WVIT

WVIT, channel 30 (branded on-air as NBC Connecticut), is an NBC owned-and-operated station licensed to New Britain, Connecticut, United States and serving the Hartford-New Haven television market. WVIT's offices and main studios are located on New Britain Avenue in West Hartford, and its transmitter is located on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut.

History

Early years

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.

In 1954, only a year after channel 30 signed on, Hartford and New Haven were combined into a single television market. However, WKNB's signal was not strong enough to cover southern Connecticut at the time – a problem that would hamper channel 30 for almost a quarter-century. As a result, a few CBS programs continued to be seen in the market on New Haven's WNHC-TV (channel 8, now WTNH) for another year due to this shortfall in channel 30's coverage. In 1955, WKNB dropped CBS and became a primary NBC affiliate. Well into the 1960s, many viewers northeast of Hartford used outdoor VHF antennas to watch NBC programming via WBZ-TV in Boston or WJAR in Providence, while viewers southwest of Hartford with outdoor TV antennas received NBC via network flagship WRCA-TV (now WNBC) in New York City; reception was often spotty.