WCNC-TV: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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WCTU was initially a low-budget independent station operating about eight hours a day from 3 pm to 11 pm. It ran a lineup of some very old [[feature film|movies]], [[Western (genre)|westerns]], some comedy shows from the early 1950s, and [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] shows.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 28, 1967 |title=WCTU-TV Goes On Air July 9 at 3 |page=4A |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711809/wctu-tv-goes-on-air-july-9-at-3/ |access-date=December 17, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313012434/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711809/wctu-tv-goes-on-air-july-9-at-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The station, which operated from studios on Hood Road in the Hickory Grove neighborhood of Charlotte, had very modern equipment for the time and broadcast some shows and movies in [[color television|color]], as well as all of its local programming in color.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 11, 1967 |title=WCTU-TV In Ultra Color |page=2C |work=The Charlotte News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711956/ |access-date=December 17, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313012407/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711956/wctu-tv-in-ultra-color/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The station hit hard times financially in 1969. In July, equipment supplier [[Ampex]] filed two lawsuits seeking $1.3&nbsp;million from WCTU-TV for failing to pay for products it had purchased from them.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Monts |first=Vivian |date=July 3, 1969 |title=WCTU TV Faces Suits |page=5A |work=The Charlotte News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711980/wctu-tv-faces-suits/ |access-date=December 17, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313012415/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711980/wctu-tv-faces-suits/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Film distributor [[National Telefilm Associates]] had also sued channel 36 for $80,000 for breaching a film rental contract.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flanders |first=Joe |date=August 18, 1969 |title=Financial Woes: Court Gives WCTU 30 Days |page=1B |work=The Charlotte News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711906/court-gives-wctu-30-days/ |access-date=December 17, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313012441/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711906/court-gives-wctu-30-days/ |url-status=live }}</ref> That September, a court placed WCTU into receivership,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flanders |first=Joe |date=September 16, 1969 |title=WCTU-TV Declared Insolvent |page=2A |work=The Charlotte News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711824/wctu-tv-declared-insolvent/ |access-date=December 17, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313012427/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45711824/wctu-tv-declared-insolvent/ |url-status=live }}</ref> though it continued to broadcast.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=Dot |title=Channel 36 In Receivership |page=14A |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65678434/ |access-date=December 20, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313012418/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65678434/channel-36-in-receivership/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Stating that "we feel there have been combined forces which hinder our operation", Twisdale foreshadowed a years-long antitrust case against the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation, owner of WBTV, which was not fully dismissed until 1977.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 19, 1977 |title=Judge Throws Out Suit By Defunct TV Station |page=3D |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65679467/ |access-date=December 20, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=March 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328182055/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65679467/judge-throws-out-suit-by-defunct-tv/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===The Turner turnaround===