WFAA TV Final Analog Broadcast 061209

[ObiTrev]

All channels across the US didn't want to switch over, but the government forced them.

[dan1701a]

@AndyHogue That's the old Leonard's Department Store subway train, later changed to the Tandy Center subway. Unfortunately it's long since retired and dismantled.

[AndyHogue]

What the heck is that train at 2:25?

[jdawz1985]

1:03 I want that TV

[BigTallOrangeThing]

Ever notice how other stations in Texas always call themselves by the name of their national affiliate? There's FOX 4, NBC 5, CBS 11... but not ABC 8. That's because Channel 8 is beast enough to just go by its call sign rather than depending on ABC for legitimacy.

[polybi5]

Actually, not a bad idea and not for a April Fools Joke. Many TV stations run something like a sign off/sign on at about 5am on Sundays. I think it would be a great presentation..especially with updated footage.  Anybody up for a faux sign off?

[CovenantKilla225]

They should have flashed pennywise over the screen right at the end. Would have made my day.

[sfuzzyshille]

They need to bring analog back, Digital isnt nearly as reliable...BASTARDS

[wubbzyrocks]

Between 2010 and 2013, analog in Australia will be switched off forever.

But I still have a set top box (in the USA it's converter box) that can pick up digital channels.

[warpsp2010]

Now thats one hell of a way to go out...

[jason24568]

3 people didn't get the converter box this 2011.

[oaklandfan2k9]

I Think we should bring back that signoff video on April Fool's Day 2011 at 2am and after 5 minutes it will sign-on with the Same footage as the sign-on but with updated footage (including Cowboys Stadium in Arlington) and the sign-on video ends with "April Fools from the Staff and Management at WFAA-TV Channel 8!"

[dan1701a]

@oaklandfan2k9 Heh. That's actually pretty funny.

[oaklandfan2k9]

@dan1701a Great, So you need to post this mock sign-off (using the same sign-off tape from the Mid-1970's) and sign-on to see what will happen on April Fools Day 2011 for WFAA, thank you.

[thefirefighter2011]

@oaklandfan2k9

and that music sting from WFAA TV 8 that i just saw online was that from early 1972 or 73, or 74?!

[steadfastcoward]

@oaklandfan2k9 Not recommended AT ALL.

Yes, somebody is about right on the meaning of WFAA while I'm at it, and it dates to 1922.

Now back to running a prank broadcast....not only is it an unlicensed, read ILLEGAL broadcast, the FCC has been getting much nastier with pirates these days as there are now too many ways to interfere with air traffic transmissions and emergency channels now. Many utilize digital modulation and a 6 MHz analog signal will eat that for lunch, esp. a sloppy 1, dont

[glennglog22]

2 persons dosen't have a cable box/converter box

[Hectorson3]

Random, im just wondering does anyone know what WFAA stands for?????/ :)

[dan1701a]

@Hectorson3 I've seen it referred to as "Working For All Alike" or "World's Finest Air Attraction." Usually, though, call letters don't really stand for anything, but people assign meanings anyway. WBAP-TV in Fort Worth used to be thought of as "We Bring A Program" (but some said it stood for "We Bore All People"!)

[Hectorson3]

@dan1701a Ohhh lmao!!! Yeah I've heard that bout WBAP lol. But I've been told by a person from WFAA says that it stands for "working for all alike" I was just quizzin people. :3

[mickeydougal]

@dan1701a as a former employee of WDSC, I can say lovingly that we claimed ours stood for We Don't Suck Continuously.

[ooxcfhxoo]

@dan1701a

Kind of like SAAB.....Something Assholes Always Buy!

[steadfastcoward]

@dan1701a Why don''t you try searching for Jeff Miller broadcasting pages and find his lindexed links to dozens of sites that explain the apparenent (andrumored but untrue) meanings to call signs. Many were simply assigned in sequence as he block was made available. Requests for 'vanity' combinations were not even considered until sometime into the 30s as far as the FCC is concerned, meaning a lot ofthese meanings are clever slogans the owner or advertising department made. WFAA BOUGHT KBTV 8.

[steadfastcoward]

@dan1701a You know what? There's a big Clear Channel AM station in texas that repeats their call letters 10 times a minute...

WTF were they called? I just can't remember/

[digitalmasterdata]

kinda cool :) ! nobody knows johnny homer engineer from samsung on dallas tx ?? LOL

[746c]

Our governments have screwed us over so bad. One day, we the people will Smash The State, take over the government, restore what this country, and Canada used to be. To hell with digital. An EMP blast would wipe out anything digital, leaving the antique CRTs alive. CRT will always win. Digital is the byproduct of mass mind control, and a Fascist Government, The USA and Canada!

[bluenowait]

How much panhandling did you have to do to get that laptop?

[jjgato]

the music for that sign off was the same the ABC affiliate in Miami, WPLG 10, would use for their long credits for the end of their newscasts around that same time. Very interesting. Thanks for putting it up!

