History
WBOC-TV began operations on July 15, 1954, owned originally by Peninsula Broadcasting, which started WBOC radio (960 AM, now WTGM and 104.7 FM, now WQHQ), the first successful radio station on the Eastern Shore, in 1940. It is the fourth-oldest television station in Maryland, the first outside Baltimore, and the oldest on the UHF band.
It was originally an affiliate of the DuMont Television Network. However, around 1955, it picked up a primary affiliation with CBS, relegating DuMont to secondary status until that network shut down in 1956. It also picked up secondary affiliations with NBC and ABC. The station also featured local programming consisting of variety shows, talent contests, and children's programs.
In 1961, Peninsula Broadcasting merged with the A.S. Abell Company, which published the Baltimore Sun and owned Baltimore's then-CBS affiliate, WMAR-TV. WBOC-TV gradually increased the CBS programming on its schedule, though it continued to "cherry-pick" the highest-rated ABC and NBC shows either in pattern (on schedule with the rest of the network) or on a tape-delayed basis.
For example, channel 16 regularly carried the Today Show and The Tonight Show from NBC, and weekend sports coverage from all three networks. Primetime programming consisted of at least one night of all CBS; other evenings with programs from both CBS and ABC; and others with shows from CBS and NBC. Select CBS programs displaced by the scheduling method would air in times outside of primetime. Despite carrying Today (which pre-empted CBS's morning news and Captain Kangaroo), WBOC-TV aired all of CBS's other newscasts, as well as most of CBS's daytime programming and Saturday morning cartoons. The cherry-picking arrangement also affected primetime network sports coverage. However, Delmarva viewers didn't have to worry about missing their favorite shows once cable came to the area. Local cable systems on the Maryland side of the market supplemented the area with the Baltimore stations, while cable systems on the Delaware side supplemented it with the Philadelphia stations. Accomack County, Virginia is part of the Hampton Roads market, though WBOC has long claimed it as part of its primary coverage area.
In April 1980, WBOC-TV received competition for the first time when WMDT (channel 47) signed on. The new station also took a dual ABC/NBC affiliation, allowing channel 16 to become a full-time CBS station. In November of that same year, local ownership of channel 16 returned when entrepreneur Thomas H. Draper purchased the station. Since Draper took over, local news coverage increased, as well as local advertising revenue which allowed for technical upgrades, such as a new four-million-watt tower located near Laurel, Delaware.
Example of "cherry-picking"
The following schedule grid is used to describe WBOC's cherry-picking method of prime time programming. This example is from Fall 1977:
| PM | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Local | Little House on the Prairie (NBC) | The Betty White Show (CBS) | Maude (CBS) | Rafferty (CBS) | ||
| Tue | Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC) |
Happy Days (ABC) | Laverne & Shirley (ABC) | M*A*S*H (CBS) | One Day at a Time (CBS) | Lou Grant (CBS) | |
| Wed | Local | Hee Haw (syndicated) | Charlie's Angels (ABC) | Baretta (ABC) | |||
| Thu | Local | The Waltons (CBS) | Hawaii Five-O (CBS) | Barnaby Jones (CBS) | |||
| Fri | Good Times (CBS) |
The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (CBS) | Logan's Run (CBS) | Switch! (CBS) | |||
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