WKBG/WLVI-TV composite

These are a few video memories of Boston's late, lamented WLVI-TV/Channel 56. The station ended its long run of independence in 2006 when it was acquired by Sunbeam Television and operated as a duopoly with Channel 7. WLVI was then moved from its longtime headquarters on Morrissey Boulevard and merged with Sunbeam's WHDH in Government Center.

Channel 56 signed on the air as WKBG in 1966 under the joint ownership of Kaiser Broadcasting and The Boston Globe newspaper. The call letters were changed to WLVI in 1974.

Excerpts in this sequence:
* WKBG-TV inaugural sign-on, 1966
* 1970s "Creature Double Feature" bumper
* Open from the first half-hour "News at 10" broadcast, 1984
* "Living 56" promo donut, 1985

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• WKBG-TV
• WLVI-TV

[aleks1939]

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 destroyed good TV and good Radio. RIP WLVI :(

[VintageTelevision]

@aleks1939

How very true!

[K1JWM]

By any chance do U have the rest of starting movie? For those who don't have a clue what a microwave unit us. And so forth...

[VintageTelevision]

What you see is pretty much the extent of it.

[StingBorden64]

Hey Vintage Television love this. Can you post the whole song on the 56 intro. My brothers and I remember this song growing up watching 56 in the 60`s. Hope you have the whole song. Thanks for the post. Awesome Job.

[VintageTelevision]

The song is titled "That Happy Feeling" by Bert Kaempfert. It is available on CD. Another version is published on iTunes.

[bossradio930]

No local station has bothered to air "Kimba: The White Lion" since. Only on channel 52. There's a complete set on DVD of the original 1960s series on Amazon.

[rgaviere]

What happened to TV Jerry Brown? Its interesting that theres another Jerry Brown I heard of the name as Governor of California.

[dukes0916]

I become more nostagic as I get older, and posts like these so take me back to old times. (Not that they were always 'better' times.) But TV back then had a way of making you feel like you were part of a community. Modern TV doesn't even try to do that! Thanks for the post!

[mdgeist012002]

they where on zion hill in woburn ma the Signal was always poor then they moved

to newton.

[jdrukman]

Wow, this really brings back memories. How do you have this stuff in such good quality?

[parkman35]

WFLD CH 32 in Chicago was started in '66 and was part of Field Communications who then sold the station to the Kaiser Brothers, who in my opinion darn near ruined everything with their terrible programming choices & policies...FLD is now Chicago's Fox affiliate...Good stuff here..It's neat to see how TV has progressed over the years...

[jehobden]

I have great memories of watching WKBG/WLVI-TV when I was a kid visiting my grandparents, who all lived N. of Boston. I'd love to see the promo which had kids singing "Here in Boston, the kids' choice is, Channel 56", as well as the bumper that stated "This is Field Communications in Boston". I saw the same Field Communications bumper on WKBS-TV, ch. 48, mentioning Philly instead of Boston, when I visited my aunt & uncle in PA back in 1981.

[K1JWM]

Ok on that. Thank you for posting...