Wednesday marks the 65th Anniversary of KIRO 7
With a test pattern and some film shorts, at 6:19 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, 1958, KIRO 7 hit the airwaves to test its signal ahead of its official television launch.
The test was a “disappointment,” according to the Times Colonist of Vancouver, British Columbia. Homes that could receive Channel 11 could barely see the test and for others, it was so faint, that the test was unwatchable.
KIRO 7′s station manager, Miller Robertson, urged the public to reserve judgment until engineers had time to work out the kinks and make all the necessary adjustments.
The original facility was atop Queen Anne hill, next to the massive tower that still sits on its crest. Footage from the University of Washington archives, dated Sept. 3, 1958, shows the construction of the tower and a bit of behind-the-scenes in the new studio.
Note: This video has no sound.
By Saturday, Feb. 8, the bugs were worked out and KIRO 7 officially hit the air.
According to The Vancouver Sun, KIRO became the ninth TV station in the Seattle area. The first was KING, which launched in 1948.
“It’s apt to be the dial-switchingest weekend the TV set has had for some time,” proclaimed an article from The Province of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Television schedules alerted viewers to “do well to follow all TV schedules,” as KIRO 7 took over all CBS network programs that were formerly seen on Channel 11 and, as a result, Channel 11 completely revamped its schedule.
Programming KIRO’s first day on Saturday, Feb. 8, 1958, included Perry Mason in “The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister” at 6:30 p.m., Have Gun, Will Travel at 8:30 p.m., and Gunsmoke at 9 p.m.
Sunday’s shows included Face the Nation at 1 p.m., Beat the Clock at 6 p.m., Lassie at 7 p.m., Jack Benny at 7:30 p.m. and Ed Sullivan “with guests Gina Lollobrigida, Sally Ann Howes, the Harlem basketballers, singer Bill Kenny, some pantomime artists and a balancing act” at 8 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 10, 1958, J.P. Patches was on the air for the very first time. In the early years, he was on twice a day, six days a week. He would go on to broadcast around 12,000 episodes.
In 2018, KIRO 7 put together a retrospective, looking back at the highlights of, at the time, 60-years on the air.