[CSIxxTwee]

I was interning at a station in Shreveport whenever the Big Switch (finally) took place. They did a little fanfare for the event too. It's a bit sad to hear that KXAS didn't do anything special.

[matkovicha]

Thats almost kinda sad in a way.

[Hectorson3]

I missed this, it was kind of sad. Just goes to show that times are changin around us with out our control.

Thanks for postin this!!!!!!!

[newscaster13]

This is a real treat for me. I wish they done the sign-off in Colorado Springs, CO before they flipped the switch to digital on June 14, 2009.

Before flipping the switch from analog to digital, the nightly Sign-off was the most dignified thing WFAA has ever done.

I wished stations in Colorado Springs had done the sign-offs before they flipped the switched to digital that day.

[CapSlapAHoe]

So what about channel 5?

[dan1701a]

They didn't do anything special - just went to colorbars then began running the nightlight loop (FCC informational video) until about July 12. Then they just turned off the switch. Too bad, too, because KXAS/WBAP was the first TV station in Texas - there's some definite history there. NBC doesn't really care, though...

[wdmassoc]

I was on the WFAA Productions floor crew from 1971 to 1974. I shot the sign-on/off in 1973 using a 16mm film camera and editing on a state-of-the-art Ampex RA-4000 editor using 2inch videotape. The track came from Neil Diamond. Very pleased to see they used it in the final analog sign-off. Kind regards, Bill Merriam

[Jerseysson27]

Thank you bill for allowing us to see how WFAA signed off in the 1970's. This is so awesome. You did a nice job by the way, it is so gorgeous.

[tkaye2]

That was really a beautiful montage... I found it stirring, and I've never even set foot in Dallas! Productions like this make me miss the "warm" quality of film that is rarely seen on television anymore.

[richartrod]

I agree. It was a beautiful sign-off video. Having worked with film and video, I believe the "warmth" of this production actually is the result of good camera work, editing and music selection rather than the film itself. I've seen beautiful analog and HD video work just as "warm" because of great creativity and technical skill. The best 70mm IMAX film stock can end up a crappy production without a good cameraman, director and editor.

[tvpirate05]

@wdmassoc Awesome work...love how you framed the shot of the WFAA tower from the JFK Memorial...

1:39 look how bare the skyline is without Reunion Tower! I'm on vacation in Dallas from Norfolk, VA and came back for the first time in a few years. Could not believe how much downtown Dallas has grown!

[harleykman]

Isn't this station west of the Mississippi? So why doesn't it start with a "K"?

[dan1701a]

When the FCC initiated that rule it grandfathered in WFAA-TV, because it was co-owned with WFAA-AM/FM.

It also allowed WOAI-TV in San Antonio to go back to using those call letters in 2002because it's co-owned with WOAI-AM.

[cwf1701]

and to add, the original K/W line was about 300-400 miles further west. one thing which was happening was the was fear they would run out of W call letters for the east coast back in the 1920s. now if you google the K/W line you might get a sense of where the original line was.

[awtribute]

Other exceptions include KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh and KYW-TV in Philadelphia, as well as WRR-FM in Dallas and WBAP-AM in Fort Worth-Arlington.

[dan1701a]

Well, if this sign-off was from 1970, Arlington Stadium was known as Turnpike Stadium, and the Rangers hadn't moved yet. And the Cowboys had just moved into Texas Stadium - my guess is that this was produced early in 1970, and nobody had shot any film of Texas Stadium yet.

[BadGurl404]

Nope. 1973. Kimbell Art Museum didn't open until 1972.

[buckynance]

Where the heck is Arlington Stadium or even Texas Stadium's famous Blue Star

[dan1701a]

Oops. I posted my reply above.

[McpShows]

The song is from Neil Diamond.

[ASKconard]

The closing music on the sign-off is superb!! I should note that WPLG also used this music to close their Friday newscasts in the 1970's.

[gameshowguy2000]

Good thing they gave us a little bit of history..but I think what would've been better would be the full length TM Spirit Phase I theme (or Phase II), playing over all this.

Besides, while WFAA's been on the air for 60 years, they've had their Spirit of Texas slogan for 25 of them.

[curiousnyc2001]

I'm surprised there was no playing of the national anthem. Still, though, as corny as it may sound, it gave me goosebumps to watch that. And I'm from NY!

Well done and thanks for posting!

[Matt324324]

did WFAA went 24/7 in the late 70s/early 80s?

[againstthestorm]

Too bad they didn't make mention or show any of the footage of their coverage of JFK's Assassination.

Tragic as it was, the event is still a part of TV history & ANYONE should know that local TV stations in the DFW area had a FAR better angle on the story than either of the networks did because while they only had one reporter who was in the press pool, the local stations had quite a few. As such, they were able to do the network reporters simply couldn't (Like interview witnesses).

