Serving Maine since 1953WABI TV, Bangor, officially signed on as Maine's First Television Station on January 25, 1953. The station was launched by former Maine Governor Horace A. Hildreth. Hildreth had earlier acquired the license to Maine's oldest radio station, WABI AM, and the call letters conveyed to the new television station.
Originally a multi-network affiliate (CBS, NBC, ABC and Dumont), TV5 was briefly a primary NBC affiliate, switching to CBS primary in 1955, and becoming a full-time affiliate of CBS in 1959.
Anecdotally, we understand that the first full program aired on the station was a filmed episode of the syndicated series "Boston Blackie" starring Kent Taylor (several viewers recall that this is a fact, but we do not have a record of the broadcast log). TV5 was home to Bangor's "Bozo the Clown" and many other local favorites. Members of the "baby boomer" generation of TV5 viewers have fond memories of the annual Santa Claus shows ("Santa's Workshop" & "Santa and His Friends") of the 60's and 70's. Years after the station stopped producing the Santa shows, local area post offices continued to direct mail addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole" to the Bangor studios of WABI TV.
Today, WABI TV stands as Maine's only locally-owned television station, owned by Diversified Communications of Portland, Maine, and controlled by the Hildreth family, including Hildreth's son Horace, Jr., daughter Josephine, and nephew Charles, Jr., as well as their spouses and third-generation members of the Hildreth family. Local ownership has allowed local programming to flourish. In addition to weeknight local newscasts at 5, 6 and 11, and weekend evening newscasts at 6 and 11, TV5 is home to Bangor's only locally produced morning news program, TV5 Morning News, as well as the area's only locally produced noon newscast. In September 2007, with the addition of a secondary digital channel, WABI DT2, affiliated with The CW network, TV5 added another original half-hour of weekday live, local news at 10:00pm. In October 2008, WABI-DT2 added a half-hour expansion of TV5 Morning News at 7:00am weekdays. TV5 presents more locally-originated newscasts in a typical week than the other Bangor market stations combined. TV5's weekday morning, noon and evening newscasts can be watched online. Just click the "Watch TV5 News" link on the left-side menu. TV5 also has a long history of live local public affairs and local sports broadcasts, with an ongoing relationship with the University of Maine. TV5 is proud to help local communities and public service organizations celebrate "The Spirit of Maine." The station participates in a number of community initiatives throughout the year, in partnership with local service organizations, civic groups, and citizens groups.
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