A long channel 10 battle
The first application for channel 10 in Sacramento was filed on May 7, 1948, by the McClatchy Broadcasting Company, owner of The Sacramento Bee newspaper and radio stations KFBK and KFBK-FM.[1] The application was put on hold during the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s four-year freeze on television licenses; when the freeze ended, McClatchy refiled for channel 10. By October, the FCC had received eight applications for Sacramento's various TV channels, and joining McClatchy in seeking channel 10 was a consortium known as Sacramento Telecasters, Inc.[2] Sacramento Telecasters consisted of mostly private business interests outside of broadcasting.[3] One owner was Robert S. Breuner of the Breuners Home Furnishings chain; his store had sold televisions when San Francisco stations went on the air, only to have many of them returned because San Francisco stations were not sufficiently received in Sacramento.[4] Also present in the consortium was John Schacht, general manager of radio station KMOD in Modesto, California.[5]
The battle between McClatchy and Sacramento Telecasters that ensued was a long and comparatively high-profile hearing. Both groups originally proposed to build a transmitter facility at Pine Hill, 29 mi east of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. However, the site was owned by the state, and the California Department of Forestry had announced it would only permit one mast to be built at Pine Hill.[6] Where McClatchy expressed concern over the lack of broadcast expertise in most of the ownership, KMOD's public service record, and the possibility that the economic interests involved in Sacramento Telecasters might withdraw their advertising from other stations, Sacramento Telecasters contended that McClatchy—with its ownership of newspapers and broadcasting properties covering areas from Bakersfield in the south to Red Bluff in the north—was overly dominant in the region.[7] Each group had selected a site for planned studios: McClatchy would build television facilities next to the new building for The Bee at 22nd and Q streets,[8] while Sacramento Telecasters announced it would construct at 30th and L streets.[9]
FCC hearing examiner Thomas Donahue issued his recommendation on November 10, 1953. He found in favor of McClatchy, citing its long record in broadcasting including five years of training personnel in television, though noting that both applications were unobjectionable.[10] Sacramento Telecasters immediately objected to the initial decision, with president William P. Wright telling the Associated Press, "The men in Sacramento Telecasters believe that all seven members of the FCC are entitled to rule on this apparent departure which would prevent any possibility of new blood entering the field of communications, regardless of qualifications."[11] The next month, the firm filed a 55-page objection and 113 pages of supporting briefs urging the commission to overturn the initial decision, its argument hinging on the question of diversification of media ownership.[12] Sacramento Telecasters received a lift when the FCC's broadcast bureau recommended its application over that of McClatchy in April 1955. Its lead attorney, P. W. Valicenti, called the Sacramento Valley "McClatchy land"; McClatchy attorneys countered this characterization, highlighting the presence of 28 non-McClatchy daily newspapers and several other radio stations in town.[13]
On October 4, 1954, the FCC unanimously overturned the initial decision and granted a construction permit to Sacramento Telecasters, which it deemed a newcomer that "warrants a substantial preference" over McClatchy despite the latter's public service record with its existing stations.[14] The company then announced it would begin construction on its proposed new station.[15] McClatchy announced it would challenge the decision in federal appeals court,[16] but Telecasters announced it would go ahead with building the station.[17] It did, however, make two modifications to its plans; site availability concerns surrounding Pine Hill led to its replacement with a new site at Logtown, south of El Dorado, and the studios would be built on 7th Avenue.[18] The facility, formerly the headquarters of the California Highway Patrol, was partially rebuilt to house two studios and eight offices.[19]
On March 20, 1955, KBET-TV—promoted as "Your Best Bet in TV"[20]—began broadcasting with an opening program headlined by comedian Johnny Carson and its first night of programs from CBS; it was Sacramento's second station and the city's first VHF outlet, preceded by KCCC-TV (channel 40).[21] However, for nearly three years after broadcasting began, the station's fledgling operation continued to be challenged by McClatchy. In addition to continuing to argue that the FCC was unfair to newspapers in denying its application and looked upon them with a "jaundiced eye",[22][23] an argument unanimously rejected by a three-man panel,[24] the newspaper company added a new argument related to its decision to change the transmitter site from Pine Hill to Logtown, which reduced the station's coverage area and were a downgrade from the original proposals for both companies.[25]
However, a petition by McClatchy to enlarge the issues to be considered in the tower site hearing such as to force a review of the comparative merits of its original 1952 application alongside that of Sacramento Telecasters was not looked on favorably. As a result, on February 10, 1958, McClatchy announced it would not pursue any further legal action in the case, "reluctantly" discontinuing its battle.[29] The FCC examiner appointed for the tower site hearing then recommended the commission reaffirm the tower site change.[30] McClatchy would eventually succeed at entering the Sacramento/Stockton television market in 1964, when it purchased Stockton station KOVR.[31]
