WTVT, the Tampa FOX O&O, is celebrating 60 years of broadcasting today.
The station was the first in Florida to air an hour-long newscast and also had the first TV weather radar in the state. In fact, WTVT helped pioneer everything from satellite transmissions, helicopter feeds, live streaming video and more.
In an article on the station’s site, former WTVT reporter Ray Blush recalled the effort it took to get the film on the air:
Indeed, to our younger viewers, the phrase “film at 11” might sound odd. But those old cameras and reels of film were critical to former WTVT newsman Ray Blush.
“Put them in a can, tape the can shut, put it in an envelope, drive it to the Greyhound bus station in St. Pete,” he recalled. “The bus left at 12:30.”
The bus carried film to our old WTVT studios, a converted restaurant on what’s now Kennedy Boulevard back when Channel 13’s news was called Pulse.
Tonight, WTVT will celebrate its history with a video looking back over the past 60 years of broadcasting. Check out the video above for a little sneak peak.
Tune in at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. for a full retrospective of the station’s past.