Early years
On November 12, 1966, Vermont New York Television applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a construction permit to build a new television station on channel 22 in Burlington, Vermont.[1] The application, proposing a transmitter site atop Mount Mansfield, foresaw a station to provide full ABC affiliation in the region.[2] Over an objection filed by Vermont's existing commercial TV station, WCAX-TV, the FCC granted the permit on February 15, 1967.[3] The news was well-received by one particular Vermonter: governor Philip H. Hoff, who commented that it was "one of the greatest pieces of news the people of the State of Vermont have ever received"; WCAX-TV's owner was known to be a bitter opponent of Hoff's policies.[4] Though the company was unable to start up in 1967 due to delays in procuring necessary equipment,[5] it selected a studio site in the former Fort Ethan Allen, which was also home to Vermont Educational Television. The station leased the former officer's club on the base and expanded it with a studio.[6]
WVNY-TV began broadcasting August 19, 1968.[7] Local programming at launch included 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, a local children's show, and sports telecasts,[8] including the first-ever telecast of Vermont Catamounts home athletic events.[9] In 1969, it aired the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)'s coverage of Montreal Expos baseball.[10] The station was also known for its all-night movie telecasts,[11] which prompted interest from cable operators in Quebec and Cornwall, Ontario, in adding the station to their lineups.[12] In July 1969, an FM radio station, WVNY-FM 92.9, launched;[13]
In its early years, WVNY-TV suffered from financial difficulties in a tight credit market. The station cut back its broadcast day in January 1970, ending a 24-hour broadcast day and consigning the all-night movies to Saturday nights only.[15] Between June and August 1970, the station was signing on six days a week at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 5 p.m. Between the two cutbacks, 11 employees lost their jobs.[16] The 6 p.m. local newscast was discontinued in September, leaving an 11 p.m. newscast four nights a week and the children's show as its only local studio programs.[17] On April 2, 1971, at 1 a.m., WVNY-TV went off the air temporarily.[18] While channel 22 was off the air, Vermont New York Television negotiated to sell it.[19] The station was back on the air September 17, after more than five months out of service, under the operational control of the International Television Corporation (ITC),[20] though ITC did not file to have the license transferred to it until October 1973 and was not the approved licensee until April 1974.
In 1972, the station joined the Boston Bruins hockey television network. When it attempted to renew for the 1973–1974 season, it was met with strong opposition from the Montreal Canadiens, who feared that WVNY's signal in the direction of Montreal was hurting their attendance.[21][22] Station management and analysts in Montreal disagreed on the availability and signal strength of WVNY in the Montreal area.[23] The Canadiens' decision spurred a letter-writing campaign, including a caravan of local residents that planned to travel to the Canadian border to present a petition, but the team reversed its stance.[24] In 1976, the Canadiens ordered WVNY not to air several Bruins playoff games because they conflicted with Montreal home games to which there were unsold tickets.[25]
ITC closed on the purchase of WVNY-TV and WEZF in July 1974.[26] On September 3, WVNY-TV became WEZF-TV.[27] After several years of not airing local newscasts, WEZF-TV debuted a new local news department in 1975, which was discontinued the next year.[28] The news staff consisted of one person, and the newscasts were largely "rip-and-read", with the station instead emphasizing sports coverage and entertainment.[29] It tried again in 1979, when it launched a half-hour news and features newscast titled First News 5:30. The 1979 reintroduction of news came after scrutiny from the FCC during channel 22's 1978 license renewal as to whether the station was meeting its five-percent local programming quota.[30] The station relocated from Fort Ethan Allen to the former WCAX studios in Burlington's Market Square in 1980.[31] The next year, the 5:30 news was retooled and moved to 6 p.m., where it would compete against WCAX and WPTZ
John R. Hughes, a former vice president of WEZF-TV who had attempted to buy the station, resigned in 1981 and filed a license challenge, including a competing application for channel 22.[34] Hughes promised increased news coverage and local children's and talk shows.[35] ITC president Donald Martin bought Hughes's stake out in March 1982 as the license challenge was settled.