JMHO

[MeInTX]

I'm fairly certain that the B&W footage of people crying around the 30-second mark was from 11/22/63. I'm guessing they thought that footage would be more identifible than a one or two second shot of Abraham Zapruder being interviewed at the studio.

[jerseyfla]

This has got to be the best Analog shutoff in the whole country. This is something many of us in other cities wish our stations had done.

[awtribute]

Have not thought about the clip at the last with the old circle 8 logo and blue background (took me back!).... My dad would have liked the clip of the News open in color with Bob Gooding--he thought the world of Bob. This analog phase-out sure beats what some of the other stations around the country have done for their transitions.

Ch.8 continues their grudge against Tracy Rowlett also, even though Tracy worked there for 25 of Ch.8's first 50 years.

[gameshowguy2000]

Yeah, I know. They also left out some other notable names, such as Tracy's partner Iola Johnson and sportscaster Verne Lundquist.

[awtribute]

That 1 old color news open did have Verne in it, but you couldn't see him up close. Almost any newscast with Iola would have probably had Tracy on it also, and I'm sure they would have used a close-up version of Iola than to crop Tracy out of a wider shot.

[dan1701a]

And Jim Littleton, Troy Dungan, Dale Hanson, Chip Moody...

[SignOffsGuy]

A wonderful final sign-off, though there was no National Anthem film. But it did have the Seal of Good Practice!

[jason24568]

@SignOffsGuy LOL Seal of Good Practice but others don't show a National Anthem!

[jason24568]

@SignOffsGuy I think it is the music but it is a National Anthem but it is a Seal of Good Practice! LOL because there is no national anthem but they having a Seal of Good Practice!

[ojtheprep]

Where did they have those train at that they were showing?

[awtribute]

The train station depot was in Rockwall. The part right afterward was the old Leonard's subway in Fort Worth. There was a parking lot on the far north side of downtown where you could park, get on the subway, and it would take you underground to the basement of the Leonard's store. Dillard's ended up with the retail area, the rest of the complex became Tandy Center, which continued the use of the subway till the mall closed a few years ago.  I rode it once, was really neat.

[bdsnook2]

They played an abridged version of this signoff at the end of WFAA's 40th anniversary retrospective in 1989. It really is a good one. The song African Suite was released in 1970...so I'm thinking Delkus was a little off when he said they used this in the 60s. A few stations also used other parts of African Suite for newscasts...you can see an example here on YouTube from a 1980s open from KWCH 12 in Wichita.

Thanks for putting this up!

[MeInTX]

The Kennedy Memorial downtown (which the tower is seen through at the beginning and end) wasn't built until 1970 either, which also rules out this running anytime during the 60s.

It's a shame that they had Pete do it. They really should have had someone with a lot of Channel 8 history handle the sign-off. Was Troy busy that day?

[gameshowguy2000]

You forgot that Troy retired, and he only does weather-related stuff on occasion now. I can't remember if he did last year's Santa's Helpers or even 2007's (he retired in 2007, and next month will mark 2 years since his retirement).

[dan1701a]

KTVT/11 and KXAS/5 simply flipped a switch. I think KDFW did their switch either during or just before their noon news. I'd like to see that one - my little USB DTV tuner can only get one channel at a time, and U-Verse has been carrying the digital channels for some time now, so there was no analog shutoff to be recorded from there.

This was the first time I'd ever seen the WFAA sign-off. Pretty classy. Too bad they didn't play the National Anthem.

[zakruowrath]

Sadly KDFW just flipped the switch as well,the FCC took over at noon broadcasting that how to set up your converter box thing,i just barley made the WFAA sign off and i saw the last few moments of it,Thanks so much for posting the whole thing!!

[tornadoguru6]

I caught this on my ustream and other sign offs

[megapsycle]

Sorry you got rid of the little set so hastily. You could have connected to the antenna terminal or screws on the old set and tuned it to Ch 3 or 4 from a DTV converter box.

[gridlockjoe]

The music is "African Suite" by Neil Diamond, from his "Tap Root Manuscript" album.

[newscaster13]

It was also used as a news theme for fellow ABC affiliates including WJLA (Washington DC) and WTVC (Chattanooga, TN).

However, the final few minutes of the Neil Diamond song - as heard in the WFAA sign-off - was never used on the air to close the newscasts.

[saturnday]

That was used for the close of newscasts on WPLG Miami in the mid to late 1970's when it was called "newswatch 10" and anchored by Ann Bishop and Glenn Rinker.

[megapsycle]

Much Thanks! I remember the daily sign-off from the '60s and '70s.

[radi0chik]

Very cool! I was wondering if anyone included a couple seconds of static on the end of their off-air recording. That's half the fun! Great job!

[DuckRadioLccc]

Wonderful job by WFAA. It still is owned by Belo, after all these years, so that sign-off was still valid.

Just seeing the sign-off announcement makes me yearn to go back to Texas. *sigh* Anyone know what that music is from?