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1953–1957 1957–1960 1960–1976 1976–1978 1978–1983 1983–1987 1987–1992
1953–1957 1957–1960 1960–1976 1976–1978 1978–1983 1983–1987 1987–1992
1992–1994 1994–1998 1998–2005 2005–2009 2009–2017 2017–present
1992–1994 1994–1998 1998–2005 2005–2009 2009–2017 2017–present

WKNB-TV[]

1953–1957[]

WKNB 1953

WVIT signed on for the first time on February 13, 1953, as WKNB-TV, owned by the New Britain Broadcasting Company along with WKNB radio (840 AM, now WRYM). The calls stood for Kensington–New Britain. It is Connecticut's second-oldest television station and the first on the UHF band. It has been an NBC affiliate for nearly all of its history. However, during its first two and a half years, it carried CBS programming as one of two affiliates in Connecticut, along with WNHC-TV (now WTNH) in New Haven.

WNBC-TV[]

1957–1960[]

WNBC 1957

In January 1955, NBC announced it would purchase the WKNB stations for just over $600,000. The FCC approved the sale to NBC in December 1956, nearly two years after it was first announced. The network then renamed channel 30 WNBC (for New Britain, Connecticut) in January 1957.

WHNB-TV[]

1960–1976[]

WHNB 1960

NBC then realized its UHF experiment was a lost cause (it had shut down its other owned UHF station in Buffalo, New York in October 1958), and in June 1959 sold WNBC and WKNB radio for $750,000 to Plains Television Inc., a joint venture of Transcontinental Properties and H & E Balaban Corporation (WKNB was spun off immediately afterward). In May 1960, channel 30's callsign changed again – this time to WHNB-TV (for Hartford-New Britain); NBC reclaimed the WNBC calls for its flagship radio and television combination (the former WRCA-AM-FM-TV) in New York City.

1976–1978[]

NBC30 (1976)

WVIT[]

1978–1987[]

WVIT (1978-1987)

1978–1983[]

WVIT 1978

In the summer of 1977, Plains Television announced it would sell WHNB-TV to the original iteration of Viacom for $15 million. The former CBS Inc. subsidiary, which became a leading television producer and distributor and the founder of Showtime (now the current ViacomCBS after CBS' merger with the second incarnation of Viacom; which later changed its name again to Paramount Global since 2022), was making its first foray into broadcast station ownership. Shortly after assuming control in the spring of 1978, channel 30's call letters were changed to the present WVIT on June 12 (for "Viacom International Television") to reflect its new ownership.

1983–1987[]

Catch 30 WVIT 1983

1987–1994[]

1987–1990[]

WVIT Thirty (1987)

A rare example of a TV station identifying its channel number as a word (other examples include WNET and WFLD from 1994-1997).

1990–1994[]

WVIT 1

Viacom purchased Paramount Pictures in 1994, and merged its five-station group into the Paramount Stations Group. The WVIT wordmark from the previous logo was retained, with the station reverting to the tradiational method of referring to its channel position as a number.

1994–1998[]

Wvit 30 nbc

In 1996, Paramount/Viacom sold WVIT back to NBC, making it an O&O for the second time.

1998–2009[]

1998–2005[]

WVIT 1998

2005–2009[]

WVIT 2005

2009–2017[]

NBC Connecticut WVIT

2017–present[]

WVIT Logo 2017

External links[]

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