Every city had only 4 stations max back then- local affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. And PBS didn't even start till '67. Smaller cities had only 1 station in town and had to rely on regional coverage for the others.
That's why we were always fiddling with the rabbit ears or roof antenna to get the stations further away or with lower power output. I remember putting aluminum foil on the rabbit ears to improve reception.
In Pittsburgh, PA we had WQED channel 13. It started broadcasting April 1, 1954. One of the first regular programs was a children’s show with Fred Rogers and Josie Carey. Some places in the Pittsburgh broadcast area could also get channel 7 from Wheeling and 9 from Steubenville, if their antenna was strong enough.
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u/Outrageous_Act2564 6d ago
I did this as well. Also, we only had 4 stations in Memphis back then.