Archival photograph by Nat Morris from WGPR-TV Historical Society
September 29, 1975- WGPR in Detroit becomes the world’s first black-owned-and-operated television station
WGPR-TV first aired on this day in 1975 via Channel 62 in Detroit. The station broadcast religious programs, R&B music shows, syndicated shows and older cartoons. The station did broadcast some locally-produced programming: Big City News, The Scene, and Arab Voice Of Detroit.
Big City News was a weekday newscast that focused on stories from an African American perspective, showcasing positive success stories. The Scene was a nightly dance show that offered young people a chance to show their dance moves. Arab Voice Of Detroit was a variety series aimed at the significant Arab American population in Detroit.
WGPR-TV was the first black owned and operated television station on the planet. At the time, it was hailed as an advance for African-American enterprises, with the “color line” having been broken by the station’s very existence. It was the owners’ vision that WGPR-TV provide African-Americans with training and experience in the television industry, allowing many local black people the opportunity to work behind the camera, doing the producing, directing and technical work that put together content that aired.
WGPR-TV failed to attract much of an audience outside the African-American community. After 1980, the station faced its most powerful competition from Black Entertainment Television (BET). With only an 800,000 watt signal compared with two million watts for other Detroit stations, WGPR-TV never reached an audience beyond Detroit.
The noble aims of the station did not translate into profit. During its tenure as an independent station, WGPR-TV was the lowest-rated television station in Detroit, with only a niche viewership even within its target audience. Viewers in Detroit were able to pick up Canadian-based CBC that had licensing rights to many American syndicated programs that would have otherwise likely aired on WGPR-TV. It did not help that it was located near the top of the UHF dial. This was before cable television, and most Detroit viewers never tuned past the local PBS station on channel 56.
But, from 1975 to 1987, The Scene introduced the middle part of the country to Disco, Techno, House and Hip-Hop. At its height, it was easily the hippest show around. It featured local young people as the integrated cast of dancers, and it brought in first-rate artists to perform live, no lip-synching. The show had Stevie Wonder, The Manhattans, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass, The Spinners, The Supremes, Freda Payne, Curtis Mayfield, Billy Dee Williams, The O’Jays, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, DeBarge, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Barry White as musical guests. They even booked a local girl named Madonna. The local kids became celebrities in Detroit.
The Scene had a strong loyal following that grew to include city and the suburbs, white and black, young and old. Nat Morris, the executive producer and host, provided many unknown artists with their first exposure, launching careers that went on to international fame. The Scene had an impact on Detroit the same way Soul Train had on a national level.
By the 1990s, WGPR’s on-air look seemed quite primitive. It was the only local station in the country which still used art cards instead of CGI for its announcements and newscasts.
In 1995, WGPR-TV was sold to CBS with much controversy from the black community, which felt that the station should remain under African-American ownership. Two months later, CBS changed the television station name to WWJ-TV and targeted its programming for a general audience. Today, minorities own just six percent of television stations in the country, and only six percent of FM radio stations.
The post #OnThisDay: 1975, WGPR Becomes the First Black Owned and Operated TV Station appeared first on The WOW Report.
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