Truman
Themes & tags
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